Exeter Airport set to be sold to investment group ICG

Exeter Airport is set to be sold along with two other English regional airports in a multimillion-pound deal.

Investment firm ICG has agreed a deal with Rigby Group to purchase the Devon airport, along with airports in Bournemouth and Norwich, the BBC understands.

The deal is reported to be worth £200m, according to Sky News, and BBC sources said leading business officials in the South West had been briefed about the sale ahead of an announcement expected on Monday.

ICG and Rigby Group have declined to comment after being approached by the BBC.

Exeter Airport, which is in the village of Clyst Honiton, opened in 1937 and today has commercial flights to a number of UK and international destinations, including Edinburgh, Amsterdam and Lanzarote.

The site was used by fighter planes during World War Two, including the Polish Air Force’s 307 Squadron, who “saved the city” in May 1942 by defending Exeter during a Nazi bombing raid.

The airport has grown in size, with a new arrivals building being opened by the Princess Royal in June 1999 before a £950,000 departure lounge opened four years later.

In January 2007, Devon County Council sold the airport to Regional and City Airports – a specialist airport investment and development group run by Balfour Beatty – in a deal worth £60m.

In June 2013, Balfour Beatty sold the airport to Rigby Group for an undisclosed sum.

Airlines which operate from Exeter Airport include Ryanair, KLM, Aer Lingus and TUI.

The airport also operated as a base for Flybe before the company went into administration and was liquidated in 2020.

In August last year, airport bosses said the site had returned a profit for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic.

Its owners said that, in the 12 months up to March 2024, the airport had a profit of just over £1m, which represented a £2m turnaround from the year before.

Passenger numbers also rose, with 435,000 compared to 402,000 the previous year – an increase of 8%, an airport spokesperson added.

In November, the airport said passenger numbers reported 337,993 passengers had travelled through the hub from April to October 2024 – an increase of 15,740 compared the same period the previous year.