Trust acquires assets in multimillion-pound deal

The Arora Family Trust (AFT) has completed the acquisition of a portfolio of assets from Airport Property Partnership (APP), a joint venture between BAA and clients of Morley Fund Management.

Some £236 million was paid for a collection of 30 properties, while a further three currently being built are expected to complete in the autumn for £73 million.

According to Surinder Arora, chairman of Arora International Hotels and whose family are beneficiaries of AFT, the deal is a "significant asset consolidation" and will bolster plans for UK airports.

Mark Manners, property director of Arora Management Services, whose team who acted for the AFT, added: "We are very pleased that in the current climate and with the credit crunch almost daily in the news, we have been successful in assisting the directors of the AFT to raise finance to complete a property transaction of this size."

Funding for the portfolio, which comprises commercial investments and development sites at BAA airports, was secured through Bank of Ireland Corporate Banking, Abbey National Treasury Services and AIB Group.

Some 1,700 aircraft take off each day from BAA's seven UK airports, which offer more than one million square feet of commercial accommodation for retailers.

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