Buying an Existing Airport Concession with Private Capital
KQT capital note. Airport concessions are financed through private capital available through a specialty lender in our network built for this vertical. This is not SBA financing. The leasehold structure, airport consent requirements, and ramp profile of concession deals rarely fit SBA program parameters. This lender program is built for the agreement, the assignment, and the traffic.
Buying an existing airport concession can be faster than winning one through an RFP, but the transaction has a wrinkle ordinary business acquisitions do not: the central asset, the concession agreement, cannot simply be sold. The airport has to consent to its assignment, and that consent shapes the entire deal.
You Are Buying the Agreement, and Its Obligations
The value of a concession acquisition sits largely in the concession agreement: its remaining term, its location, and its traffic. But the buyer also assumes its obligations, the MAG, refurbishment requirements, and operating standards. Due diligence has to weigh the agreement's upside against everything it commits the new operator to do and to pay over the remaining term.
The Airport's Consent to Assign
Most agreements require the airport's approval before they can be transferred, and the airport may impose conditions, re-evaluate the incoming operator, or decline outright. A concession sale is not closed until the airport signs off on the assignment. Buyers and their lenders build that approval into the timeline and the conditions to closing rather than assuming it will arrive.
How KQT Structures the Acquisition Capital
We fund concession acquisitions with private capital allocated through our lender network for this vertical, not SBA. Our lenders can move on goodwill, equipment, and working capital in a structure built around the leasehold and the airport assignment process, which are the two things that most slow a standard SBA acquisition file. Confirming airport consent early keeps the closing timeline on track.
Diligence Unique to Concessions
Beyond ordinary acquisition diligence, a concession buyer verifies the remaining agreement term, the MAG relative to actual sales, upcoming refurbishment obligations, and the airport's traffic trend. A location with a rich sales history but a looming refurbishment or a soon-expiring agreement is worth far less than its trailing numbers suggest.
Educational content only, not advice. KQT Advisors, LLC is a commercial loan broker; we are not a lender, attorney, accountant, financial advisor, or fiduciary. We do not originate loans or make lending decisions. The information in this article is provided strictly for general informational and educational purposes and reflects our understanding at the time of writing. It is not, and must not be construed as, financial, tax, legal, accounting, investment, or any other professional advice, and creates no advisor-client relationship. Loan programs, rates, terms, eligibility requirements, fees, and approval criteria are set by individual lenders, the SBA, and other parties and are subject to change at any time without notice. Examples are illustrative only and not guarantees of outcome. Nothing here is a commitment to lend, an offer of credit, or a representation that any specific structure will be available to or appropriate for any borrower. Always consult your own qualified financial, tax, and legal advisors before acting on any information in this article. To the maximum extent permitted by law, KQT Advisors, LLC and its principals, employees, agents, and affiliates disclaim all liability for any direct, indirect, consequential, or incidental loss or damage arising out of any use of, reliance on, or inability to use the information in this article.