The operator of London Luton Airport (LLA), has successfully completed the refinancing of its existing £120 million* bank debt facilities.

The new financing package increases the airport’s existing facilities to £160 million, which includes a combination of term debt and undrawn facilities to support working capital and strategic capital projects.

The new debt maturity ranges from four to seven years. 

The transaction demonstrates significant market confidence in the business and its long term business plan, with several new lenders entering the syndicate, in a very competitive and oversubscribed process. 

The refinancing provides the certainty and stability required to continue to develop the airport, setting the foundations to deliver on a recently approved Development Consent Order (DCO), which would increase capacity from 19 million to 32 million passengers annually. The plans are expected to create up to 11,000 new jobs and unlock an additional £1.5 billion in GDP annually. 

The airport is operated under a concession agreement, a stand out example of public-private partnership, led by a consortium, of which the majority shareholder is AENA, the world’s largest airport operator, and InfraBridge, which also has an interest in Newcastle and Leeds Bradford airports.

Richard McCord, Chief Financial Officer of London Luton Airport said: “We are delighted with the outcome of this refinancing, which shows strong support of the debt markets in London Luton Airport. It is an important step to ensure stability of the airport’s capital structure while we look to increase airport capacity through the activation of the DCO”. 

Rodrigo Marabini Ruiz, Director of International Subsidiaries at Aena added: “Our successful public-private partnership with Luton Borough Council has driven exceptional outcomes for Luton and all users of LLA, including our airline partners. We believe the positive outcome of this refinancing package rightly demonstrates the confidence of the debt market in the underlying business plan, management team and sponsors of London Luton Airport”.

Graeme Ferguson, Head of Airports at InfraBridge said: “This refinancing marks a positive step forward in supporting London Luton Airport’s long-term growth plans. As a shareholder, we’re pleased to see strong engagement from the lending community and look forward to continuing to support the airport as it moves ahead with the DCO and broader development ambitions”.

-Ends- 

Note to Editors: £80m TLA/B/C; and £40m RCF

About London Luton Airport

London Luton Airport (LLA) is one of the UK’s busiest airports, carrying over 16.7 million passengers in 2024. The airport is operated by a consortium, of which the majority shareholder is AENA, the world’s largest airport operator, and InfraBridge, a leading infrastructure investment manager. Airlines include easyJet, Wizz Air, Jet2 (flights begin from April 2025) Ryanair, Tui, FlyOne, Sun Express and El Al.

The Luton Airport Express is a dedicated train service that allows passengers to travel from central London to the LLA terminal in around 30 minutes. The Luton Airport Express runs from St Pancras International to Luton Airport Parkway station and connects seamlessly with the DART, an electrically powered people mover that connects to the airport terminal in less than four minutes.

Last year, LLA was named European Airport of the Year (10-25 million passengers) by ACI EUROPE. 

In 2023, LLA also became only the third major UK airport to achieve Level 4 of the globally recognised Airport Carbon Accreditation scheme, demonstrating that it is ‘transforming its operations to achieve carbon reductions in line with global climate goals’. With a maximum score of 100 and a five-star rating, LLA has been ranked as a sector leader for three consecutive years in the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) benchmark of sustainability governance management and performance of major infrastructure assets worldwide.

To learn about the progress London Luton Airport is making across its sustainability programme please click here.

Further information on London Luton Airport can be found here: https://www.london-luton.co.uk/

Contact Details:

Contact Details:
London Luton Airport – PR agency:
E: LLA@tinmancomms.com

London Luton Airport Press Office
T: 01582 395333
E: pressoffice@ltn.aero

URL: https://mediahub.london-luton.co.uk/news/01072025/lla-refinances-120m-debt-facility