Brexit: Heathrow airport owner halts future investments

"Ferrovial" SA, the Spanish company that is the biggest shareholder in London airport Heathrow, has decided to halt future investments in the airport, due to the uncertainties tied to the exit of Great Britain from the EU (Brexit).

The CEO of "Ferrovial", Rafael del Pino, yesterday said that even though the investment that the company has in Heathrow is not in question, he does not see any opportunities for mergers and acquisitions in Great Britain, according to Spanish daily ABC.

Rafael del Pino said: "We are no longer investing in Great Britain, but we are not abandoning our local business".

On May 25th, a public consultation concerning the creation of new runways on the Heathrow airport will end. The British MPs are going to vote toward the end of this year or in the beginning of the next on the new runaway, which will end decades of debates concerning the manner of expansion of the airport's volume.

"Ferrovial", which owns 25% of Heathrow, also has holdings in the airports of Glasgow, Aberdeen and Southampton. The company also owns the infrastructure company "Amey" and construction firm "Ferrovial Agroman" UK. "Ferrovial" makes about 30% of its turnover in Great Britain.

Rafael del Pino says that the group he leads has a "cautious attitude when it comes to Great Britain", as "nobody, not even the United Kingdom knows how the Brexit process will take place, nor what the consequences are".

In his annual report, "Ferrovial" reported that the situation in Great Britain will continue to be difficult on the services segment, due to the cost cutting by some customers, mostly from the local government.

• "Ryanair" may exclude Great Britain from its expansion plans

"Ryanair Holdings" Plc, the biggest European airline in terms of the number of passengers, may not include Great Britain in its expansion plans in the next two years, as it is concerned that the lack of clarifications concerning the Brexit will cause major travel disruptions and will reduce demand.

The CFO of the Irish company, Neil Sorahan, said: "The expansion plans of Ryanair do not include Great Britain. Last year the company was seeking a growth of 15% in the UK, but it only achieved 6%.We haven't noticed it yet, but we believe that there will be a slowdown in the EU and the UK, because both parties need to deal with a completely new scenario".

Low cost operators "Ryanair" and "easyJet" have asked the London government to quickly launch the negotiations with the EU when it comes to the airline sector, because it intends to complete in its first semester of the coming year the flight schedule for 2019.

Currently, EU airlines have the right to fly to and from any member country of the EU due to the "open sky" system, and London will have to negotiate a bilateral agreement with the EU to allow the continuation of commercial flights.