This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-21093783
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Stansted Airport being sold to Manchester for £1.5bn | Stansted Airport being sold to Manchester for £1.5bn |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| London's Stansted Airport is being sold to the owner of Manchester Airport for £1.5bn, it has been announced. | London's Stansted Airport is being sold to the owner of Manchester Airport for £1.5bn, it has been announced. |
| The airport is being sold by Heathrow Airport Holdings, formerly called BAA, which will continue to own London Heathrow, Southampton, Aberdeen, and Glasgow airports. | The airport is being sold by Heathrow Airport Holdings, formerly called BAA, which will continue to own London Heathrow, Southampton, Aberdeen, and Glasgow airports. |
| Heathrow Airport Holdings had to sell Stansted as a result of a ruling by the Competition Commission. | Heathrow Airport Holdings had to sell Stansted as a result of a ruling by the Competition Commission. |
| The sale is due to be completed next month. | The sale is due to be completed next month. |
| Previous legal battle | |
| Heathrow Airport Holdings chief executive Colin Matthews said: "Stansted Airport and its people have been part of our company for a long time. | Heathrow Airport Holdings chief executive Colin Matthews said: "Stansted Airport and its people have been part of our company for a long time. |
| "We wish the new owners every success and are confident the airport will continue to flourish. We will continue to focus on improving Heathrow, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Southampton airports." | "We wish the new owners every success and are confident the airport will continue to flourish. We will continue to focus on improving Heathrow, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Southampton airports." |
| Manchester Airport is owned by Manchester Airports Group, which is a holding company in turn owned by the 10 borough councils of Greater Manchester. | Manchester Airport is owned by Manchester Airports Group, which is a holding company in turn owned by the 10 borough councils of Greater Manchester. |
| Heathrow Airport Holdings is owned by an international consortium led by Spanish infrastructure group Ferrovial. | Heathrow Airport Holdings is owned by an international consortium led by Spanish infrastructure group Ferrovial. |
| The Competition Commission ruled in 2009 that the then BAA had to sell both Stansted and Gatwick due to concerns over a lack of competition between London's three main airports, which, led by Heathrow, were all owned by the same company. | |
| BAA had already started proceedings to sell Gatwick, but launched a legal challenge against the order to sell Stansted. It ended this fight in August of last year, when it announced that Stansted was up for sale. | |
| Manchester Airport is the third busiest in the UK, seeing a total of 18.9 million passengers in 2011. Stansted is the fourth busiest, with 18 million passengers that year. |