Prestwick fiasco: Now two bidders bail out
Blow for SNP’s ‘white elephant’ airport that’s cost taxpayer £42m
TWO potential buyers have now failed to reach a deal for Prestwick airport, Kate Forbes has admitted.
The Finance Secretary yesterday refused to say why their bids for the white elephant site had fallen through.
She also insisted the Scottish Government intends to return it to the private sector, but could not give a timeline. The airport was taken into public ownership in November 2013 when bought by the Government for £1.
Around £42million of taxpayers’ money has been ploughed into Prestwick since then – with £33million of this already written off. Speaking at Holyrood, Miss Forbes said: ‘We want to return the business to the private sector, but that must be on the right terms and in the right circumstances.’
The Finance Secretary said she could not disclose details of the bids, including the bidders’ identities, due to the need to maintain commercial confidentiality. She said the Government’s preferred bidder pulled out of negotiations in May last year.
The Government then re-engaged with the second-placed bidder, but ‘various concerns’ were identified and it was not pursued.
She said Glasgow Prestwick Airport turned a modest profit last year, adding: ‘The business is performing well.
‘It continues to steadily strengthen its position as a niche airport with a reputation for being innovative and flexible in meeting customers’ needs.’
Miss Forbes claimed that much of the media speculation around the potential sale of the airport had been ‘wholly inaccurate’.
However, she admitted that an area next to one of the runways had been damaged by the ‘jet blast’ of a departing aircraft last year – but this has since been repaired.
The Scottish Conservatives raised concerns over a lack of transparency from the Government over the potential sale of Prestwick, and urged ministers to be clear on why the deals had fallen through.
Transport spokesman Graham Simpson said: ‘The SNP are on a flight of fancy if they think they can turn around the fortunes of Prestwick airport.
‘This Government needs to get serious about selling an airport that has already cost the taxpayer nearly £50million.
‘Instead of hiding behind the pretence of commercial confidentiality, the SNP need to tell the Scottish people why bids were rejected that ultimately led to the sale of the airport falling through.’
Miss Forbes told MSPs that ‘in terms of the financials’ the airport was in a ‘strong’ position.
The latest accounts show an operating profit of £500,000. It comes after the airport shifted from passenger travel to focus on freight, refuelling and maintenance.
Previously Miss Forbes revealed that a bid to make the airport a freight hub had been rejected as it ‘did not, at this point in time, represent the value for the taxpayer we are looking for’.
This month, the chief executive of Edinburgh Airport criticised government support for Prestwick, saying it ‘fundamentally skews what should be a competitive and fair playing field’.
‘SNP are on a flight of fancy’