Two critical meetings will help decide the future of Gloucestershire Airport as we know it
As the local authority owners of Gloucestershire Airport prepare to meet behind closed doors to discuss its sale, Raikes learns of a second significant meeting that could determine its real future.
Dear reader,
Today we revisit the saga that is the sale of Gloucestershire Airport, again, the reportedly £25 million-plus deal which could see the public asset transfer ownership to a private company.
It’s a deal that has caused considerable unrest, not least among the businesses on the site - many of which have invested millions of pounds in their operations.
We’ve had the various statements we include below from the joint owners, Gloucester City Council and Cheltenham Borough Council, for a while now and have just been waiting for the right moment. It seems like that’s now.
What prompted the article was the news that tomorrow (Wednesday) a meeting is expected to take place which will see those in the know at the local authorities inform their councillors just what is afoot (you can find out more about that via the link below).
Add into that news that representatives from a group of businesses on the 350-acre site, is due to meet with the proposed new owners next week, telling Raikes that if things don’t go well there could be an exodus from the site.
And top that off with a letter seen by some of those businesses which appears to show the deal is all but done, and you have a heady mix.
No one really seems to doubt the sale of the financially troubled airport is needed. What still seems to loom over it all is the question, ‘what are the safeguards to ensure Gloucestershire residents, who own the airport, will not be sold short if a new owner decides to push to redevelop the site?’.
Best regards,
Andrew Merrell (editor).
Your briefing notes…
🛬 Public likely to be barred from Gloucestershire Airport council meeting: Those wanting a clearer view of what is happening with the controversial sale of Gloucestershire Airport are unlikely to get it this week, after the public and media were barred from a key meeting. The site, which is owned by Gloucester City Council and Cheltenham Borough Council, was put up for sale in October 2025 with a guide price of £25 million. But after Horizon Aer Group was named as the preferred bidder speculation has been rife over its future with the councils left fighting a media storm. That meeting, due to take place tomorrow (8 October 2025). Read the main story below.
📈 Record year: Award-winning Cotswolds holiday home rentals business, StayCotswold, said a sharp uptake in bookings from American visitors had resulted in a record trading period. The Stow-on-the-Wold-based business arrivals increased 23 per cent from June to August on the previous year, and forward bookings were up 28 per cent. Gross booking value is now forecast to be more than 20 per cent higher than the previous 12 months, which saw it achieve a £11.3 million turnover. In the current financial year the Gloucestershire-based business added more than 20 properties to its portfolio, taking the number to 275.
🎉 Hazlewoods, the Gloucestershire-headquartered accountants, has been named one of the best boutique financial advisors in the UK. The firm, which has offices in Staverton and Cheltenham, has been included in the FT Advisors inaugural Top 50 Boutique Financial Advisors list. The list recognises companies with 10 or fewer registered advisers who have grown their businesses and client base over the past 12 months. Apparently the report evaluates firms based on gross sales, client and staff retention, length of service and chartered or certified status. More here.
Charity of the week: Community Connexions
Community Connexions, which provides pre-booked transport for vulnerable people of all ages in the county, is celebrating winning a significant donation from the National Lottery Fund. The charity said the £20,000 was for its Better Connexions project, which is all about improving away-from-home opportunities for people across Gloucestershire living with physical disabilities, mental health conditions or who struggle to participate in community activities. Paul Riddick, its chief executive officer, said he was “delighted” with the news. Community Connexions has been running for over 35 years, offering door-to-door services and relies on volunteer drivers to make its services possible.
If you know a charity that you would like to see featured here, if your business is helping support or raise money for one, please do contact us. Email andrew.merrell@raikesjournal.co.uk.
Wednesday:
Gloucester BID, the significant group of cuity centre businesses, is staging a meeting of its retailers today from 9.30am to 11am at Primark in Eastgate Street. More here.
Thursday:
WSP Solicitors is hosting another of its quarterley not-for-profit Stroud Business Social events from 4.30pm at The Stroud Hotel. More here.
Your killer offering: Craft a magnetic offer to attract your dream clients. Learn how to transform your business’s viability with this workshop due to take place at The Growth Hub in Stroud from 9.30am to 12.30pm this morning. More here.
And further into October...
The University of Gloucestershire is hosting a free public lecture on 8 October 2025, where leading economist Professor Malcolm Prowle will look at why the UK struggles to achieve economic growth. More here.
Gloucestershire Tech Week: Cyber security and technology community, CyNam, has revealed its global line-up for the Secure Futures Series – a week-long programme from 13 to 17 of October.
Part of the above Tech Week... founders and leaders from the cyber world share how Gloucestershire’s unique ecosystem helped them grow sustainably through support, community, and connection. More here.
There is a charity starlight 10k hike in aid of Sue Ryder due to take place on 18 October from 6pm, starting from Ashley Manor Preparatory School (GL52 6NR). More here.
Willans LLP solicitors is due to stage a special seminar - Real Estate unlocked: from lease terms to litigation seminar - on October 23. More here.
*The Raikes Journal is the only independent news outlet in Gloucestershire approved to use the copy of the BBC local government reporting service.
* It is a digital magazine and community interest company whose supporters believe, like us, that journalism about Gloucestershire is worth keeping alive. Everything you read here - original stories about our county - is made possible by our incredible Founding Partners: QuoLux, Willans LLP, Gloucestershire College, Merrell People and Randall & Payne; our sponsors, Founding Members and wonderful paying subscribers.
If you upgrade to paid you’ll be part of this CIC too. We’re dedicated to championing the county, its businesses, charities, education and training providers, and to creating an even stronger community. And you’ll be able to see past the paywalls often put on our 2cnd and 3rd email editions of the week, that lock our archive and our Top 100 Businesses in Gloucestershire series. You’ll be able to comment on our stories too.
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Two critical meetings will help decide the future of Gloucestershire Airport as we know it
As the local authority owners of Gloucestershire Airport prepare to meet behind closed doors to discuss its sale, Raikes learns of a second significant meeting that could determine its future.
Ahead of a private council meeting tomorrow (8 October) over the proposed sale of Gloucestershire Airport, Raikes has seen paperwork giving little doubt that the new owner will be Horizon Aero Group.
News that the council meeting is barred to members of the public and media has only further rankled businesses on the Staverton site already up in arms about what they perceive as a lack of communication from the local authority owners.
Controversy has reigned around the sale of the public asset, for an estimated £25 mllion-plus, with some suggesting the proposed new owners are more interested in the true development value of the land, which they argue is in the region of £300 million-plus.
But while all eyes are on Wednesday’s closed council meeting to update councillors about the sale, there is another significant meeting in the diary too.
Representatives from the business community on the 340-acre site are due to meet with the preferred bidders, Horizon Aero Group, next week as they bid to better understand the firm’s motivation and plans.
“I am afraid the process so far has only filled us with mistrust,” said Stuart Vincent, managing director of RGV Aviation Limited, which employs 35 staff at the Staverton site.
Mr Vincent also a representative of some of the key businesses on the site.
The Raikes Journal put it to Gloucester City Council and Cheltenham Borough Council that busineses felt decidedly uninformed about what was going on and had lost all confidence in any statement publicly reassuring them the airport’s future was safe.
A council statement said, “In terms of communications with current businesses on the site, we understand there has been full and regular information provided to them about the progress of the sale by senior members of the airport team.”
Mr Vincent said: “We have had no communication about the process whatsoever.
“It got to the point where our solicitor wrote to the airport four weeks ago asking for communication, and we have heard nothing. They have not responded.
“Other businesses are equally frustrated. There is no confidence in the process. I think if one business moves (from the airport to a new home) there will be a cascade of businesses going.”
The council statement announcing the sale and the choice of preferred bidder said: “While the sale to Horizon Aero Limited is progressing, it is important to note that it is not yet complete,” said the statement from the local authorities.
“As previously stated, due diligence and legal processes are taking place - and as such, there are strict limitations on the information that cannot be publicly disclosed at this stage.
“What can be confirmed, however, is that the sale will be subject to robust measures and controls, including covenants against housing development on any part of the site, ensuring that the airport is not bought for speculative land investment.”
The sale of the airport has been handled for the councils by corporate advisers, Savills UK, Cheltenham-based BPE Solicitors LLP and Gloucestershire-based Hazlewoods accountants.
Raikes has seen a letter sent to airport staff which said: “Following our previous communications, we would like to confirm we are approaching the end of the due diligence and point of sale.
“It is probable that Gloucester Airport will be acquired by Horizon (Aero Group). The decision has been made after considerable time and is the best decision for the long-term growth of the airport.”
The sale, said the letter, was likely to be completed by the end of the year and all jobs at Gloucestershire Airport Ltd, which runs the airport, would be safe.
In a statement to Raikes, the council reiterated its earlier messages.
“Gloucester City Council and Cheltenham Borough Council remain firmly committed to safeguarding the future of Gloucestershire Airport as an operational and strategic asset for the region.
“Our aim is to ensure the airport continues to play a vital role as a dynamic aviation-based commercial hub, and we fully support the growth of existing businesses on site, alongside new enterprises.”
The councils jointly dismiss the idea as plainly wrong that the true value of the site, if sold for development, would be £300m-plus.
“What can be confirmed, however, is that the sale will be subject to robust measures and controls, including covenants against housing development on any part of the site, ensuring that the airport is not bought for speculative land investment.
“In the light of this, recent speculation circulating on social media and in some media outlets regarding the site’s value is not only inaccurate – it is misleading.
“The fact is that the majority of the undeveloped land lies within the designated Green Belt and any such hypothetical development would cost many millions of pounds in access, infrastructure and servicing costs.”
Raikes asked the council if these covenants would include what is called an “overage clause”, which would deliver a fee to the local authorities should the land ever be sold for redevelopment. It did not reply directly to the question.
One expert who contacted Raikes told us that in theory the valuation of several hundred million pounds was not unreasonable and that “typically an ‘overage provision’ has an expiry date”.
“If there were restrictions, they are not insurmountable, but permission would need to be sought,” said the expert, who did not want to be named.
As for whether businesses will make good on their threat to leave...
“If we can’t get some kind of relationship going with the new owners we will be off. And if we go, many will follow,” said Vincent, whose business is significant for the amount of air traffic at the airport.
He has previously said he has already investigated a move to Kemble Airport, also in Gloucestershire.
“We will sit tight for six months, maybe for 12 months, to give them a chance, but then we need to make a decision.
“We are looking to invest £2.5 million into the airport, but we need to invest that money where we will get a good return. And that might turn out to be somewhere else,” said Vincent.