I think MA paid about £240m for EMA and BOH. I can't remember how much for HUY, but it can't have been much can it?!
At the time EMA and BOH were worth about £140m as security for the loan (based on industry standard multiples of profit) and the rest was secured against MAN, which until then had been debt-free.
So a sale for £500m would be a tidy earner I guess. The only person who understood the deal, and got the payments under control, was the former group finance director whose name also escapes me. He went off to be a City whizzkid I think.
The whole group was always over-exposed to debt, which dragged MAN down. Apart from EMA the regional airports have never performed to expectations either.
Sell off BOH and HUY at least. Keep EMA as it's close enough to MAN, and profitable enough, to make it worth investing in.
Oh, and review the directorial team. Goes without saying, really.