Profit at the group behind a number of regional airports surged during its latest financial year thanks to a sharp rise in the number of passengers and amount of cargo it handles.
Regional & City Airports Group has posted a pre-tax profit of £14.2m for the year to 31 March, 2024, up from £1.3m.
Newly-filed accounts with Companies House have also revealed its turnover increased from £93.1m to £111.4m over the same period.
The Devon-headquartered group is behind Bournemouth, Coventry, Exeter, Norwich and Solent airports.
During the year, more than 1.7m passengers went through its airports, up 15 per cent, with 114,000 flights, down 11 per cent, and 19,000 tonnes of cargo processed, up 375 per cent.
Passenger numbers at Bournemouth Airport surpassed pre-pandemic levels after growing 25 per cent to 976,000.
Exeter Airport handled 435,000 passengers, up eight per cent, while Norwich Airport saw 353,000 passengers, up two per cent.
A statement signed off by the board said: “Regional airports are vitally important to the economic development of the regions in which they are located.
“The group’s strategy is to help smaller regional airports to prosper through effective management and collaboration, enabling them to benefit from the economies of scale and the sharing of best practice traditionally enjoyed by larger airports and to promote the enormous social and economic benefits offered to regional airports.”
It added: “Looking ahead, the group is optimistic that it is well positioned to deliver further growth across the spectrum of aviation and non-aviation activity that it undertakes, underpinned by the efficient and compelling proposition available to passengers, airlines and other business partners.”
During the year the average number of people employed by the business increased from 794 to 847.
The company is part of the family-owned Rigby Group which has businesses operating across Europe.
The group, which was founded in 1975, is the 12th largest family business in the UK and employs more than 8,000 people.
Accounts for the Warwickshire-headquartered group for the year to 31 March, 2024, are due to be filed with Companies House by the end of September.