Flights to Oblivion:

 Houchen Proposes

New ‘Investment’

in Teesside Airport

Time for the TVCA Cabinet to assert itself and make

some demands of the mayor and his pet project



Teesside International Airport Business Park

Scott Hunter

17 March 2025

Tees Valley mayor, Ben Houchen has announced today that he will be asking TVCA cabinet to approve a £12.5 million ‘investment’ in Teesside Airport, to “help support some fantastic business based at our airport, expand, grow and create new local jobs.” Not to cover the £13.4 million losses declared recently, then. And definitely not to deal with the situation reported recently in Private Eye that Houchen was recently briefed that the airport would run out of money by June unless it had an injection of cash.

Interestingly, Houchen names Draken, Airbourne Colours and Willis in his post. That’s American corporation, Draken, that the airport recently built a new hangar for, and American corporation, Willis, that was to be building an ‘aviation village’ on the airport site, but which has since fallen silent. If that company now finds itself short of cash to proceed with the project, a share of £12.5 million isn’t going to help much. As for Airbourne Colours, the company opened its new hangar in October last year. That new hanger was paid for by the airport company at a cost of £6.5 million. Do they need another injection of cash already?

This, then, can be nothing other than an attempt to shore up the airport’s losses, and the question arises as to how the TVCA cabinet should respond to the request. Whether it’s a loan or a grant makes little difference at this point, as it is almost certain that the airport company will default on all its loans.



Our view is that it has to demand an answer to the question of what, exactly, is behind the airport’s losses. Losses at the airport are to be expected, given its size and location, but the scale of those losses requires explanation. Furthermore, it needs evidence of how previous loans to the airport have been spent. Is the airport delivering value for money? If not, is it the result of poor strategic planning? Colossal losses have been reported year on year at the airport since being taken into public ownership in 2019 (far in excess of the losses that previous owners, Peel, experienced). 

Latest accounts from Teesside Airport holding company, Goosepool 2019, showing losses of £13.4 million

The airport is a private company owned largely by holding company Goosepool 2019, in which, a charity set up by Houchen, the Teesside Airport Foundation, has a 25% shareholding. As a result, TVCA committees have no immediate right to access to information about either the trading company or the holding company.  That situation is no longer tenable, but requires members of the TVCA board to assert themselves and demand a full explanation of how the airport is being managed.



As, in addition to the loans and ‘investment’ provided to the airport, there is also the fact that the TVCA, with its head office at the airport, provides a revenue stream for the company. Amounts of public money changing hands are also not insignificant.  A report by Leigh Jones in The Teesside Lead yesterday observed

“In total, throughout 2024, TVCA gave £12,741,644.58 to Teesside Airport.

"The total is made up of 68 transactions, the largest of which was a £2.7m payment listed as a “grant”. Second and third highest were similarly listed for £2.4m.

"The majority of transactions are for less than £1,500 and listed as “Utilities” or “Human resources”. Not unreasonable given TVCA is one of the airport’s tenants.”

We can not comment on the going rate for office premises in obscure locations in this region, but £12.7 million seems a bit steep and, again, something that the cabinet needs to be asking questions about. Will its members finally assert themselves and hold the mayor to account? Time will tell.