Due-Diligence Audit of Leeds Bradford Airport and Newcastle International Airport
Pell Frischmann was commissioned by York Aviation LLP, on behalf of the Spanish airport group Aena Internacional, to conduct an Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) review of Leeds Bradford Airport (LBA) and Newcastle International Airport (NIAL) as part of a pre-acquisition due-diligence audit. The wider project team included lawyers, management accountants and specialist aviation advisors who undertook different aspects of audit and assisted Aena Internacional in their bid structure and investment decision.
Leeds Bradford and Newcastle airports handled around 9.5 million passengers in 2024 and are forecast to grow rapidly over the next decade and beyond. Both airports have recently published Master Plans which envisage upgrading and expanding their terminal buildings and airside and landside infrastructure, including investing in renewable energy and other initiatives to help decarbonise their operations and minimise impacts on the environment.
What we did
The primary objective of the ESG review was to assess how effectively LBA and NIAL manage the environment, social and governance factors that are critical to their longer-term operational success and growth plans. In doing so, we benchmarked this performance against Aena’s own ambitious corporate policies, as well as national and international standards, policy and legislation.
Our role also involved identifying and evaluating potential environmental liabilities that could arise through the initial investment and longer-term management of both airports, including compliance with existing planning permissions, conditions and environmental permits.
About this project
Location
York, UK
Client
York Aviation LLP and Aena Internacional
Partners
Name(s)
Year
2025
Auditing
The ESG Audit Reports were completed in November 2025 and covered a very wide range of ESG factors, including:
- Climate change resilience planning;
- Limiting aircraft noise and other environmental impacts;
- Remediation of historic contamination;
- Energy efficiency and on-site renewable energy;
- Measures to reduce waste
- Water and natural resources;
- Biodiversity;
- Social sustainability (e.g. EDI);
- Community investment and relations;
- Other ESG initiatives
Outcomes
The audit included a detailed review of documentation provided by the Vendor, site visits and interviews with key staff at both airports. Our findings fed into the overall operational and financial valuation of the airports and informed Aena Internacional’s decision on whether to proceed with the acquisition. In addition, we recommended both physical mitigation and management initiatives which could ameliorate ESG risks and bring the airports up to ‘best practice’ standards, including quantifying OPEX (operating expenditure) and CAPEX (capital expenditure) investment plans for the future.
Following the successful conclusion of the due-diligence phase, Aena Internacional signed a Sale and Purchase Agreement (SPA) in December 2025 to acquire 51% of the newly formed holding company owning 49% of Newcastle International Airport (NIAL) and 100% of Leeds Bradford Airport (LBA) for £270 million. With this transaction, Aena Internacional is reinforcing its position in the UK aviation market, where it already manages London Luton Airport and holds a majority stake.
“This is the second project that we have completed for Aena Internacional, working in close collaboration with our consultancy partners at York Aviation. Aena employs world-leading standards of sustainable airport management, social and corporate governance, and so we were delighted to have been selected to advise them on this due-diligence commission. Our dedicated project team worked tirelessly over a 3-month period, assimilating and processing a raft of information on the two airports and benchmarking this against UK standards and Aena’s own policies, concluding with the preparation of a comprehensive ESG report. The Client praised our proactive approach and the quality of advice throughout this exercise and the contribution we made to the eventual successful transaction“
David Thomson, our Environment & Sustainability Sector Director,
