London Biggin Hill Airport, which caters to a high number of private and business aviation clients, has agreed a £15m (US$18.7m) financing package with HSBC bank to fund a major infrastructure improvement program.
The work will see the construction of a new 140,000ft² office, hangar and business aircraft parking facility, as well as a 50-bed four-star hotel at the facility, which is located in Bromley, just outside London, in the UK.
The project will meet the growing demands of those visiting the airport, and also contribute to the ambitious employment targets of 2,300 new jobs by 2030, set by the airport and the London Borough of Bromley. In recent years, London Biggin Hill has become a major center for engineering and aerospace innovation, with Bombardier creating a state-of-the-art line maintenance facility at the site.
Will Curtis, managing director at London Biggin Hill Airport, said, “With the support of our corporate finance advisors at Smith & Williamson, we went through a rigorous selection process to make sure we had the right partner in place to help fund the next stage in our development. HSBC understood our business model and was genuinely supportive of our plans, backed by a competitive and flexible package. Building on the success of the HSBC deal, Biggin Hill is introducing extended operating hours in the coming weeks, which will provide our customers and users with unrivalled flexibility and capacity.”
James Shepherd, area director in HSBC’s Corporate Banking team, added, “London Biggin Hill Airport is an ambitious business with plans to build more hangar capacity and house internationally recognized engineering and maintenance companies. Our experience funding significant development projects like this one helped us put a competitive and flexible finance package in place that has enabled work to start at the airport straight away. We look forward to watching the project as it progresses and continuing our relationship with the airport team.”
