Regional & City Airports (RCA), the
airports management division of Rigby Group plc, has completed its fourth
regional UK airport acquisition with the purchase of Bournemouth Airport for an
undisclosed sum.
The acquisition underlines the group's ongoing intent to being a significant
player in the UK’s vital regional airports market.
Adding another operation to a portfolio that already includes Norwich, Exeter,
and Coventry Airports, as well as contracts to operate Solent (formerly Daedalus
Airfield), City of Derry and Blackpool Airports, today’s purchase of Bournemouth
Airport from Manchester Airports Group further expands a network of growing
passenger and commercial aviation facilities across the South of England,
creating a combined entity capable of offering passengers throughout the South a
highly credible alternative to the major London airports.
Group Chairman and Founder Sir Peter
Rigby said: “The acquisition of
Bournemouth Airport represents an important landmark in our strategy to create a
robust and credible group of regional airport assets and services across the UK.
Not only does it expand our catchment to include the major regions of South
England, but also focuses operations on a core market poorly serviced by the
major aviation players.”
Already employing more than 600 people across the UK, RCA has built a reputation
as efficient, safe and commercially-astute airport operator, driving
improvements to route development, commercial revenues, operating costs and
capital investment in order to deliver a consistently sound commercial return,
leveraging significant buying power and shared expertise to deliver tangible
benefits to small airports across the UK.
RCA Chief Executive Andrew Bell
said: “I am delighted to welcome everyone at Bournemouth Airport to our
fast-growing team. It is already one of the South’s flagship aviation hubs, and
I am very much looking forward to working with the staff and management as we
continue to expand its operations and build on that success.”
Day-to-day management of the adjacent 200-acre Aviation Business Park will be
handled by Rigby Real Estate - the parent group’s specialist property management
division.
Bournemouth Airport currently offers flights to 22 destinations across Europe,
with 700,000 passengers using the airport in 2016. A base for Ryanair and TUI,
the facility has undergone a £45m investment - providing air travellers to and
from the South Coast region with a new and greatly improved passenger experience
- and supports 900 full time equivalent jobs contributing more than £24 million
to the local economy.
With the takeover complete, RCA now plans to help grow both commercial and
passenger activity at the airport, leveraging the group’s scale, contacts, and
expertise to power continued progression. The group recently recorded its best
ever year in the year to March, handling 1.7 million passengers with 189,000
flight movements connecting directly to over 60 destinations across its
operations.
Steve Rigby,
Rigby Group COO, commented: “While already a well-run and robust operation, Bournemouth Airport is ripe for growth. Growing demand for both UK and
International flights in nearby Southampton offers significant scope to increase
passenger numbers, while the site’s potential as a regional business hub also
represents a clear opportunity for expansion. We’re here to do business, and
have already reached out to key regional stakeholders with a view to driving
forward to growth of the airport.
“As part of RCA, the airport will benefit from the economies of scale and
sharing of best practice normally only available to larger hub airports -
providing job security for existing staff and opening up a range of exciting new
opportunities for both the facility itself and the region as a whole.”
Charlie Cornish,
Chief Executive of MAG, added: “Bournemouth Airport and its people have been
part of our company for a long time. "RCA has a detailed integration plan in
place to ensure a seamless transition of ownership and operations at Bournemouth
which will maintain business as usual for passengers and customers. We wish the
new owners every success and are confident that the airport will continue to
flourish as we continue to focus on improving Manchester, London Stansted and
East Midlands airports."
|