Liverpool City Council has entered into a new arrangement in the future control of Liverpool John Lennon Airport (LJLA).
The council has sold 10% of its stake to Ancala – an infrastructure investment manager – whilst still maintaining a 10% interest.
Further to an additional 35% acquisition from Peel Group, Ancala has acquired 45% in JLA leaving The Peel Group an equal stakeholder.
In 2016, the council signed an investment deal with LJLA to play an active role in supporting future expansion and to help further improve passenger and airlines facilities.
The bold move supported the council’s “Invest to Earn” strategy which enables commercial deals to be made, to create profits which can then be pumped back into council services. The Airport deal with Ancala has made a substantial return on the council’s initial investment.
LJLA is the UK’s 12th busiest airport, serving over 5m passengers in 2018. In July 2019, the airport was awarded the UK’s only five-star airport rating for flight punctuality, underlining its reputation as one of the UK’s best airports for efficiency, ease of use and quality of customer experience.
Ancala believes LJLA is ideally placed to serve the regional economy and has outstanding potential for growth through attracting further capacity from new and existing carriers and building on its non-aeronautical services offering including commercial, retail and car parking.
