Stobart Group Limited London Southend Airport agreement with Ryanair (2676R)

TIDMSTOB

RNS Number : 2676R

Stobart Group Limited

13 June 2018

13 June 2018

Stobart Group Limited

("Stobart Group" or the "Company")

London Southend Airport announces five-year agreement with Ryanair

Stobart Group, which invests in, owns and operates infrastructure assets, is pleased to announce a new partnership with leading low-cost airline Ryanair, listed on the London Stock Exchange as Ryanair Holdings plc.

This five-year agreement, extendable to ten, and agreed on our standard commercial terms, will see Ryanair make a $300 million investment by opening a new base at London Southend Airport. As a result, Ryanair will operate three planes out of Stobart Group's London Southend Airport from Summer 2019, providing 13 routes to eight European countries, and will include six new destinations.

Destinations will include Alicante, Barcelona Reus, Bilbao, Brest, Corfu, Cluj, Dublin, Faro, Kosice, Malaga, Milan Bergamo, Palma and Venice.

Ryanair will operate over 55 weekly flights, creating 750 "on-site" jobs per year. This agreement will enable the airport to welcome at least one million additional passengers in the first year and in excess of five million in the first five years.

David O'Brien, Chief Commercial Officer of Ryanair, said: "We are pleased to add London Southend Airport to our UK base network. Ryanair guests travelling to and from London and the Essex area can now enjoy low fares on a choice of 13 routes through London Southend's exceptionally passenger friendly terminal.

"Southend Airport's train station will deliver direct services from the terminal to London Liverpool St and also the new Crossrail service (opening in 2019), making the airport even more accessible from all parts of London."

Warwick Brady, CEO of Stobart Group, said: "We are delighted to welcome Ryanair, Europe's favourite airline, and its customers to London Southend Airport. It is now the UK's fasting growing airport following a 29% increase in passenger numbers over the last year.

"Passengers are increasingly turning to London Southend Airport amid the capacity crisis found elsewhere in the capital, where holidaymakers and business travellers face frustration from overcrowded airports.

"In contrast, London Southend Airport offers an excellent, efficient passenger experience, and we are delighted that this is becoming increasingly recognised, demonstrated by the tremendous momentum within our Aviation division.

"We have a clear and focused strategy to grow our airport in order to welcome five million passengers a year by 2022. This long-term partnership agreement with a leading airline such as Ryanair will help us achieve that aim. Since joining Stobart Group over 12 months ago I have been working closely alongside the team at London Southend Airport to secure a major airline that will allow us to deliver on our growth targets. This agreement demonstrates that we now have the right team, skill set and strategy in place to deliver on our stated ambitions."

Enquiries:

 
Stobart Group Limited                    C/o Redleaf Communications 
 Warwick Brady, Chief Executive Officer 
Redleaf Communications                   [phone] 
 Charlie Geller                           [e-mail] 
 Robin Tozer 
 

Notes to Editors

About London Southend Airport

London Southend Airport is an established airport serving business and leisure passengers flying across Europe. The airport has a dedicated railway station, with up to eight train services an hour offering direct links to London Liverpool Street (51 minutes). Once here, passengers can typically go from plane to train in 15 minutes, with the airport just 100 paces from the train station. We offer an average 5-minute check in with passengers spending three minutes going through security on average.

About the Ryanair route destinations

13 new routes: Alicante (5 weekly), Barcelona Reus (2 weekly), Bilbao (4 weekly), Brest (2 weekly), Corfu (2 weekly), Cluj (3 weekly), Dublin (2 daily), Faro (5 weekly), Kosice (3 weekly), Malaga (5 weekly), Milan Bergamo (4 weekly), Palma (4 weekly) & Venice (4 weekly).

About Stobart Group

Stobart Group is one of the UK's leading infrastructure and support service businesses operating in the renewable energy, aviation and rail and civil engineering sectors, and has investments in a national property and logistics portfolio.

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June 13, 2018 06:00 ET (10:00 GMT)