Leeds & Bradford Airport sold for £145.5m

By Darren Cronian on Friday, May 4th, 2007

Interesting news that Leeds & Bradford International Airport has been sold for £145.5m in a deal which is thought to break the record for one of the highest ever earnings in an airport sale.

The new owners, Bridgepoint Capital, have apparently paid 30 times, the current airport takings. It’s about time money was invested in the airport, so that the choice of destinations increases, and also bringing in more tourism to Yorkshire.

The airport was previously funded and owned by 4 local authorities, and I suspect we’ll see a name change, and with the £70 million expansion plan announced, Yorkshire folk, could finally, see long haul flights to the likes of the USA and around Asia.

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16 responses to “Leeds & Bradford Airport sold for £145.5m”

Debbie | 4 May, 2007 at 12:50 pm

Leeds needs either more flights with Ryanair, or a new low cost carrier to come on board.

An Easyjet would be great.

I live in Newcastle, but Leeds is only an hour or so away.

Kevin May | 4 May, 2007 at 12:55 pm

does the UK really need another transatlantic/asia-bound airport??

are you doing your bit for the environment, Darren??

Darren Cronian | 4 May, 2007 at 1:20 pm

Kev,

Yorkshire does Yes, and No.

If the local council were to give me my recycle bin then it would be Yes and Yes.

I think we can all do more for the environment.

Does London need London City, Heathrow and Gatwick airports?

Kevin May | 4 May, 2007 at 1:33 pm

london and the south east (kent, sussex, essex, berks, herts) has a population of roughly 15 million, not including Oxfordshire, Bucks, Beds.

All of Yorkshire, and the Humber region, has a population of 5 million.

i suspect London probably does need a few airports (although only LHR and LGW take transat/asia flights, unless you count three budget business airlines from Luton and Stansted).

LHR is also a hub.

indeed, have you been through heathrow recently???!?!? nightmare…….

Darren Cronian | 4 May, 2007 at 1:45 pm

Point taken but for a population of 5 mil you’d expect at least one airport to fly to long haul destinations. All of the airports in the Yorkshire region, I think are all home to low cost airlines.

Kevin May | 4 May, 2007 at 1:48 pm

leeds to manchester airport (home to a number of transtlantic-asia flights) takes 1 hour by car.

it can take at least 2 hours to get from LHR to Stansted.

Darren Cronian | 4 May, 2007 at 2:08 pm

Wouldn’t it be more environmentally friendly if I didnt have to take a car to the airport then?

I get your point Kev and agree with what you are saying, but it’ll still be good to have a long haul airport on our doorstep.

Kevin May | 4 May, 2007 at 2:11 pm

get the train… simple.

Simon | 4 May, 2007 at 2:56 pm

If the southerners, mancs and scousers have flights to the US on their doorstep, why should Yorkshire people have to travel to these airports?

We are the largest county in the UK, with 5.91 million residents.

I’m fed up of seeing all the money go down South and to Manchester.

Lee Harrison (owner Select World Travel) | 4 May, 2007 at 3:29 pm

I Feel a replay of The Yorkshire Airlines Sketch Coming on again

Kevin May | 4 May, 2007 at 3:39 pm

Simon: i can assure you, i would rather spend an hour travelling from Leeds to Manchester airport, than 2 hours on the tube from my home in east london to heathrow.

Darren Cronian | 4 May, 2007 at 11:18 pm

Hahaha Lee

Visit this http://travelrants.bebo.com/

Look at the video below

Actually, I spent an hour on the tube from Heathrow not so long ago, and its a nightmare.

Kevin May | 4 May, 2007 at 11:18 pm

that would be cruel in the circumstances… hehehee…

Darren Cronian | 4 May, 2007 at 11:28 pm

Kev, did you watch the video?

I just watched it again, it’s a classic.

Kevin May | 4 May, 2007 at 11:30 pm

seen it many times, including at a conference when Lee played it……