A Great Night Out At The GAD Awards

The winners of the inaugural GAD Awards were announced last week at GAD 2013 following a sparkling cocktail reception and Gala Dinner at the Le Negresco Hotel, Nice.

We are pleased to share the award winners with you along with some photos from the night – more photos from the conference will be available online next week. Thank you to everyone who contributed to a fantastic evening, and a very successful conference. We hope to see you all next year for GAD 2014!

The winners of the very first GAD Awards are:

Deal of the Decade Award (Sponsored by LeighFisher): Gatwick Airport (Global Infrastructure Partners) 
Value-Add Award: Global Infrastructure Partners (Gatwick, London City and Edinburgh Airports)
Industry Partner Award: LeighFisher
Airport Innovation Award (Sponsored by Lufthansa Consulting): Singapore Changi Airport 
Industry Hero(ine) Award (Sponsored by A.T. Kearney): Sani Şener, CEO, TAV Airport Holding
The GAD Contributor Award: Prof. Rigas Doganis 

 Le Negresco Hotel, Nice

Guests enjoyed cocktails on the hotel terrace followed by a seated dinner in the royal lounge

David Bryon compèred the proceedings

Andrew Gillespie-Smith of Global Infrastructure Partners

 

Satyaki Raghunath and Andy Carlisle of LeighFisher accept the Industry Partner Award

Cavin Poh accepts the Innovation Award on behalf of Singapore Changi Airport

Dr. Waleed Youssef accepts the Industry Hero Award on behalf of Sani Şener

Prof. Rigas Doganis receives the GAD Contributor Award

60 Seconds with...Robert Sinclair of Bristol Airport

Robert Sinclair, CEO of Bristol Airport joins us ahead of GAD 2013 to talk passenger experience, airport-airline relations and upcoming changes in the industry.
 
Robert will be a panellist in the Regional Airports Roundtable session on Wednesday 6th November, as part of the 20th Annual Global Airport Development Conference, Nice, 5 - 9 November 2013.

What is the most important thing you are working on this year?
Planning permission is in place for development which will enable Bristol Airport to handle 10 million passengers per annum (from six million today). It’s a long-term vision which comprises 30 separate projects. We are currently working on the next piece of the jigsaw - a new central walkway to reduce congestion in the departure lounge and provide improved boarding facilities for airlines. We are also seeing passenger numbers return to record levels, so we are starting to re-orientate the business back to more of a growth phase.

The last few years have seen a big focus on the passenger experience across the industry – where are best returns on this investment to be found? 
We have focused on keeping the passenger experience as speedy and stress-free as possible, investing in additional security search channels and a second immigration point to address these potential bottlenecks in the airport journey. Providing services for business travellers is also important. That is why our new Aspire Lounge is 50 per cent bigger than the previous facility, with a much improved product for passengers. Our airlines recognise the level of investment in Airport facilities and that gives them confidence to expand their own capacity at Bristol. 

Where has progress been made in airport-airline relations and what continues to give you the biggest headaches?
Our strategy is to maintain a balanced portfolio of airlines across the low-cost, full-service and charter sectors to ensure the best possible range of services for passengers. The challenge is to reconcile the long-term vision required to build new infrastructure with the volatility of the airline industry. We invest a lot of time in building and maintaining strong relationships which help both parties to plan confidently for the future. We also take a very methodical approach to route development – making sure there is a sustainable market for our airlines.

What market trends are having the biggest impact on your business?
The introduction of new technology to the check in and security processes continues to change the dynamics of the passenger journey and, in turn, the way we plan and develop new facilities. New technology is also enabling us to engage far more directly with passengers.

Tell us about something innovative your airport has done recently . . .
Earlier this year Bristol Airport became the first in the UK to achieve WorldHost Recognised Business status. WorldHost is a world-class customer service programme and was used to train volunteers at the London 2013 Olympics. Hundreds of our team have already completed training, and the aim is for everyone in a customer-facing role to go through the process.  

What do you predict will be the biggest changes in the industry in the long term (10+ years)?
New aircraft technology will not only bring environmental benefits, it could also be a game changer for regional airports. Increased range capability and reduced fuel consumption will make more new routes viable, enabling airlines to consider alternatives to congested and expensive hub airports.

 
Robert Sinclair joined Bristol Airport as CEO in 2008, bringing a broad range of airport management and general business experience with him to the role. Since joining Bristol, Robert has worked with his senior management team to lead the business through the recession in the UK, achieving passenger growth, delivering improved airport facilities and services and securing the planning application to significantly expand the airport. Prior to his role at Bristol Airport, Robert was CFO at Auckland Airport.

Follow GAD 2013 on Twitter @GAirportD, using #GAD13 to track all event discussion.

 

The GAD Awards - Honouring 20 Years of Achievement in Airport Privatisation

As you may know, the Global Airport Development (GAD) conference turns 20 this year! To mark the occasion, we are celebrating some of the industry’s biggest achievements over the last two decades with our brand new GAD Awards.

Nominations close on Friday 18 October, so make sure that you have made yours!

Making a nomination is quick and easy:  

·        Click on the link below

·   Tell us who you are nominating and in a few brief sentences why

·        You can nominate in as many or as few categories as you like

·        Nominations close at 5pm UK time on Friday 18 October and the winners will then be chosen from a shortlist by the audience live at GAD 2013

The categories are:

The Deal Of The Decade Award 

For the airport transaction that holds the most significance for the GAD audience, as the most successful, innovative or the deal which overcame the highest hurdles in the last decade

The Value-Add Award

For the investor or operator discerned by the GAD audience as delivering the most impressive post-acquisition value-add, exemplifying the best of what private enterprise can bring to the industry 

The Industry Partner Award

For the advisor recognised by the GAD audience as a market leader and a provider of consistent expertise to the industry over the years

The Airport Innovation Award

For the airport or operator admired by the GAD audience for its innovation, having made real progress in innovation and providing inspiration to the industry

The Industry Hero(ine) Award

For the airport leader distinguished by the GAD audience as having delivered outstanding performance by maintaining a clear vision and coherent strategy through thick and think

Click here to submit your nominations today!

To find out more about GAD 2013 (4-7 November, Nice), visit our website.

60 seconds with...Michael Garvens of Cologne Bonn Airport

In the first of our '60 Second Interview' series we hear from Michael Garvens, Chairman of the Management Board at Cologne Bonn Airport. Discover Michael's thoughts on what market trends are impacting on the airport business, and what changes he predicts for the industry over the next 10 years.

Michael will be taking part in a Regional Airports Roundtable panel discussion at GAD 2013 in Nice, 4-7 November. 

What is the most important thing you are working on this year?

Due to the market weakness of Air Berlin we restructured our passenger airline customer portfolio. We have structured our business on a broader basis. On the one hand we captured with SunExpress another new home base carrier, on the other hand we acquired new airlines such as Ryanair and Norwegian.

The last few years have seen a big focus on the passenger experience across the industry – where are best returns on this investment to be found?

As an airport with mainly European connections we strongly compete with other modes of transport such as high-speed trains. In order to strengthen our competitive position, we have focused on the acceleration of all ground processes. We have adopted automatic check-in and tripled the capacity of security checkpoints.

Where has progress been made in airport-airline relations and what continues to give you the biggest headaches?

The joint development of the new and Cologne based airline brand “Germanwings”, under which Lufthansa will now concentrate their overall decentralised European network. What gives me still a headache are the distortions of competition caused by the dumping price policy of loss making regional airports.

What market trends are having the biggest impact on your business?

The airline consolidation and the national passenger tax put our business on the brakes.

Tell us about something innovative your airport has done recently....

Cologne Bonn Airport offers its passengers a free wireless network around the clock.

What do you predict will be the biggest changes in the industry in the long term (10+ years)?

Our industry is so volatile, that forecasts over a longer period of time are not possible. But we do believe that the low-cost carriers will further displace legacy carriers from their decentralized European networks.

What is your favourite destination that you fly to and why?

Mauritius, because it is the paradise on earth.

Michael Garvens has been Chairman of the Management Board of Cologne Bonn Airport since February 2002. Before obtaining the position as CEO of GlobeGround Berlin he has been associated with the Lufthansa Group in different positions for over 10 years. Amongst others, he was employed by Lufthansa Airport and Ground Services as CEO in Friedrichshafen and Leipzig.

 

Michael Garvens serves as Vice-President of the Cologne Chamber of Industry and Commerce and is a member of the Board of Trustees at Cologne University of Applied Sciences. He sits at the Advisory Boards of HDI Gerling and Deutsche Bank and is deputy Chairman of the Advisory Council of Lufthansa Consulting GmbH.

To hear more from Michael Garvens at GAD 2013, register for the event here.

For more updates from GAD, make sure you're following @GAirportD on Twitter. 
 

Nominations for the GAD Awards are now open

In an exciting new addition to GAD 2013 in Nice this November, we are thrilled to be presenting 'The GAD Awards - Honouring 20 Years of Achievement in Airport Privatisation'. The GAD Awards will be presented at a Gala Dinner for GAD 2013 attendees, to be held on Tuesday 5 November at the stunning Negresco Hotel, Nice.

 

The Hotel Negresco - CC Image courtesy of ExperienceLA on Flickr

The Award categories are:

• Deal of the Decade Award - For the airport transaction that holds the most significance for the GAD audience, as the most successful, innovative or the deal which overcame the highest hurdles in the last decade
• Value-Add Award - For the investor or operator discerned by the GAD audience as delivering the most impressive post-acquisition value-add, exemplifying the best of what private enterprise can bring to the industry
• Industry Partner Award - For the advisor recognised by the GAD audience as a market leader and a provider of consistent expertise to the industry over the years
• Airport Innovation Award - For the airport or operator admired by the GAD audience for its innovation, having made real progress in innovation and providing inspiration to the industry
• Industry Hero(ine) Award - For the airport leader distinguished by the GAD audience as having delivered outstanding performance by maintaining a clear vision and coherent strategy through thick and thin.

 

Click here to see the award categories and make your nominations!

Nominations close Friday 18th October and winners will be chosen from a shortlist by the audience at GAD 2013. We look forward to seeing you there!

Make sure you're following GAD on Twitter at @GAirportD for the latest event news and industry interviews.

Airport Transactions Signal Strengthening Market : Andy Carlisle

In our first guest post, Andy Carlisle of LeighFisher reviews recent sales and valuations in the airport market. Andy will be speaking at GAD 2013 as part of the '20 Years of Airport Privatisation' series.

By Andy Carlisle, Managing Director, LeighFisher

With the recent activity in the market from sales of Hochtief and Abertis airport assets and the recent ANA Portuguese airports and Stansted transactions, it is worthwhile reviewing recent valuations in the market.

Before the financial crisis of 2008, airport valuations were on a seemingly unstoppable upward trajectory. EBITDA multiples of around 12-18 times between 2000-2004 rose to a peak between 2005 and 2008 of 20-30 times with the sales of London City, Exeter and Budapest. While EV/EBITDA multiples in themselves are not a reliable indicator of asset value, it does provide a useful barometer on the market.

Such valuations were driven both by an increasing appetite for airport infrastructure from funds and a general perception of lack of pipeline. Classic supply and demand laws drove prices up, supported by market forecasts that had seemingly forgotten to build in downside risk.

The global financial crisis inevitably led to a market adjustment, and a period of enforced deleveraging was combined with a re-appraisal of airports as pure infrastructure muted valuations.  Between 2008 and 2010 multiples returned to around 10-13 times EBITDA. The case of Gatwick perhaps illustrates well how the restrictions on the availability of debt and capital (more than appetite) potentially impacted valuation.

However, since 2011 we have seen a number of transactions which have traded at much stronger multiples - although in each case there are a number of extenuating circumstances which suggests while stronger, the market is unlikely to return to the heady days of 2006/07.

In the case of Edinburgh, the strength of the asset - boasting the relative scarcity value of a capital city airport, strong inbound market and no formal regulation in a stable UK market - helped to deliver a near 16 times EBTDA multiple.

For the ANA Portuguese airports, the opportunity which the winning bidder, Vinci, saw in becoming a major operator player through the unique chance to own an entire European country’s airport system seemingly drove the over €3bn purchase price and over 15 times multiple. This is perhaps best illustrated by the significant gap to the second and third bidders.

Finally, at Stansted, MAG paid close to 16 times EBITDA multiple and above the Regulated Asset Base valuation. In the context of other UK transactions (Edinburgh and Newcastle) in 2012, this is perhaps not surprising especially when combined with the ability to access the long term resilience of the London market.  Whilst there are short term performance challenges, the long term potential is clear and MAG developed a strategy and funding package to address both.

The recent sales of Hochtief, Luton and the Abertis assets shows the market retains its enthusiasm for a broad range of airport assets and although the pipeline remains sporadic the deal has to be right to succeed.  The recent failure of the second Midway transaction highlights that along with the aborted Hochtief and AENA sales in 2011.  In 2013/14, there are further potential transactions ranging from the second round of Brazilian privatisations, AENA IPO, potential sales in India and some of the residual HAHL assets. Each has a range of unique characteristics, vendor motivations and economic circumstances that make generic views on valuation somewhat redundant.

Ultimately, the value of any asset is dependent on the fundamentals of the business, its regulation and ownership structure.  The more conservative funding arrangements now in place should help to ensure valuations remain prudent.  However the interplay of the vendor motivation and the competitive bidding dynamic will inevitably drive prices higher in some circumstances. While the overall market has rebounded and funds now have excess capital, perceived quality increasingly drives a price premium, whereas weaker, perceived riskier assets may struggle to achieve a sale at all.  

Ultimately in any transaction there need to be two willing parties with aligned interest and a mutual view on value. So while bidder appetite is back to or even above pre-crisis levels, the market remains largely rational in its valuation of airport assets.

 

This post was originally shared on the LeighFisher Global Outlook website.

 

Andy Carlisle heads the aviation team in London and (re)joined LeighFisher in 2012. With more than 20 years in the transport sector, Andy has advised airport management, shareholders, lenders, and investors in assignments and transactions around the world. 

 

You can hear more from Andy at GAD 2013 - The 20th Annual Global Airport Development Conference in Nice, France, from 4 - 7 November.

 

Keep up to date with the latest event news and offers, follow @GAirportD on Twitter.

 

Welcome to the GAD blog!

GAD was first held in Copenhagen in 1994 and has been held annually in different European cities ever since, making the 2013 event our 20th. As such, it is the longest running and most prestigious airport development and finance event in the world.

Right from the very start, GAD attracted the most senior airport operators and has grown to become the established date in the industry calendar, attracting over 300 attendees annually.

Our new blog is a great place for you to gather the latest views from the industry and is aimed at bridging the information and networking gap between our conferences.

Through this blog, we will keep you updated on our latest research, industry and event news. We invite you to comment on our articles and share your views. If you would like to be a guest columnist please contact Sarah Kelly at sarah.kelly@informa.com. If you would like to speak at one of our events, please contact Heidi Stancliffe at heidi.stancliffe@informa.com.

To find out more about GAD please visit our website. You can also follow us on Twitter @GAirportD for the latest industry news and updates.