The State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ) has invested £50 million in London’s Gatwick Airport, marking one of its largest infrastructure commitments in the European market.
According to the Fund’s official statement, the investment was made under a partnership with Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), an investment platform owned by BlackRock, the world’s largest asset management firm.
“These investments represent one of SOFAZ’s most significant infrastructure projects in Europe and reaffirm the Fund’s long-term commitment to global development and sustainability,” the statement said.
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Strategic Expansion in Europe
SOFAZ Executive Director Israfill Mammadov described Gatwick as “a reliable and promising asset reflecting the Fund’s global, long-term approach.”
“This important project exemplifies our strategy of collaborating with leading global partners in assets of sustainable value and strategic importance,” he noted.
GIP’s founder and CEO Adebayo Ogunlesi welcomed the continued partnership, calling Gatwick “a high-quality infrastructure asset delivering long-term value for investors and society alike.”
A European Transport Hub in Growth Mode
Gatwick Airport – the UK’s second-busiest airport – handles over 40 million passengers annually and ranked among Europe’s top ten airports by passenger volume in 2024.
Long known as Europe’s busiest single-runway airport, Gatwick has entered a new expansion phase following UK government approval for its Northern Runway Project. The airport’s passenger capacity is projected to reach around 75 million per year by the late 2030s.
In 2019, VINCI Airports acquired 50.01% of Gatwick’s shares from GIP, while the remaining stake continues to be jointly managed by GIP, SOFAZ, and other global institutional investors.
