Macquarie Infrastructure Buys U.K.’s Farnborough Airport

Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (MIRA), which also owns U.S.-based FBO group Atlantic Aviation, has purchased privately owned and operated dedicated business aviation hub Farnborough Airport in the UK. The London-area airport, which saw a record 30,729 aircraft movements last year, is home to 260,000 square feet of climate-controlled hangar space, more than one million square feet of ramp, a three-story, 52,000-square-foot FBO, and a hotel.

TAG won the right to operate the former military airfield, the birthplace of flight in the UK, in 1997 and was granted a 99-year lease. In 2007, the company bought the leasehold entirely. It has invested more than $150 million in the property.

Related Article

TAG Farnborough Airport Continues to Grow

As a principal gateway to the UK capital, TAG Farnborough Airport is optimized for large business aircraft.

“The significant investment that has occurred at Farnborough Airport over the past two decades under the previous shareholders has been transformative,” said Brandon O’Reilly, who has served as CEO of TAG Farnborough Airport since 2006. “With a number of development projects already underway, we are excited to partner with Macquarie to further develop our offering to the business aviation market.”

Earlier this year, TAG sold off its European maintenance and repair organization, including its facility at Farnborough, to Dassault Aviation.