Heathrow airport shareholders could scoop £1.5bn in dividends by 2027
Heathrow airport shareholders could rake in £1.5bn in dividends by 2027: Civil Aviation Authority predicts it will hand over massive payments to investors
Shareholders of Heathrow Airport could reap £1.5bn in dividends by 2027, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.
Industry regulator the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has predicted it will make massive payments to investors, benefiting major foreign shareholders such as the China Investment Corporation, Qatar Investment Authority and Spanish infrastructure giant Ferrovial.
The airport, currently battling strike action, paid out around £4bn in dividends between 2012 and 2020. But this sparked criticism when shareholders failed to put money into the company during the pandemic.
Prediction: Heathrow Airport shareholders could rake in £1.5bn in dividends by 2027
Since Covid, it has been at odds with airlines over passenger charges – fees to fund baggage handling, security and other costs. The dividend forecast was made in a recent CAA report on Heathrow levies.
Unite union officials have reacted furiously to the forecast, as some 1,400 security guards are walking out for three days this week following union action last month.
Sharon Graham, Unite’s general secretary, denounced what she said were “massive payouts to shareholders, while the workers who generate the dividends are paid on poverty.” Heathrow will not pay a dividend in 2023 after losing £139m in the first quarter.
A Heathrow spokesman said: “We have been trying to give colleagues a 10 per cent pay rise since January and have offered a guaranteed raise to match inflation for next year.”