Infratil, the Wellington-based infrastructure investor, has agreed to sell Manston Airport in the UK for 350,000 British pounds to Stagecoach Group co-founder Ann Gloag and her brother Brian Souter.
Infratil agreed to sell the airport for 1 pound plus adjustment for working capital variances and cash injected by Infratil, the company said in a statement.
The latest sale comes after Infratil last week said it was in talks to sell its Glasgow Prestwick Airport to the Scottish government, allowing the infrastructure investor to exit the unprofitable overseas airports it earmarked for sale in March last year. Infratil expects to write down the value of the assets in its books by about 11 million pounds to zero in its earnings for the six months to September 30, the company said today.
"From Infratil's perspective, while Manston was a very small part of the company's overall asset base, this sale will result in a more focused portfolio and improve our future cash flow position," Infratil chief executive Marko Bogoievski said in the statement.
The announcement comes a day after news that David Newman, a director of Infratil for almost two decades and chairman for the past nine years, had died in Wellington.