PARIS: France’s Vinci Airports on Thursday sealed a deal to acquire a majority share in London’s Gatwick airport, Britain’s second biggest, for 2.9 billion pounds (3.22 billion euros, $3.67 billion).
Vinci said it would hold a 50.01-percent stake in Gatwick, which is Europe’s eight biggest airport with a total passenger traffic of 45.7 million in 2018, by the first half of next year.
The other 49.99 percent will be held by Global Infrastructure Partners, the current owners.
Gatwick was forced to close its only runway repeatedly between last Wednesday and Friday due to reports of mystery drone sightings nearby, impacting nearly 140,000 passengers.
“The transaction represents a rare opportunity to acquire an airport of such size and quality and fits extremely well with Vinci Concessions’ long-term investment horizon,” a company statement said.
Gatwick “operates the busiest single runway in the world. In 2017, it hit a world record of 950 flights in a day. The airport constantly innovates in all areas of operations (for example passenger self-baggage drop, aircraft queing systems, parking products) and reaches very high level of operational efficiency,” the statement said.
“The whole Vinci Airports network will benefit from Gatwick Airport’s world-class management and operational excellence, which has allowed it to deliver strong and steady growth in a very constrained environment,” Nicolas Notebaert, Vinci Airports chief said.
With the latest acquisition, Vinci Airports will control 46 airports in 12 countries with a total traffic of 228 million passengers a year.
The French firm recently acquired airports in Brazil, Japan and Serbia.
France’s Vinci to buy majority stake in London’s Gatwick
France’s Vinci to buy majority stake in London’s Gatwick
- Vinci said it would hold a 50.01-percent stake in Gatwick, which is Europe’s eight biggest airport
- With the latest acquisition, Vinci Airports will control 46 airports in 12 countries with a total traffic of 228 million passengers a year
Saudi non-oil trade surplus with GCC jumps 102% in November
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s non-oil trade surplus with Gulf Cooperation Council countries more than doubled in November, driven by a surge in exports, preliminary government data showed.
The surplus reached about SR6.6 billion ($1.76 billion), up 102 percent from SR3.3 billion a year earlier, according to the General Authority for Statistics.
Total non-oil trade with GCC countries rose 30 percent to SR20.4 billion from SR15.7 billion, as exports outpaced import growth. Non-oil goods exports climbed to SR13.5 billion in November from SR9.5 billion a year earlier, while imports increased to SR6.9 billion from SR6.2 billion.
Re-exports made up the bulk of outbound trade, rising to SR9.76 billion in November from SR6.56 billion a year earlier, while national exports increased to SR3.75 billion from SR2.92 billion.
The UAE remained Saudi Arabia’s largest GCC trading partner on a non-oil basis. Exports to the Emirates totaled SR10.48 billion in November versus SR7.18 billion a year earlier, comprising SR8.38 billion in re-exports and SR2.10 billion in national exports.
Imports from the UAE were SR4.79 billion, up from SR3.95 billion, lifting the non-oil trade surplus with the UAE to about SR5.69 billion from SR3.23 billion.
Trade with Kuwait also expanded, with exports rising to SR769.9 million from SR610.6 million, including SR199.2 million in re-exports and SR570.7 million in national exports. Imports from Kuwait fell to SR176.4 million from SR333.3 million, pushing the trade surplus to SR593.5 million from SR277.3 million.
With Bahrain, exports edged down to SR900.7 million from SR929.7 million, reflecting a decline in re-exports to SR380.3 million from SR572.7 million, while national exports increased to SR520.4 million from SR356.9 million. Imports rose to SR862.4 million from SR662.4 million, reducing the surplus to SR38.3 million from SR267.2 million.
Saudi Arabia narrowed its non-oil trade deficit with Oman, as exports increased to SR666.7 million from SR356.5 million, supported by re-exports of SR259.6 million versus SR39.3 million and national exports of SR407.0 million versus SR317.3 million.
Imports from Oman declined to SR873.2 million from SR1.11 billion, bringing the trade balance to a deficit of SR206.6 million compared with a deficit of SR749.1 million in November 2024.
Trade with Qatar strengthened, with exports rising to SR691.1 million from SR395.8 million, including re-exports of SR536.2 million versus SR253.9 million and national exports of SR155.0 million versus SR141.9 million. Imports increased to SR199.3 million from SR148.9 million, resulting in a surplus of SR491.8 million, up from SR246.9 million.
