al446: although the councils own most of the airport land in trust in the proportion 55% Mcr, 5% each for the other nine, some of the newer land acquisitions were made wholly by Mcr, so they get 100% of the ground rent of that part.
Mcr City Council, being:
the majority freeholder of most of the land and the only freeholder of the rest;
the majority shareholder;
the rating authority, and;
the planning authority;
has a vested interest in a) buying land, b) charging over the odds to MAG to use it, c) whacking up the rates bill and d) granting planning permission for anything that'll increase its income.
That's something the auditors ought to look at, if only for the other nine shareholders' benefit, but also for the wider public and the banks that now own a large proportion of the group, which was heavily mortgaged to buy EMA and BOH.
The whole finances are a spaghetti plate of complicated opaque deals that only serve to cream off as much as possible to Mcr City Council at the expense of the other nine. A bit like BA's "loss making" MAN-NY route
