Qatari bank buys stake in Edinburgh Airport

• Lesha Bank takes minority share
• Indirect investment through fund
• Aligns with ‘strategic focus’

A sharia-compliant Qatari investment bank has acquired a minority stake in Edinburgh Airport through an infrastructure-focused investment fund.

“This investment aligns with the bank’s strategic focus on resilient asset classes and marks the bank’s entry into the global infrastructure investment market,” Lesha Bank said in a press release.

Edinburgh Airport, Scotland’s busiest and the sixth busiest in the UK, posted an operating profit of £144 million ($186 million) in 2023, according to its most recent financial results. About 16 million people travelled via the airport last year. 

Qatari investors are already indirectly involved with the facility. Qatar Holding, which is wholly owned by the Qatari Investment Authority, owns a 2.4 percent stake in Paris-based Vinci Group, whose subsidiary Vinci Airports acquired a 50 percent stake in Edinburgh Airport last year for £1.27 billion.

In October Lesha said that it had bought Bereke Bank, a Kazakh institution, from Kazakhstan government-backed Baiterek Holding for QAR532 million ($146 million).

• Qatari Islamic bank buys Kazakhstan’s Bereke Bank
• An ambitious year ahead for Gulf aviation
• Qatar Airways strives to avoid Etihad’s mistakes

In December the bank said it had bought five Boeing 777-ER aircraft in a purchase-for-lease transaction.

Shares in Lesha Bank, which are listed on the Doha stock exchange, are trading down over 7 percent in the year to date.