Property group Howard Holdings wants to acquire up to 10 regional airports across Europe in the next three years after buying Coventry Airport yesterday for more than £10 million (€14.25 million).
With no end in sight to the flood of Irish money into international property markets, the company's development programme in Ireland, Britain, central Europe and South Africa is worth in the region of £2 billion.
Howard Holdings development director Martin Jepson said it was already in the race to acquire a second airport, in Spain. "We'd like to build a portfolio of eight, nine or 10 regional airports over the next three years. We've looked at other airports in Britain and elsewhere in Europe," he said.
With offices in Dublin, Cork and Croydon, Howard Holdings has a relatively low profile. It is controlled by developers Frank Gormley and Greg Coughlan. From Co Kerry, Mr Gormley is chairman. Mr Coughlan, from west Cork, is chief executive.
Businessman Brendan Murtagh of Kingspan fame has a significant minority shareholding.
The company came to prominence briefly in 2003 when the Dáil Committee of Public Accounts heard a multi-storey car park built by its subsidiary Winston Properties at Beaumont Hospital, with the benefit of tax breaks, resulted in losses to the Exchequer of €13 million.
Howard Holdings will co-develop Coventry airport with Convergence-AFCO Holdings, an Anglo-American airport management specialist.
Howard Holdings has taken some 80 per cent of Coventry Airport, with its partner taking the remainder.
While the transaction has been valued at more than £10 million, Mr Jepson declined to specify the exact sum and said only that the deal was worth "several million".
The price reflects the growth potential of the airport, which is used by some 750,000 passengers annually.
A new permanent terminal is planned and it will bring capacity to two million passengers when built. However, local people have opposed this project. A public inquiry into the plan starts next week.
While the inquiry is expected to run for a number of weeks, Mr Jepson said opposition to the proposal had abated. He expressed confidence about the company's prospects of receiving planning approval. "Certainly we know we have the local authority on our side."
Howard Holdings acquired the Coventry business from the Thomson holiday group, which bought the airport in 2004 as a hub for its low-cost airline, Thomsonfly.
Thomson's spokeswoman declined to comment on the price it secured for the airport but said it was "more than we bought it for".
Thomson's managing director in Britain, Peter Rothwell, said it was never in its business plan to purchase an airport. "However, it was necessary to take ownership in order to be able to ensure successful operation of our low-fares flights."
