GEC has sold Magec Aviation to UK corporate- aircraft charter and management company Lynton Group, ending more than five months of speculation over the fixed-based operator's future. Completion is expected within 30 days.
The UK defence-electronics and power-engineering company began looking for buyers for Magec in July, following its decision to dispense of its London Luton Airport-based corporate-aviation business. "We are going through a restructuring process, and we are getting rid of a range of businesses that are not core to what we do," says GEC. The cost of the acquisition has not been disclosed.
Lynton Aviation, which has operations in the UK at Denham and at its US base at Morristown, New Jersey, has no plans to change Magec's aircraft maintenance, handling and chartering aircraft management business. "It's working fine at the moment, but in two years' time, who knows," says Lynton's UK chief executive, Christopher Tennant. "We bought the company so that we could control a substantial number of movements in the London area," he adds.
Magec, which also has a small operation at London City Airport, is responsible for handling about 95% of all corporate-jet movements at Luton, the UK's busiest business-aviation airport.
Source: Flight International
