Latest News

The ongoing bidding process for Gatwick airport has taken a new turn with the bid of the Citigroup consortium (named the Lysander Gatwick Investment Group) being rejected by BAA.

BAA has announced that the bid was too low, but the Lysander Gatwick Investment Group has said that the decision is “bizarre in the extreme” as well as “extraordinary and puzzling”. The group said that its bid was the only one to provide a long-term commitment to the airport and to be fully funded.

However, on the statement that the consortium released, which made its frustration so clear, the group also indicated that it was still keen on pursuing its bid for the airport.

The size of the bid was reported to be between £1.3 and £1.4 billion. However, the bid was deemed too low by BAA which wants at least £1.5 billion for the airport.

Only two bids now remain in the running for the airport: MAG (The Manchester Airport Group), consisting of the Greater Manchester Pension Fund and Borealis Infrastructure from Canada, and Global Infrastructure Partners (a joint venture between Credit Suisse Group and GE Infrastructure), which already owns London City Airport.

The Lysander group was thought by many to be the favourite, but now that it is out of the running MAG has taken the pole position and is now considered by some to be the favourite to take over Gatwick.

In separate news surrounding the bidding process, BAA has said that it is planning to appeal against the antitrust ruling which led to the decision to sell three of its airports in the first place. The move comes amid concerns by the company that the demand to divest its assets during a recession were not taken into account.