Alpha Airport signs £800m contract extension with Manchester airport

In-flight caterer and airport retailer Alpha Airports has entered into 10-year extension contract with Manchester airport, a deal thought to be worth £800m.

The contract, which forms part of Manchester airport’s redevelopment, will include the delivery of tax free retail services in all of its three terminals.

It comes just weeks after the company relisted on the London Stock Exchange after a probe into a deal with Icelandic charter airline Excel Airways.

The 10-year contract will see Alpha Airports make an £8m capital investment, which will include the doubling of the retail space at terminal one to 22,000sq ft.

Separately Alpha Airport has announced “encouraging” interim results for the six months to 31 July. The company reported a 3.8% rise in turnover to £278.9m, while pre-tax profits before exceptional items increased by 33.9% to £8.3m.

Alpha Airport chairman Peter Williams said in a statement: “Exceptional costs of ₤4.1m were mainly related to the events earlier this year that led to the share suspension and subsequent investigation, and redundancies that took place as part of a restructuring of airport services.”

Pretax profit after the exceptional was £4.2m.

Earlier this year the company said there was doubt over whether a major contract with Excel Airways, which began in October 2005, was a genuine transaction.

Trading in its shares was suspended when accountant PricewaterhouseCoopers refused to sign off its accounts for 2005 due to the irregularity.

Alpha Airports rejoins London Stock Market >> 

Top directors at airline caterer Alpha Airports resign >>
 
By Kerstin Kühn

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