Virgin may bid for Gatwick
Tuesday 2nd September 2008, 10:14AM BST.
Richard Branson’s Virgin Group may bid for Gatwick airport if the Competition Commission rules that current owner BAA should sell it.
Virgin confirmed a report in the Daily Telegraph that the group would consider making an offer if the airport was up for sale, as part of a consortium.
A spokesperson for Virgin said: “If the Competition Commission recommends the sale of Gatwick Airport, then Virgin Atlantic would be interested in possibly bidding to run it, as part of a consortium.
“We would be able to bring our expertise in customer service into any ownership group. We are a shareholder in the air traffic control company NATS, which we part own with other airlines, and could imagine a similar scenario in terms of Gatwick’s ownership.
“It is very early days in terms of Gatwick’s future ownership and so we cannot comment on parties we may have held talks with but we are watching developments closely.”
The Daily Telegraph said Mr Branson was planning an offer of around £2 billion.
BAA owns and operates Gatwick, along with other London airports Heathrow and Stansted.
Earlier this month, the Competition Commission said it would be breaking up ownership of the airports and was considering forcing the sale of two – with Gatwick and Stansted the most likely.
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