Mansfield's airport makes over €3m

Weston Aerodrome was greatly improved during the boom years

A BRITISH investor looks set to purchase Weston Executive Airport near Lucan in west Dublin in the first of a series of sales of distressed property assets held by the Citywest businessman Jim Mansfield.

The investor is understood to have offered well in excess of the guide price of €3 million for what is Ireland’s busiest private airfield.

The sale is expected to be concluded in the coming weeks, according to Mark Reynolds of selling agent Savills.

Meanwhile, Knight Frank has reported strong interest from a range of overseas buyers in another Mansfield asset, the 668-acre Palmerstown House estate and golf course at Johnstown, which has a guide price of over €12 million. Robert Ganly said yesterday the country club sale had attracted enquiries from the US, United Arab Emirates, Russia, the UK and Ireland and his agency was now in “active discussions with a number of parties”.

Both the airport and the country club are being sold on the instructions of Kieran Wallace of KPMG who was appointed receiver by Nama. The State agency secured a €74 million liability order against Mansfield last October and since then Bank of Scotland obtained €214 million summary judgment orders against him arising from his personal guarantees of debts of various firms he controlled.

Weston Executive Airport traded exceptionally well during the boom years when many successful business executives and a surprisingly large number of property developers acquired private jets and helicopters. Most of the aircraft have since been sold on.

In 2006 the airport had a turnover of €3 million and more than 80,000 aircraft movements. By 2010, this figure had dropped to 50,000 and although the decline has continued since then, the airport is almost managing to break even. The facility has a considerable number of aviation tenants including a professional and private flight training business.

Weston takes pride in the fact that it can offer the owners of corporate jets landing and storage charges which are no more than 10 per cent of the fees charged by the Dublin Airport Authority.

Weston Aerodrome has been trading since 1931. Mansfield’s initial success at Citywest led him to acquire the airfield in the early 2000s for about €4.5 million. He later bought additional lands to bring the overall airfield up to 256 acres. He also upgraded and extended the 2,000m tarmac runway and developed two hangers as well as a control tower and terminal building.