Vinci Airports to acquire majority stake in Gatwick

US investment fund Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) is selling a majority stake in Gatwick Airport for £2.9 billion.

The country’s second-biggest airport was acquired by a GIP-led consortium in 2009, which will sell a 50.01% stake to Vinci Airports.

The airport, the eighth-busiest in Europe by passenger numbers, was heavily disrupted in the run up to Christmas after reports of drone sightings closed its runway.

Michael McGhee, GIP partner, said: “We expect the transaction to be completed by the middle of next year, with the senior leadership team remaining in place.

“Their focus, along with everyone at Gatwick, obviously remains on doing their very best for customers over the busy holiday period after the challenges of recent days.”

Nicolas Notebaert, president of Vinci Airports, said: “As Gatwick’s new industrial partner, Vinci Airports will support and encourage growth of traffic, operational efficiency and leverage its international expertise in the development of commercial activities to further improve passenger satisfaction and experience.”