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Newcastle United owners PIF are edging closer to completing a major £1billion investment.
As reported by The Times in December, the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund are looking to purchase a 49% stake in Newcastle International Airport. Now council documents suggest a sale is close to being agreed after a scheduled cabinet meeting on Tuesday.
Newcastle Airport is majority-owned by local councils with Newcastle, Sunderland, Gateshead, Durham, Northumberland, North Tyneside, South Tyneside and Durham councils owning a combined 51% stake as the ‘Newcastle Airport Local Authority’. The remaining 49% stake is owned by Infrabridge.
Northumberland County Council’s official cabinet meeting documents for Tuesday, March 11 listed a report to ‘endorse the Leader of the Council consenting as a Director of the Newcastle Airport Local Authority Holding Company Limited (NALAHCL) to the sale of shares from the existing private sector partner’.
Financial firm JP Morgan are understood to be overseeing the sale of Infrabridge’s 49% share in a deal worth up to £1billion that will be subject to council approval. A potential buyer has not been publicly disclosed but PIF are understood to be the ‘front-runners’.
PIF’s investment into the aviation industry set to continue
PIF, who own an 85% stake in Newcastle United, launched Riyadh Air in 2023 while Saudi Arabia’s other national flag carrier Saudia are commercial partners of Newcastle United. The sovereign wealth fund also acquired a 37.6% stake in Heathrow Airport alongside French co-investor Ardian in a £3.3billion deal last year.
A PIF-led minority takeover of the North East’s primary and busiest airport may not be overly popular throughout the region due to the clear link with Newcastle United. Of the millions of passengers the airport serves every year, many are supporters of Newcastle’s fierce rivals Sunderland.
Given how seriously people in the region take their football, Sunderland City Council forming part of an airport co-ownership with PIF is unlikely to go down well on Wearside.
If flying from Newcastle Airport wasn’t bad enough for Sunderland fans, doing so in the knowledge they are helping expand the portfolio value of Newcastle’s majority owners.
Newcastle CEO Darren Eales wants to put the city ‘on the map’
When asked about PIF’s potential investment in Newcastle Airport, Newcastle United chief executive officer Darren Eales said: “Anything that helps Newcastle as a region helps the club and vice versa. The more we can put Newcastle on the map, the more jobs we can create.
“We want to tell people what a great place to live this is, what a great area it is because the more businesses invest here and create jobs. Newcastle Airport can grow and that would be great for everybody.
“We’re always conscious of our position as Newcastle United being a beacon for the city. If we can prosper. We can help the city and the region.”
Despite Eales’ comments, the club would not confirm whether PIF would be investing into Newcastle Airport as the sale is still yet to be ratified.