Newcastle United's Saudi owners buy stake in UK's busiest airport
Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund has agreed to buy a 10% stake in Heathrow Airport.
Spanish infrastructure giant Ferrovial has announced it will sell its 25% share in Europe's busiest airport to the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) - the owners of Newcastle United - and to French firm Ardian, which will secure a 15% stake.
Ferrovial has been the airport's largest shareholder since 2006 and said it will gain almost £2.4 billion from the deal, following reports last year that the investor planned to sell it ss stake following the sharp recovery in traveller numbers.
Last month, seven million passengers travelled through the west London airport, up 19% on the same month last year. The completion of the sale has to be approved by regulators before it is finalised.
The Saudi PIF would become the latest sovereign wealth fund to own a share in the airport, joining the Qatar Investment Authority, which is already a stakeholder in Heathrow parent company FGP Topco.
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PIF also owns Newcastle United (Dave Winter/REX/Shutterstock)The PIF, which has invested in other transport sites, technology firms and sports teams such as Newcastle United, has more than 700 billion US dollars in assets. It is controlled by Saudi Arabia's Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, whose government has been subject to accusations over human rights violations.
Luke Bugeja, chief executive of Ferrovial Airports, said: "Over the last 17 years, we have been contributing to Heathrow's transformation, together with our fellow shareholders, achieving some excellent milestones throughout our long-term role as investor.
"These include overseeing an investment of £12 billion, expanding its capacity with the construction of Terminal 2, and improving its operational performance. We are very pleased to have made Heathrow one of the world's most connected airports and the busiest airport in Europe."
Last month Heathrow's new boss, Thomas Woldbye, promised to make the airport "even better for our customers and the British economy". He described his new role as chief executive, which he started on Wednesday, as "humbling". Mr Woldbye, who was previously in charge of Denmark's Copenhagen airport, took over from John Holland-Kaye, who had been Heathrow's chief executive for more than nine years.
The new boss will be overseeing plans worth billions of pounds to upgrade facilities over the next three years. This includes installing a new baggage system in Terminal 2 and 3D security scanners.
"The UK already has a hub airport that is the envy of much of the world. As I spend my first days getting to know the colleagues and team Heathrow partners who make it a success, I'm looking for how we can make Heathrow even better for our customers and the British economy," Mr Woldbye said upon starting the job. "It's humbling to have the opportunity to take on the challenge and I'm excited to get started."
The airport appears to be recovery well after travel was largely shutdown during the coronavirus pandemics and lockdowns. In September its passenger numbers surpassed pre-pandemic levels for the first timem marking a major milestone in the hub’s road to recovery.
Over seven million passengers passed through the UK’s biggest hub that month, up 22% year-on-year and ahead of its 2019 equivalent. That took the total traffic for the year to date to just over 59m, which is currently up nearly a third on 2022.
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