BAA in £4.5bn debts scheme

AIRPORTS operator BAA has unveiled details of a £4.5 billion plan to refinance its growing debts following negotiations with investors.

The company has asked bondholders to swap their bonds for new notes secured on Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted.

BAA, which operates seven airports including Edinburgh and Glasgow, has about £12 bn in debts after it was taken over by Ferrovial, the Spanish infrastructure group, two years ago. Ferrovial has been trying to renegotiate more favourable interest payments on £10bn of that debt for the past year.