Vinci Airports, the airport concessions subsidiary of the French construction and infrastructure management group, has acquired a majority stake in the company that owns Edinburgh Airport (EDI) from Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP).
The £1.27 billion deal, announced on April 17, 2024, will give the French firm control of 50.01% of equity at Scotland’s busiest airport. The remaining shares will be managed by current airport owners, Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), a US-based infrastructure investment fund that is also a shareholder of London-City (LCY) and London-Gatwick (LGW) airports.
Following the deal, the ownership structure at Edinburgh Airport will mimic that of London-Gatwick, where Vinci Airports owns 50.01%, with Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) controlling the rest of the shares.
Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) was the target of an acquisition in January 2024, when Blackrock, another investment fund, paid $12.5 billion for the business, in a cash and stock deal.
Vinci Airports has confirmed its intention to keep the current airport management team while seeking to expand the number of airlines and routes served by Edinburgh Airport, which, in 2023, reported revenue of £272 million and an EBITDA margin of 65%.
Edinburgh Airport handled 14.4 million passengers in 2023 (a 22.2% increase over the previous year) and, as of April 2024, it serves 150 destinations in 38 countries. Among its largest operators by number of passengers are easyJet, Ryanair, British Airways and Jet2.
Interestingly, Edinburgh is a freehold airport, meaning that its management is not dependent on a time-limited concession.
