Mystery US investor lines up team of experts for new Waterford Airport board

Waterford Airport’s anonymous US investor has lined up a team of experts for the new airport board, a council meeting has heard. 

Fianna Fáil councillor Jason Murphy looked for an update on the airport at the December plenary meeting of Waterford City and County Council. 

Cllr Murphy noted the EGM of airport shareholders that took place at the Tower Hotel on Monday, December 8. 

He asked whether the current airport board has now been dissolved and if the council had relinquished its shares in the airport. 

In response to Cllr Murphy, Sean McKeown, Chief Executive of Waterford City and County Council, outlined what transpired at the EGM. 

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Mr McKeown said: “In relation to the airport, there will actually be two EGMs that will have to take place, the first of which took place last Monday.

“That EGM was for the shareholders to agree to the investment proposal that the elected members had agreed to on the 20th of October at the special meeting.”

There are currently 1100 shareholders and over a million shares in the Waterford Regional Airport company. 

520,000 of these shares were represented by some 97 shareholders at the recent EGM. 

Mr McKeown continued: “Of the members that were present at the meeting, 98.5% voted in favour of the investment proposal. 

“So as I said, 520,000 shares were represented, with 513,000 shares in favour and 6581 not in favour. It was carried by a huge majority. That’s the first decision, to accept the investment proposal.”

He continued by saying that the landholdings and assets of the Waterford Regional Airport company will be transferred to the newly incorporated Waterford Airport Limited.

He went on to outline the next steps in getting the airport’s investment proposal over the line. 

“That entity currently has one director, William Bolster, but that’s because the investor isn’t through the FBI clearance process that the Department of Enterprise manages. 

“We understand that will be brought about in the next couple of weeks. This will all be disclosed at the public meeting of the EGM.

“As soon as that happens, the investor intends to populate the board of the airport with expertise that he has already identified.

“William Bolster will no longer be a shareholder. He may be a director but he will not have any shareholding in the new entity. The investor will be the entire beneficial owner of the airport.”

Mr McKeown also outlined when the second EGM might take place and what is expected to happen at that meeting. 

“So a second EGM then has to happen in the next couple of months. I expect that to be in February and the second EGM will view all undertaken by the auditor appointed to liquidate the company. 

“So members follow the liquidation as opposed to a creditor liquidation. So all of the creditors, as indicated to the elected members before, will be paid. 

“Anyone who is owed money will be paid. So the liquidator will go back to the second EGM, at which the shareholders will finally dispose of all of their interests, at which point everything will transfer to the new airport company.”

Waterford Airport Ltd is registered at Ashgrove House, Newtown, with William Bolster listed as its sole director. 

The anonymous US investor is expected to enter the company once all legal contracts are signed. 

Mason Hayes & Curran, which represents the investor, previously told councillors that the investor is a “US national with significant business interests” and that they “have the financial capacity to deliver the project”.

Mr McKeown previously stated that this investor must remain anonymous unless they state otherwise.