Swissport has agreed to increase its shareholding in Heathrow Cargo Handling (HCH) to 100% from 50%, which it held in a joint venture. Swissport will now fully own this cargo handling company at one of Europe’s busiest air cargo hubs. The HCH joint venture has been providing first class cargo handling services to the world’s leading airlines at Heathrow since 1995.
The HCH acquisition enables Swissport to invest further in its air cargo operation and service capabilities at Heathrow airport, where it operates two warehouses with a total surface of some 165,000 ft² (approx. 15,300 m²). Last year, the HCH joint venture, with a workforce of some 120 employees, handled over 150,000 tons of air cargo, seven percent more than in 2017. The completion of the HCH share acquisition by Swissport is subject to Competition and Markets Authority approval and is expected in the first half of 2019.