Birketts advises on £7m deal to expand Norwich airport

Top 100 law firm Birketts has advised Norwich Airport, a keystone of the regional economy, on a deal to invest £7m in to a new hangar and workshop facilities for KLM UK Engineering.

As well as acting as the headquarters for KLM UK Engineering for over 40 years, Norwich Airport supports a number of other highly successful businesses including Satys Air Livery UK and Saxonair, and serves as a key hub for the oil and gas industry.

The deal will see the construction of a 15,000 sq ft workshop and 54,000 sq ft hangar and will cement KLM UK Engineering’s reputation as one of Norwich’s foremost employers, with 390 staff.

Although KLM UK Engineering currently has five heavy maintenance bays across three hangars, the expansion project, planned for completion by August 2020, is set increase the company’s capacity providing aircraft maintenance and repair services to customers worldwide, including the larger next generation of aircraft.

The construction of a new hangar also means that Satys Air Livery UK Ltd can take on the hangar vacated by KLM UK Engineering. This will consolidate Norwich as the head office of the Aftermarket and VIP Painting Division of the Satys Group, and the largest place in Europe for repainting narrow body aircraft, with four hangars in total.

The Birketts team acting on this transaction included Bhargav Trivedi and Kristian Nelson (Commercial Property).

Managing Director of Norwich Airport, Richard Pace commented: “This deal is a significant milestone in Norwich Airport’s strategy of creating a global aviation centre of excellence and underlines KLM UK Engineering’s long-term commitment to the region. I’d like to thank Bhargav and the commercial property team at Birketts for all their support.”

Bhargav Trivedi, leading Partner at Birketts, said: “This was another successful transaction which ably demonstrated Birketts’ commercial expertise in relation to this important strategic development at Norwich Airport.  We were pleased to support Norwich Airport, a crucial part of the regional economy, with this expansion.  As the new hangar and workshop facilities are likely to provide an unprecedented opportunity for growth against the backdrop of a booming industry, I have no doubt that this is a significant milestone for all involved.”