The British airports operator BAA said Wednesday that it was putting Gatwick Airport in London up for sale, but it would resist regulatory pressure to sell its other airports in Britain.

By Hamish Rutherford Sovereign Oil 15.75p unch THERE are several reasons why Ferrovial, the Spanish infrastructure giant which owns BAA, should feel nothing more than a twinge of grudging regret, rather than anger, after the Competition Commission said it should be forced to sell three of its British airports, including one in Scotland.

By DOUGLAS HAMILTON SPANISH construction firm Ferrovial said yesterday it had completed the GBP13.3bn refinancing of its UK airports business that includes GBP3bn for new investment.

By Matthew Saltmarsh A government-imposed sale of at least one major British airport among those owned by BAA appeared to take a step closer to reality during the weekend. The British Competition Commission is likely to recommend the breakup of the airport operator, the company said.

By Danny Fortson Business Correspondent Ferrovial, the Spanish parent of BAA, was forced to put 400m of new cash into the beleaguered airport operator to convince its creditors to start talks on its massively delayed 9bn debt refinancing that has been hit hard by the credit crunch and doubts about its future as a group.