Reports have emerged that the private company that owns half of Newcastle Airport is looking to sell.
Australian group AMP Capital bought a 49% stake in the airport in 2012, with the rest of the site being owned by the seven councils in Tyne and Wear , Northumberland and County Durham .
It has now been reported that AMP, which also bought Leeds Bradford Airport in 2017 and has investments in assets worth more than $20bn around the world, has been approached by pension groups and other investors looking to buy its stake.
Both AMP and Newcastle Airport declined to comment on the reports, and it is not clear how a new private shareholder would affect operations at the airport.
The airport has been part owned by a private group since 2001, when 49% of the shares in the airport company were sold to Copenhagen Airports.
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The involvement of outside partners boosted investment at the airport and paved the way for growth which sees the airport now ranked in the top 10 for UK airports in terms of passenger numbers, as well as winning a number of national and international awards.
But the LA7 group of local councils has always maintained that the 51% stake gives them overall control, recognising the importance of the airport to the region’s economy.
A spokesman for AMP Capital said: “No comment on this – we don’t comment on market speculation.”
The airport also declined to comment on the reports, which suggested the airport could be worth more than £1bn - a big rise in value since AMP’s 2012 investment, when it was rumoured to have paid around £150m for its half share.
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Recent years have seen the airport celebrate its 80th anniversary and invest around £20m in growing its terminal building, improving its arrivals area, upgrading car parks and revamping its departure lounge.
A masterplan for the airport’s development over the next 20 years was launched last year, outlining plans to increase passenger numbers from 5.35m to 9.4m and add more than £2bn to the region’s economy each year.
The airport - which last year reported operating profits of £21.8m on revenues of £58m - has also recently launched a tourism website which aims to attract thousands more visitors to the region from Europe and further afield.
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