The UK's two largest airports, CATWICK and HEATHROW, were looking to bolster their balance sheets last week as lockdowns across Europe threaten summer holiday plans. The duo tapped the corporate debt market ahead of a fairly dire backdrop for the transport sector this year despite the vaccine rollout. European airport traffic declined by over 78% in 2020 and the summer's prospects do not look much better. From last week, anyone travelling abroad from the UK will face a £5,000 fine in all but exceptional circumstances, while several European countries are facing increased restrictions as infections surge once more. Still, both airports were tapping a hot pre-Easter market fairly opportunistically -with investors saying that they are finding more convexity and value in the primary sector, versus an illiquid secondary market.
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