Macquarie Asset Management has acquired an additional 50% stake in London City Airport, increasing its total shareholding to 75%. The shares were acquired from Alberta Investment Management and Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System ( Omers ).

The deal was done via Macquarie European Infrastructure Fund 7, whose investors include pension funds and insurance companies.

After the new share purchase closes, Wren House Infrastructure Management Limited, the direct infrastructure investment arm of the Kuwait Investment Authority, will retain its 25% stake.

In June, Macquarie agreed to acquire a 25% stake in the airport from Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan.

Direct transport links

London City Airport is London’s most central airport, with direct transportation links to the city’s two financial districts, the City of London and Canary Wharf. It handles more than 50,000 flights a year, serving over 30 leisure and business destinations across the United Kingdom and Europe.

Currently, only relatively smaller aircraft such as Embraers are allowed to fly in and out of the airport. But the UK government has approved plans to increase passenger numbers to 9 million from the previous 6.5 million capacity, and an application has been made to the Civil Aviation Authority to use bigger aircraft such as the Airbus A320neo. The potential introduction of new aircraft is expected to expand the range of leisure destinations.

“Britain’s airports are a key driver of economic growth and demand for air travel continues to increase year-on-year,” says Sara Sulaiman,  managing director, EMEA, at Macquarie Asset Management.

“We look forward to working in partnership with London City Airport’s management team and Wren House Infrastructure, who will remain as a shareholder, to support the airport in meeting future demand as it increases the number of passengers, launches new routes to destinations across the UK and Europe, and further enhances the experience for passengers.”

London City Airport chief executive officer Alison FitzGerald adds: “This further investment from Macquarie Asset Management is a strong endorsement of our strategy to introduce new, larger, quieter and cleaner aircraft, deliver more route choices for our customers, benefit our airline partners, and contribute even more to the UK economy.”

UK infrastructure investor

Macquarie has been an investor in airports for more than 20 years. Its investments have included hub airports across Australia, Belgium, Italy, Denmark, Ecuador, and Colombia.

Apart from the London City Airport deal, Macquarie has signed agreements to acquire a 55% stake in Bristol Airport and 26.5% of Birmingham Airport.

Last year, after a decade of ownership, Macquarie divested from AGS Airports, the owner and operator of primary airports serving Aberdeen, Glasgow, and Southampton.

Macquarie Group has operated in the UK for more than 35 years and has invested and arranged more than £65 billion ( US$85.03 billion ) in UK infrastructure since 1999. In October 2024, Macquarie announced plans to invest a further £20 billion in UK infrastructure.