Realistic figures
REFERENCE T Baker (Your Say, September 29), it might help everybody's ideas of what the airport is worth commercially to compare it with Southend.
Over there, Stobart's bought out the previous leaseholder on an airport-only basis with no building development potential involved, as it was still operational, albeit only just.
They now lease it for 120 years from the local council at £1 a year. They paid £21 million three years ago, so whoever wants to buy Plymouth airport needs to match their view of its potential as an airport with a suitable offer to Sutton Harbour Holdings, based solely on airport potential.
Stobart's have subsequently loaned £100 million to invest in Southend airport. They intended to raise the existing 4,000 passengers a year to more than 500,000 and then to expand that figure to more than two million a year by 2020, so I don't know to which part of the overall plans any part of the £100 million has been allocated or spent.
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But it does give a reasonable guide to the level of money that will need to be invested after purchase to make any airport a success.
STEVE MARKETIS
Woolwell
Comments
by willems
Saturday, October 06 2012, 4:01PM
“Plymouth with an airport,will stand a better chance of attracting business,and all that comes with it,ie jobs etc,rather more than Plymouth without an airport.”
by Dunthiel
Saturday, October 06 2012, 2:16PM
“"Over there, Stobart's bought out the previous leaseholder on an airport-only basis with no building development potential involved, as it was still operational, albeit only just."
Although passenger services were few and far between, when Stobart took over Southend it was a profitable business with a number of service providers (GA, private, aircraft maintenance, painting, scrapping etc...) generating traffic. That underpinned their decision to acquire it as an asset.
"They now lease it for 120 years from the local council at £1 a year. They paid £21 million three years ago, so whoever wants to buy Plymouth airport needs to match their view of its potential as an airport with a suitable offer to Sutton Harbour Holdings, based solely on airport potential."
I agree that the value has to be decided as an airport, not a housing estate, but for the reasons I mention above there isn't a comparison in this respect to Southend's value. Plymouth is a business Sutton Harbour claim to be unviable, Southend is a profitable going concern.
"But it does give a reasonable guide to the level of money that will need to be invested after purchase to make any airport a success."
I don't agree it does as any more than a very vague comparison. There are too many different scales and factors involved, the costs between the South West and South East only add to this.
The most valuable comparison to make with Southend is in demonstrating the potential and value that Plymouth Airport will have under the right ownership and with the right vision.”
by timplymouth
Saturday, October 06 2012, 1:05PM
“Personally I don't have a clue what Plymouth airport is worth, but was Southend a loss making airport like Plymouth? I suspect it's proximity to London also increases it's potential value whereas Plymouth only has Plymouth, the very close parts of Devon and some parts of Cornwall as a potential customer base.”