PIF could be about to pull off mammoth £1bn Newcastle investment that will anger Sunderland supporters

A wave of airport sales has resulted in Heathrow, Aberdeen, Glasgow and Southampton receiving fresh investment. London City, Birmingham and Bristol are up for sale alongside Newcastle - placed in the shop window last year. 

As it stands, local authorities own a 51 per cent controlling stake, with the airport serving Newcastle, Northumberland, Gateshead, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, Durham and Sunderland councils. Infrabridge - described on Newcastle airport’s website as “a leading infrastructure investment manager dedicated to investing in mid-market businesses in transportation and logistics, digital infrastructure and energy transition” - hold the remaining 49 per cent.

The Times reported in December that the Public Investment Fund (PIF) are the front-runners - soon after acquiring a 37.6 per cent stake in Heathrow. PIF are already known to the area due to owning 85 per cent of Newcastle United.

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Buying the Magpies from Mike Ashley in October 2021 marked the start of an ambitious new era for the club. As part of the takeover, Amanda Staveley, the former co-owner, promised PIF would commit to investing in the North East region.

Adding the airport to their portfolio would be a bold move but also a potentially profitable one. Last year, revenues increased by 22 per cent to £79.1million and its operating profit grew by 36 per cent to £33.9million.

Newcastle airport is valued at £1billion and a change of ownership could be announced soon. According to The Chronicle, meetings at each of the seven local authorities were set to take place next week to discuss InfraBridge’s sale.

North Tyneside's and South Tyneside’s were cancelled on Friday for reasons unknown. As it stands, the proposed buyer has not been disclosed to the public.

PIF would be making a huge power play in the North East by buying a considerable stake in Newcastle airport. This speculation comes after the prime minister, Sir Keir Starmer, visited Saudi Arabia on an investment-attracting mission at the back end of last year.