Birmingham airport getting £32.5 million in loans from 4 of the 7 councils that half own it
Seven councils of the West Midlands own a 49% stake in Birmingham airport, a further 48.25% is owned by the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and the remaining 2.75% belongs to an employee trust. The councils are putting in a lot of money, as loans, to the airport to keep it going. The total so far is about £32.8 million. The airport is getting £18.5 million from Birmingham City Council, plus £4.9 million from Walsall Council, plus £3.7 million from Solihull Council, plus probably a £5.7 million emergency loan from Coventry City Council. Coventry’s cabinet will discuss a loan up to £5.7m on March 9th before approval at full council on March 16th. Earlier Sandwell and Wolverhampton councils confirmed they will not be offering loans to the airport but Dudley declined comment. Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan will also provide a loan. The Coventry loan “would be made available as and when needed by the airport to ensure it can have the maximum impact on Covid recovery.” A Coventry cabinet member said the airport had “given us a return on income of over £1.6m in the last two years.”
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Birmingham Airport to receive loan of up to £5.7m from Coventry council
Shareholders have come to their aid
Coventry Live
5th March 2020
Birmingham International Airport will receive an emergency loan of £5.7 million from Coventry City Council, taking the total package from Midlands councils to £32.8m.
The city council along with six other West Midland councils is a shareholder of the airport holding company, BAH, with four of the seven local authorities providing financial support.
Birmingham City Council confirmed a loan of up to £18.5m in February, alongside a loan of up to £3.7m from Solihull Council and up to £4.9m from Walsall Council.
Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan – 48.25% shareholders – will also provide a loan.
Coventry’s cabinet will discuss a loan up to £5.7m on March 9 before approval at full council on March 16.
The loan would be made available as and when needed by the airport to ensure it can have the maximum impact on recovery.
The aviation industry has taken a hit during the pandemic with passenger volumes from April to December were down by 91 per cent, according to a statement issued by Birmingham Airport.
A meeting of Birmingham council’s cabinet last month branded it the “most severe downturn in [the airport’s] history”.
Coventry cabinet member for finance, Cllr Richard Brown, said it was important “to make sure the airport gets through this time”.
Birmingham Airport support loan from Coventry must ‘go through political process’ coventry telegraph
https://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventry-news/birmingham-airport-support-loan-coventry-19855119
He said: “We have had a long association with Birmingham Airport and it brings in £1.5bn in terms of gross value added to the local economy.
“For us, it is on our doorstep geographically, it is very close.
“In the post-Brexit world we have set our stall out as a country to be more of a global player than what we were before. Airport infrastructure is key to that.
“Birmingham airport has been a success story for a number of years and it has given us a return on income of over £1.6m in the last two years.”
The airport employs around 7,000 people and supports more than 25,000 associated jobs.
https://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventry-news/birmingham-airport-receive-loan-up-19958584
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18.2.2021
Walsall Council has agreed to supply the airport with a £4.9 million loan, adding to the £18.5 million and £3.7 million already announced by Birmingham and Solihull councils respectively.
In addition, Sandwell and Wolverhampton councils have confirmed they will not be offering loans to the airport but Dudley declined comment.
Coventry City Council said it was committed to helping the airport but would not confirm whether a loan was planned or not.
The seven councils of the West Midlands county own a 49% stake in the airport, a further 48.25% is owned by the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and the remaining 2.75% belongs to an employee trust.
https://www.business-live.co.uk/economic-development/third-council-backs-birmingham-airport-19865200
Birmingham Airport support loan from Coventry must ‘go through political process’
Council leader George Duggins insisted the city was committed t helping the airport
By Mark Cardwell, Local Democracy Reporter; Madeleine Clark,Multimedia journalist – Coventry Live
17 FEB 2021
An emergency loan for Birmingham Airport has not been given by Coventry City Council.
But the council’s leader insisted the authority – a shareholder in the airport – was committed to helping as the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic continues.
Passenger volumes for the airport from April to December last year were down by 91 per cent, according to an official statement.
An emergency loan has been put together for the airport, with Birmingham Council contributing up to £18.5 million, Solihull Council a loan of up to £3.7 million while Walsall Council will provide up to £4.9 million.
Sandwell and Wolverhampton councils confirmed they would not be providing loans, while Dudley Council declined to comment.
The seven authorities in the West Midlands are all shareholders in the airport, owning a 49 per cent stake.
Coventry City Council said it was “committed to helping the airport” but would not confirm at this stage if a loan was being planned.
Leader Cllr George Duggins said: “Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Birmingham International Airport remains one of the most important economic drivers in our region and will play a crucial role in our region’s recovery.
“It employs around 7,000 people, supports more than 25,000 associated jobs and is worth around £1.5 billion to our economy, bringing many benefits to Coventry residents and businesses.
“But like the aviation industry as a whole, the global coronavirus pandemic has hit the business hard and it is understandably facing unprecedented and difficult times.
“As one of the seven shareholders in the airport, which has brought us considerable financial dividends to support our services in recent years, we are committed to helping the airport to ensure it is ready to bounce back quickly and strongly when travel restrictions are eventually lifted and life returns to some sort of normality.
“However, if any such support was required, it would go through the Council’s political process in the normal way.”
On February 9 Birmingham Council agreed to make the loan at a cabinet meeting – but concerns were expressed by opposition councillors the council would have to lend more at a later date.
The meeting heard all seven local authorities making up the West Midlands were approached for financial assistance for the airport.
Four are making a loan along with the other shareholder, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan.
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See earlier:
Birmingham Airport to get £18.5m emergency loan from Birmingham City Council
Birmingham Airport is to get an £18.5m emergency loan from Birmingham City Council, approved by the cabinet, to help avoid the threat of insolvency. Since the start of the Covid pandemic, the airport has seen passenger numbers fall by 91%. However, some councillors questioned whether the airport would want more money in future, as the pandemic restriction on flying continues. The fear is that if the airport becomes bankrupt, without a loan, even more money would be lost, and the councils could lose their control over it. The 7 councils of the West Midlands county – including Birmingham City Council – own a 49% stake in the airport’s holding company, BAHL; a further 48.25% is owned by the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and the remaining 2.75% belongs to an employee trust. Four of the local authorities will contribute to the loan, with the other shareholder, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan. The airport is getting public money already, through the government’s Job Retention Scheme.