AviAlliance acquires three smaller UK airports from AGS – what will the future hold for all of them?

In a previous report earlier in 2024 it was suggested that the sale of AGS Airports, jointly owned by Ferrovial and Macquarie, might be delayed on account of the UK general election, which had just been called.

The outcome of that election, as expected, was a Labour government, that political party not being known to be a friend of aviation - although apart from raising flight taxes, it has not attacked the sector to the degree anticipated. The government has even suggested that it wants to see more investment in airports, one example being that at London Stansted Airport, which was announced last month.

The sale of AGS, which should be completed in 1Q2025, is now going ahead - to AviAlliance, the German operator that is owned by PSP Investments, one of numerous Canadian pension schemes to invest in the airport sector.

AviAlliance has had a year of turmoil, losing its holding in Budapest Airport, while gaining greater equity in Athens Airport.

Although the San Juan airport in Puerto Rico is performing well, its German airports, two of the four it partially owns, are impacted by a lacklustre German aviation market that is afflicted by location costs and other factors.

Could that be at least one of the reasons why AviAlliance has ventured belatedly into the UK market, one that it has mostly eschewed in the past?

This report aims to uncover the pros and cons of the Aberdeen, Glasgow and Southampton airports and what the future holds for them.