SPECIAL REPORT: GLOBAL AIRPORT OPERATORS International assets are everything Nicolas Notebaert, CEO of VINCI Concessions and chairman of VINCI Airports, leaves you in little doubt about the importance of its international airport assets to the company. He says: “Our international business is not only important to VINCI Airports, it is at the core of the whole VINCI Group strategy. Today, we operate 35 airports in six countries on three continents, with over 80% of our activity outside of France.” He notes that a mixture of budget pressure on developed nations to decease their debts and the need for new infrastructure in emerging economies has provided VINCI with a considerable source of international development opportunities over the last two years. “VINCI Airports’ development strategy in this context is very opportunistic. We focus on opening new doors within dynamic geographic areas or on high potential assets,” he reveals. “We don’t target any particular region of the world. Instead we analyse opportunities on a case-by-case basis and compete
Vantage Airport Group World Headquarters: Vancouver, Canada Airports 100% owned and operated: John C Hamilton International Airport in Canada. Others: In the Caribbean, Vantage holds a 25.5% stake in MBJ Airports Ltd, the private operator of Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay, Jamaica, and operates Nassau’s Lynden Pindling International Airport on behalf of the government of the Bahamas. In Europe it has an 11% stake in Hermes Airports Ltd, which operates Larnaca and Paphos airports in Cyprus under a 25-year concession. In Canada, in addition to Hamilton, Vantage operates Greater Moncton Roméo LeBlanc International Airport in New Brunswick and Kamloops and North Peace Regional airports in British Columbia. In the US, Vantage is part of the LaGuardia Gateway Partners (LGP) consortium that is leading the $4 billion redevelopment of New York-LaGuardia’s Central Terminal B. It is also part of the Midway Partnership – a new joint venture between Vantage, SSP America and the Hudson Group – that recently took over management of the concessions programme at Chicago’s Midway International Airport (MDW) under an agreement with the Chicago Department of Aviation. Plans to expand/reduce portfolio: Vantage has a global network of 11 airports in five countries, and continually assesses its network profile and emerging opportunities. News: Vantage has established a foothold in the US with two land mark projects. It led the LGP consortium to financial close and lease commencement of the $4 billion project to redevelop LaGuardia’s Central Terminal B. Vantage, which holds an equity stake in LGP, is overseeing all aspects of the $4 billion construction project and also manages LGP’s operational responsibilities at the terminal under a 35-year lease agreement with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. More recently, Vantage closed a deal to redevelop and manage the concessions at Chicago’s Midway International Airport courtesy of its membership of Midway Partnership. Vantage will lead the $75 million
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when we think we can bring enough value and the quality of the concession contract is attractive. “We are also open to partial privatisations as long as the concession contract allows for co-control, in order to allow us to make full use of our expertise as global airport operators.” Asked to explain to a sceptic why they should put the fate of their airport in the hands of private investors either through an operating concession or PPP project to build new infrastructure, Notebaert says: “The airports operated by VINCI Airports clearly reflect the positive impact of public-private partnerships for airport users and, more broadly, on the economic growth and development of regions. “In Cambodia, for example, we have invested more than $100 million on doubling the capacity of Siem Reap and Phnom Penh airports over the last 20 years. This has taken the country’s airport infrastructure to the next level and played a significant role in Cambodia’s economic growth.” renovation and manage the retail/food and beverage programme through 2032, introducing an entirely new model for concessions management in the US. Elsewhere, Vantage provides technical expertise and advisory services to Leonard M Thompson International Airport in Marsh Harbour, the Bahamas. Quote: In response to whether the investor market is fiercer today than ever before, George Casey, chair and CEO of Vantage Airport Group, says: “With the right deal, investor competition is always fierce. The bonds for the LaGuardia Central Terminal B Redevelopment project were more than 10 times oversubscribed, attracting interest from more than 150 investors and shattering records for absolute yields and credit spreads for a BBB credit. This tells us the market is strong, and the P3 model for financing airport redevelopment projects is appealing to investors.”
Vienna Airport Group/Flughafen Wien Gruppe World Headquarters: Vienna, Austria Airports 100% owned and operated: Vienna International Airport. Others: It has a 48.44% stake in Malta International Airport courtesy of its 95.85% controlling interest in the Malta Mediterranean Link Consortium (MMLC), which has a 40% shareholding in the gateway, and a separate 10.1% stake held by wholly-owned subsidiary, VIE Malta Ltd. Elsewhere it is a member of the KSC Holding, which holds 66% of the shares in Slovakia’s Košice Airport. Plans to expand/reduce portfolio: None. News: Vienna Airport Group increased its stake in Malta International Airport shareholder, MMLC, by paying SNC-Lavalin around €64 million for its 38.75% interest in the consortium in early 2016. MMLC in turn has a 40% stake in operator, Malta International Airport plc, which has a 65-year concession agreement. In its 2016 annual report, FWAG notes: “Flughafen Wien AG’s fully consolidated investment in Malta Airport amounts to around 48% in total. FWAG indirectly holds a 66% stake in Košice Airport through a holding company. The strategy of the Flughafen Wien Group is concentrated on these two existing investments. There are no plans to acquire shares in further airports.”