Azerbaijan Oil Fund Invests Fifty Million Pounds in Gatwick Airport Expansion Project

Azerbaijan’s sovereign wealth fund, Sofaz, has made a significant foray into the United Kingdom’s infrastructure sector with an investment of £50 million in Gatwick Airport. This initiative marks one of its largest infrastructure deals on the European continent as the fund continues to broaden its portfolio beyond its home market.

Sofaz, established in 1999 and managing assets worth £70 billion, is strengthening its position as a major player in European infrastructure. Now holding an increased stake in Gatwick, the fund joins a consortium of prominent investors. Gatwick, the UK’s second busiest airport, is partially owned by Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), a subsidiary now under the control of US asset management giant BlackRock, following a purchase completed in 2024. Vinci Airports of France holds a 50.01 per cent stake after acquiring it in 2019, while the remaining shares are held by Sofaz and other institutions.

The latest investment from Sofaz coincides with a major development for Gatwick Airport: last month, government approval was granted for a second runway, which will facilitate up to 100,000 extra flights each year. Heidi Alexander, the Transport Secretary, sanctioned a £2.2 billion scheme to bring the airport’s “emergency” runway into permanent commercial use, paving the way for growth and heightened connectivity to global destinations.

Sofaz’s chief executive, Israfil Mammadov, described the investment as a signal of the fund’s commitment to long-term, sustainable growth and collaboration with leading global partners. He highlighted that Gatwick is a strategic European gateway, reflecting Sofaz’s global ambitions and focus on resilient, high-value assets.

GIP, now managed by BlackRock, continues to play a significant role in the airport’s future. Adebayo Ogunlesi, GIP’s founder and chairman, welcomed the deepening partnership with Sofaz, emphasising the stability and community value inherent in high-quality infrastructure assets like Gatwick.

This move follows Sofaz’s earlier acquisition of a 49 per cent stake in Italian solar plants owned by Enfinity Global, underlining the fund’s diversification strategy into both traditional and renewable infrastructure sectors across Europe.