Aberdeen Standard Investment’s airport-focused fund, which acquires air cargo and other related property serving the London assets of Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted, has secured a £55 mln (€64 mln) revolving credit facility with its long-term financial partner, RBS International.
The facility will finance acquisitions and development projects executed by the airport industrial property unit trust (AIPUT).
'The new credit facility adds to AIPUT’s considerable capital resources, enabling us to respond quickly to targeted investment opportunities that meet our growth and diversification objectives,' said AIPUT fund manager, Nick Smith.
Aberdeen said it believed that strategic opportunities were likely to surface in the months ahead as a result of the uncertainty engendered by Brexit, and the perceived political risk of continuing friction in global trade policy.
The new £55 mln revolving credit facility supplements an existing £145 mln debt facility made available in 2015. Coupled with recent disposals at Glasgow and East Midlands airports, the fund's firepower has increased significantly, Aberdeen said.
AIPUT's overall fund value currently stands at around £670 mln.
According to Aberdeen, the three principal London airports dominate UK air-traffic activity, processing over 154 million passengers and 2 million tonnes of air freight in 2018.
