BAA Mortgage Houses

BAA has been forced to mortgage 39 of its houses near Stansted airport, with many of them due to be demolished to make way for the proposed second runway at Stansted airport. With the houses being offered as security against the £10.5bn already borrowed. The latest figures to come out of Stansted airport show it down £54m in operating profits at £27m.

A spokesman from the Stop Stansted Airport Expansion Campaign Group stated it was ironic that BAA were mortgaging the very houses that were bought as part of the runway plan and that it was proof of that the second runway could not be afforded.

Locals claim that the proposed £3bn runway would affect 11,000 houses and that a public enquiry has constantly been put back. BAA officials deny they are under financial strain and insist the mortgaged houses are simply to supply the bank with some security