Exeter EXT for sale
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Exeter EXT for sale
I see EXT is for sale, with a provisional cost of £10m.
According to the most recent CAA figures, EXT handled just over 1/2m pax on a rolling 12 month basis - having had major growth since Flybe opened a major base there in March last year (oddly enough, the same day TOM started here at CVT).
I believe that TUIs purchase of CVT was the last major airport sale in the UK, so no doubt this one will be interesting to watch. If TUI paid "under €10m" for CVT, did they get a steal, or would the planning wrangles have put a heavy dampener on the possible sale price?
There are suggestions that TUI would aim to sell CVT on once they have got though the planning wrangles, and I understand that there are various other LA owned airports which need to sell up in order to be able to invest in facilities.
Who are the likely buyers going to be - Peel seem to be shopping at the moment, or would they want places where they can squeeze in a bit more retail. EXT's terminal is fairly tatty, but then again quite a few of the units at LPL seem to be inactive atm, so how much ancilliary revenue can these smaller airports really rake in?
According to the most recent CAA figures, EXT handled just over 1/2m pax on a rolling 12 month basis - having had major growth since Flybe opened a major base there in March last year (oddly enough, the same day TOM started here at CVT).
I believe that TUIs purchase of CVT was the last major airport sale in the UK, so no doubt this one will be interesting to watch. If TUI paid "under €10m" for CVT, did they get a steal, or would the planning wrangles have put a heavy dampener on the possible sale price?
There are suggestions that TUI would aim to sell CVT on once they have got though the planning wrangles, and I understand that there are various other LA owned airports which need to sell up in order to be able to invest in facilities.
Who are the likely buyers going to be - Peel seem to be shopping at the moment, or would they want places where they can squeeze in a bit more retail. EXT's terminal is fairly tatty, but then again quite a few of the units at LPL seem to be inactive atm, so how much ancilliary revenue can these smaller airports really rake in?
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Jabird,
EXT is currently owned by East Devon District Council. It is up for sale simply because the council feel that the investment in a new terminal is not something that they can undertake. There is no doubt that the airport has interested many potential bidders. LetsGo Travel have been suggested, as one of the South Wests largest independant travel agencies, however, as you have said, significant investment is likely to be required for new terminal facilities which are planned to be built by 2008.
Along with the airport comes a huge and significant amount of land for development as a retail park and I wonder how many airport operators would be willing to undertake such a development. The 'Skypark' as it is currently know, will potentially have a direct rail link and will provide much needed industrial space that Exeter has all but used up on its other sites.
I believe the bids are in to KPMG for their consideration, but all bidders have been sworn to secrecy so it will be very interesting to see who the shortlist of candidates may be. Walker Aviation, owner of Flybe, have shown no public interest, however other businesses owned by the Walker family have developed business parks in the past so who knows.....we'll have to wait and see!
EXT is currently owned by East Devon District Council. It is up for sale simply because the council feel that the investment in a new terminal is not something that they can undertake. There is no doubt that the airport has interested many potential bidders. LetsGo Travel have been suggested, as one of the South Wests largest independant travel agencies, however, as you have said, significant investment is likely to be required for new terminal facilities which are planned to be built by 2008.
Along with the airport comes a huge and significant amount of land for development as a retail park and I wonder how many airport operators would be willing to undertake such a development. The 'Skypark' as it is currently know, will potentially have a direct rail link and will provide much needed industrial space that Exeter has all but used up on its other sites.
I believe the bids are in to KPMG for their consideration, but all bidders have been sworn to secrecy so it will be very interesting to see who the shortlist of candidates may be. Walker Aviation, owner of Flybe, have shown no public interest, however other businesses owned by the Walker family have developed business parks in the past so who knows.....we'll have to wait and see!
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Oshkosh,
Is that not fairly common practice?
Please forgive any misconceptions I may have, but do BAA own the land on which LHR is built, and so on? Do the likes of BAA and TBI not have deals in the US to operate such concessions as catering or retail, with the airports themselves being owned by city or county governments.
If my comparisons between CVT and EXT are misplaced, then thankyou for pointing out the difference, but could anyone clarify exactly what is being put up for sale?
Is that not fairly common practice?
Please forgive any misconceptions I may have, but do BAA own the land on which LHR is built, and so on? Do the likes of BAA and TBI not have deals in the US to operate such concessions as catering or retail, with the airports themselves being owned by city or county governments.
If my comparisons between CVT and EXT are misplaced, then thankyou for pointing out the difference, but could anyone clarify exactly what is being put up for sale?
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Jobs
I think you know your way around the Exeter scene.
What is a realistic number of annual pax that EXT could expect by say 2010, when we will assume the new terminal will have been built?
Somewhere between one and one and a half million, or am I going too low?
I suppose much depends on Flybe's (or a successor's) commitment to the airport.
I think you know your way around the Exeter scene.
What is a realistic number of annual pax that EXT could expect by say 2010, when we will assume the new terminal will have been built?
Somewhere between one and one and a half million, or am I going too low?
I suppose much depends on Flybe's (or a successor's) commitment to the airport.
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I believe the main contender for the purchase of EXT is actually BRS, or rather the company that own BRS, look how it's come along in the past ten years or so since the council sold half to First Group then the rest, and then First Group sold on to who own it know, think its Macquarie & Cintra or something daft like that, Ozzies i think,
Ext in its current state is very similar to BRS 10-15 yrs ago!
Ext in its current state is very similar to BRS 10-15 yrs ago!
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There is no doubt that BRS would not have developed as spectacularly as it has in the ownership of the local authority.
The City Council cleverly (not a word normally associated with Bristol City Council) retained a 49% holding when they sold the majority share to FirstGroup plc in 1997. This enabled the new terminal to go ahead. By 2001 they were ready to sell out completely and the airport's value was around £200 million.
At that time First Group sold out as well and a company (Tidefast) was formed to purchase the airport on behalf of the Australian Macquarie Bank and Cintra (a subsidiary of the Spanish Ferrovial company). This is still the situation albeit internal manoeuvrings in the two groups means that the Macquarie half is now owned by Macquarie Airports and the Spanish half by Ferrovial Aeropuertos.
As well as Bristol Macquarie has interests in airports at Sydney, Brussels, Rome and Birmingham. However, only at Sydney are they involved with Ferrovial and here the Spanish company has only a minority holding.
So for Macquarie and Ferrovial to purchase EXT as equal partners (as they run BRS) would mean only the two west country airports would be owned in this way.
I think that a move from local authority ownership should be good news for EXT. A new terminal would certainly be an entirely realistic proposition.
I think that comparisons between the EXT of now and the BRS of yesteryear have some validity, but EXT will never have anything like the catchment area nor such a big mix of lucrative business and leisure travellers, unless there is mass displacement of the population of the UK.
However, now that Flybe has recognised the airport's merits it has come along in leaps and bounds and there must be more to come.
A joint owner for both EXT and BRS would certainly throw up some interesting scenarios as to how the airports might be run. Would the owners seek to run them as competitors or as complements, for instance?
The City Council cleverly (not a word normally associated with Bristol City Council) retained a 49% holding when they sold the majority share to FirstGroup plc in 1997. This enabled the new terminal to go ahead. By 2001 they were ready to sell out completely and the airport's value was around £200 million.
At that time First Group sold out as well and a company (Tidefast) was formed to purchase the airport on behalf of the Australian Macquarie Bank and Cintra (a subsidiary of the Spanish Ferrovial company). This is still the situation albeit internal manoeuvrings in the two groups means that the Macquarie half is now owned by Macquarie Airports and the Spanish half by Ferrovial Aeropuertos.
As well as Bristol Macquarie has interests in airports at Sydney, Brussels, Rome and Birmingham. However, only at Sydney are they involved with Ferrovial and here the Spanish company has only a minority holding.
So for Macquarie and Ferrovial to purchase EXT as equal partners (as they run BRS) would mean only the two west country airports would be owned in this way.
I think that a move from local authority ownership should be good news for EXT. A new terminal would certainly be an entirely realistic proposition.
I think that comparisons between the EXT of now and the BRS of yesteryear have some validity, but EXT will never have anything like the catchment area nor such a big mix of lucrative business and leisure travellers, unless there is mass displacement of the population of the UK.
However, now that Flybe has recognised the airport's merits it has come along in leaps and bounds and there must be more to come.
A joint owner for both EXT and BRS would certainly throw up some interesting scenarios as to how the airports might be run. Would the owners seek to run them as competitors or as complements, for instance?
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According to a report in today's Bristol Evening Post Macquarie Airports (the joint owner of BRS) is rumoured to be on a shortlist of companies lining up a multi-million pound bid to buy Exeter Airport.
Sydney-based Macquarie Airports Group is understood to be among five shortlisted companies and bids are expected to be 'close to £100 million'.
According to the Evening Post the other companies on the shortlist include TBI (can that be right, I thought they were giving up airports?), a consortium led by Wolverhampton Business Airport operator City Hopper, which recently paid £13 million for Blackpool Airport, and a new consortium headed by West Country TV boss Steven Redfarn.
Macquarie would make no comment when approached by the paper.
I have had to summarise because I have not been able to download a link to the full report.
Sydney-based Macquarie Airports Group is understood to be among five shortlisted companies and bids are expected to be 'close to £100 million'.
According to the Evening Post the other companies on the shortlist include TBI (can that be right, I thought they were giving up airports?), a consortium led by Wolverhampton Business Airport operator City Hopper, which recently paid £13 million for Blackpool Airport, and a new consortium headed by West Country TV boss Steven Redfarn.
Macquarie would make no comment when approached by the paper.
I have had to summarise because I have not been able to download a link to the full report.
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Since when did TBI declare they were giving up airports? The old TBI group was recently bought by the Spanish business, Abertis - i didn't read anywhere that TBI was disappearing from the airport scene?
SW
Serko - Peel wouldn\'t purchase EXT...what on earth would they rename it as...there would be far too much head-scratching to come up with a suitably-daft name!
Since when did TBI declare they were giving up airports? The old TBI group was recently bought by the Spanish business, Abertis - i didn't read anywhere that TBI was disappearing from the airport scene?
SW
Serko - Peel wouldn\'t purchase EXT...what on earth would they rename it as...there would be far too much head-scratching to come up with a suitably-daft name!
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SW
Thanks for that.
I worded my question rather clumsily but in essence I hadn't realised the TBI name would continue under the Spanish ownership.
Thanks for that.
I worded my question rather clumsily but in essence I hadn't realised the TBI name would continue under the Spanish ownership.
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I have come across this article:
http://www.thisisexeter.co.uk/displa...=sidebarsearch[/URL]
Seems like they might rename Exeter to Westcountry International Airport.
http://www.thisisexeter.co.uk/displa...=sidebarsearch[/URL]
Seems like they might rename Exeter to Westcountry International Airport.
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Maybe Abertis could buy it and provide a regular air link with Cardiff rather than Bristol to try and claw back the ground they have lost during the boom at BRS?
Lets face it, CWl have a longer runway to serve long haul, and a much better weather record.
Just an idea
TIO
Lets face it, CWl have a longer runway to serve long haul, and a much better weather record.
Just an idea
TIO
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How about a competition to find a suitably daft new name for Exeter Airport then?
Exeter/Cream Tea Regional?
Exeter/Pasty International? Maybe the Cornish would object to that one!
Exeter/Cream Tea Regional?
Exeter/Pasty International? Maybe the Cornish would object to that one!
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Exeter has been talking about a new terminal since the mid 70s when they first knocked around the present building.
It sounds a great idea to allow someone with a bit of commercial know how into EXT, and I wish them luck
But it will still be only European flights, as for long haul they would need to blow up a hill or move a village and the M5 depending on which way they wanted to extend.
It sounds a great idea to allow someone with a bit of commercial know how into EXT, and I wish them luck
But it will still be only European flights, as for long haul they would need to blow up a hill or move a village and the M5 depending on which way they wanted to extend.
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'Maybe Abertis could buy it and provide a regular air link with Cardiff rather than Bristol to try and claw back the ground they have lost during the boom at BRS?
Lets face it, CWl have a longer runway to serve long haul, and a much better weather record.'
Why would EXT use CWL runway for long haul when they can use there own.
If you had links with BRS you could turn EXT into a long haul airport with brs being the west country's european airport.
For a new name how about
'Exiter at junction 29 for airport' (copyright by terrier21 if you want to use pay me!!!)
T21
Lets face it, CWl have a longer runway to serve long haul, and a much better weather record.'
Why would EXT use CWL runway for long haul when they can use there own.
If you had links with BRS you could turn EXT into a long haul airport with brs being the west country's european airport.
For a new name how about
'Exiter at junction 29 for airport' (copyright by terrier21 if you want to use pay me!!!)
T21
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Why would EXT use CWL runway for long haul when they can use there own?
We'll see what the winner of the bid intends to do, but in the short term the future depends on flybe and co doing domestic and European flights.
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"Because long haul wide body operations are not possible from EXT due to a combination of obstacles and runway length. "
Forgive me if I'm wrong, but haven't Air Transat operated flights to YYZ from EXT, using an A330? Now last time I checked, this would count as both long haul and wide bodied?
This might be stretching it, but then BRS is 300ft shorter, and presumably that was no problem for CO, even if they are using 757s.
I really don't see the need for them to worry about long haul - the longer the distance, the further people will be prepared to travel to get to the airport. I'm sure there are still plenty of European cities which can be served from Exeter + perhaps a few more hub feeders, such as KLM to AMS?
Forgive me if I'm wrong, but haven't Air Transat operated flights to YYZ from EXT, using an A330? Now last time I checked, this would count as both long haul and wide bodied?
This might be stretching it, but then BRS is 300ft shorter, and presumably that was no problem for CO, even if they are using 757s.
I really don't see the need for them to worry about long haul - the longer the distance, the further people will be prepared to travel to get to the airport. I'm sure there are still plenty of European cities which can be served from Exeter + perhaps a few more hub feeders, such as KLM to AMS?
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Jabird
Yes Air Transat does fly to Toronto from Exeter, but it stops at Birmingham en-route.
Re the comparision with BRS: Runway length alone is not the limiting factor in aircraft performance you need to consider the surrounding obstacles.
Yes Air Transat does fly to Toronto from Exeter, but it stops at Birmingham en-route.
Re the comparision with BRS: Runway length alone is not the limiting factor in aircraft performance you need to consider the surrounding obstacles.