Bristol advisers agree £15 million Biggin Hill Airport funding deal

Advisers from the Bristol offices of accountancy, investment management and tax group, Smith & Williamson, and HSBC have agreed a £15 million funding package for one of the UK’s fastest growing business aviation centres.
London Biggin Hill Airport is using the funding to construct an additional 140,000 sq ft office, hangar and business aircraft parking facility and a 50-bed four star hotel to meet growing demand for visiting aircraft and access to the airport’s many world-class aerospace businesses.
The Bristol-based corporate finance team at Smith & Williamson, which has a longstanding relationship with the airport, introduced HSBC to London Biggin Hill which is home to around 65 aviation and aerospace businesses, including Bombardier Business Aircraft, employing more than 1,000 people.

Iain Lownes, a partner at Smith & Williamson in Bristol, who helped project-manage the funding deal between HSBC and London Biggin Hill, said: “Bristol is increasingly being recognised as a major hub for financial services and professional advisory firms. With the city recently named the best place to live in Britain, businesses from across the UK are increasingly drawn to Bristol, recognising the calibre of advice and services available here as demonstrated by this deal and many others. We were very pleased to work with HSBC and to advise Biggin Hill on its exciting expansion plans. This fundraising will enable the airport to consolidate its position as a centre of excellence for aviation-led economic growth.”
James Shepherd, Area Director in HSBC’s Bristol, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire Corporate Banking team, commented: “London Biggin Hill Airport is an ambitious business with plans to build more hangar capacity and house internationally recognised engineering and maintenance companies. Our experience of funding significant development projects like this helped us put a competitive and flexible finance package in place that has enabled work to start at the airport straight away. We look forward to watching the project as it progresses and continuing our relationship with the airport team.”
Will Curtis, Managing Director at London Biggin Hill Airport said: “With the support of our corporate finance advisers at Smith & Williamson, we went through a rigorous selection process to make sure we had the right partner in place to help fund the next stage in our development. HSBC understood our business model and were genuinely supportive of our plans, backed by a competitive and flexible finance package.”
The funding package will also help meet ambitious employment targets of 2,300 new jobs by 2030 set by the airport and The London Borough of Bromley.