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3 May 2004

Regional airport operator Omniport raises equity from Penta and Caledonia to support expansion

Penta Capital, the private equity house, has led a £10m joint deal with Caledonia Investments to support fast growing regional airport operator, Omniport Holdings Ltd. Under the terms of the deal, Penta and Caledonia will each contribute an initial £5 million to underwrite Omniport's expansion plan in the UK and Europe. The new investors will have a majority stake and representation on the board of Omniport.

Omniport recently sold its minority holding in Glasgow Prestwick International Airport for £6 million in cash, against an original investment of £2.2 m. The proceeds were re-invested, in conjunction with a facility from HSBC, to acquire a majority stake in Norwich International Airport for £11m. In the year to March 2004, Norwich generated turnover of £11.3 million and an EBITDA of £2.3 m. There are significant capital expenditure plans in place to expand capacity at the airport over the next five years, to accommodate anticipated passenger growth.

Omniport has established relationships with European airlines keen to grow their business through point to point travel using regional airports. Demand for this type of air travel is growing rapidly (the UK Government predicts 30 years' uninterrupted growth) driven by congestion at many of the larger European hub airports and growth in the low cost sector. The Omniport team has a number of acquisition opportunities under review and is currently in advanced negotiations to acquire a majority holding in a major regional airport in Northern Europe.

Omniport's executive director Clive Davies said: "The growth prospects for regional airports are excellent and we have a thorough knowledge of the sector. We are focussing on European regional airports with strong growth potential and raising new equity capital from experienced investors at this time underpins our ambitions."