PIF on verge of agreeing transformative £1bn Newcastle investment - Sunderland look away now
The Public Investment Fund are reportedly set to buy 49 per cent of Newcastle International Airport.
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 - the latest airport in the shop window.
The Times report the site - which serves the North East region and is the 11th busiest in the UK - as being worth £1billion. Seven local authorities, Newcastle, Gateshead, Sunderland, Durham, North Tyneside, South Tyneside and Northumberland own a controlling 51 per cent stake.
The proposed takeover would see any would-be investor buy out InfraBridge’s remaining 49 per cent. PIF are understood to be the front-runner and the deal - if passed - will be brokered by US juggernauts JP Morgan.
The Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund already have significant power in the North East after buying Newcastle United in October 2021. Worth a cool £700billion, PIF maintain ambitious plans for the Magpies despite struggling with FFP/PSR restrictions in recent times.
They increased their stake in Newcastle to 85 per cent earlier this year, with the Reuben brothers, who also possess a bold Tyneside portfolio, owning the remaining shares. Earlier this year, Toon chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the PIF governor, announced the fund will realign its assets.
Overseas investment will reduce to 18 per cent as the focus shifts towards domestic businesses. Buying Newcastle airport would buck that trend but strengthen ties with the region.
However, Sunderland fans may need to hold their nerve should the move go ahead. Toon supporters famously mock their Mackem rivals for not having an airport in the city despite Sunderland council owning a minority stake along with other local authorities.