I thought that Northolt was the only airbase that provided an income for the RAF, through landing fees.. and quite a substantial income as well
Nope, if the contract is >12 months then all monies go to Central MoD funds. If <12 months then the money goes to the Station -
however, the crowning turd in the waterpipe is that Station's budgets are abated for the amount that Wider Markets are expected to make in that year. Therefore, if Northolt is expected to make £1M from Wider Markets sales for their exec jet enterprise then their Station budget will be abated by £1M. Therefore, the station needs to make £1.1M in year to realise £100k of money in a contract that lasts <12 months, however, the following year they will be abated £1.1M from their budget in expectation.
That's how the Wider Markets person explained it to me as she cried into her coffee, exclaiming "What's the point!"
Also, if Northolt ceases to generate the same money as the expected amount it can quite quickly become very expensive indeed.
Finally, with the sucking dog of death that is named the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO), the RAF do not own the real estate anymore - they are simply tennants. Therefore, any money generated from the sale or DIO licensed activities will not be going into CAS's and the CINC's coffers!
LJ