Exeter Airport set to be sold to investment group ICG

George ThorpeBBC Information, DevonBBCExeter Airport is considered one of three airports anticipated to be offered to funding group ICGExeter Airport is ready to be offered together with two different English regional airports in a multimillion-pound deal.Funding agency ICG has agreed a cope with Rigby Group to buy the Devon airport, together with airports in Bournemouth and Norwich, the BBC understands.The deal is reported to be value £200m, in line with Sky Information, and BBC sources mentioned main enterprise officers within the South West had been briefed concerning the sale forward of an announcement anticipated on Monday.ICG and Rigby Group have declined to remark after being approached by the BBC.Exeter Airport, which is within the village of Clyst Honiton, opened in 1937 and at present has industrial flights to various UK and worldwide locations, together with Edinburgh, Amsterdam and Lanzarote.The positioning was utilized by fighter planes throughout World Struggle Two, together with the Polish Air Power’s 307 Squadron, who “saved town” in Might 1942 by defending Exeter throughout a Nazi bombing raid.The airport has grown in measurement, with a brand new arrivals constructing being opened by the Princess Royal in June 1999 earlier than a £950,000 departure lounge opened 4 years later.In January 2007, Devon County Council offered the airport to Regional and Metropolis Airports – a specialist airport funding and improvement group run by Balfour Beatty – in a deal value £60m.In June 2013, Balfour Beatty offered the airport to Rigby Group for an undisclosed sum.Airways which function from Exeter Airport embody Ryanair, KLM, Aer Lingus and TUI.The airport additionally operated as a base for Flybe earlier than the corporate went into administration and was liquidated in 2020.Exeter Airport first opened in 1937 and has flights to locations together with Amsterdam and LanzaroteIn August final yr, airport bosses mentioned the location had returned a revenue for the primary time for the reason that Covid-19 pandemic.Its homeowners mentioned that, within the 12 months as much as March 2024, the airport had a revenue of simply over £1m, which represented a £2m turnaround from the yr earlier than.Passenger numbers additionally rose, with 435,000 in comparison with 402,000 the earlier yr – a rise of 8%, an airport spokesperson added.In November, the airport mentioned passenger numbers reported 337,993 passengers had travelled by the hub from April to October 2024 – a rise of 15,740 in contrast the identical interval the earlier yr.