Gatwick sale stays on track, says MD

Completion of the sale of London Gatwick is on track for March or April, the airport's managing director has told Jane's.

"Preparations are well advanced to agree terms of a sale by late March or early April," said Andrew Flower. "Gatwick will be sold as a stand-alone business: we're largely there now."

Indeed, the deal may be completed even sooner, according to Ferrovial, parent company of operator BAA. "Although we do not have a fixed schedule, we hope to finalise the sale of Gatwick in late March or early April," said Ferrovial President Joaquin Ayuso in a statement on 4 February. He added that he expected to receive "several serious offers" for the airport, and confirmed: "We will dedicate 100 per cent of the sale proceeds to reducing debt."

Having formally recommended in December 2008 the sale of Gatwick, Stansted and Edinburgh, the UK Competition Commission (CC) is due to issue a final report in late February or March. However, BAA began the sale process for Gatwick pre-emptively in September 2008, following strong indications from the CC that its seven-airport portfolio would be broken up.

"We're running a programme office here that is looking at 11 work streams (such as HR, finance, supply chain, or airfield operations)," said Flower. "BAA and Gatwick managers meet regularly to ensure that Gatwick moves towards self-sufficiency. As a result, we are assured BAA understands what it must do to enable us to function independently of it."

Image: Management at Gatwick continue to prepare for a handover, says MD Andy Flower (BAA) 243 of 703 words