Understanding the Teesside International Airport share transfer
Dear Tees Valley Combined Authority,
I’ve seen a FOI request about the transfer of shares in Teesside International Airport Limited (the company limited by shares which owns the airport and is registered at Companies House with code 02020423). I wish to know more because the response provided seemed rather evasive to me.
The FOI I read was titled “Transfer of shares in Teesside International Airport to company owned by TVCA employees”. You can find it on the “what do they know” website.
The company which is said to be owned by TVCA employees refers to Goosepool 2021 Limited, which was established in March 2021 by two employees of TVCA. These were TVCA Group Commercial Director, Alison Fellows, and Legal / Monitoring Officer, Peter Judge.
Goosepool 2021 Limited has taken on 25% of the total shares in Teesside International Airport Limited. In the normal course of events these shares would have been owned by Tees Valley Combined Authority and therefore it would appear that a decision was made by the Combined Authority to direct the shares be transferred to Goosepool 2021 Limited.
Since the transfer Goosepool 2021 Limited has changed its name (I use Goosepool 2021 Limited to refer to the renamed company in this request).
1. On what date did Esken, formerly known as Stobart Group, inform TVCA of its intention to relinquish its ownership of 25% of the shares in Teesside International Airport Limited?
2. On what date did Esken transfer the shares in Teesside International Airport Limited to Goosepool 2021 Limited?
3. On what date did TVCA make the decision to ask the shares be transferred to Goosepool 2021 Limited?
4. Kindly provide all emails from TVCA which relate to the transfer of Teesside International Airport Limited shares to Goosepool 2021 Limited sent or received between 1 February 2021 and 1 August 2021.
5. What was the value of the shares in Teesside International Airport Limited transferred into Goosepool 2021 Limited?
6. Was the Secretary of State informed of a transfer at an undervalue? If not, were the reasons for this recorded.
7. Please provide any conflict of interest forms completed by Alison Fellows and / or Peter Judge in respect of this matter.
8. Did Alison Fellows and / or Peter Judge have a role in the decision making process? If so, what meetings did they attend? What was their role?
Yours faithfully,
Garry Blight
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF FOI REQUEST
Dear Garry Blight,
Freedom of Information Act 2000 - Ref: 241-2023
Thank you for your correspondence received on 07/11/2023.
Your request is being considered under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. If this request is for information that the Combined Authority holds, you will receive the information requested by 05/12/2023 which is within the statutory timescale of 20 working days.
However, please note the Act defines a number of exemptions that may prevent release of the requested information. There will therefore be an assessment of your request to determine if any exemptions apply to the information requested. If the information cannot be released, or only released in part, you will be informed of the reasons why, together with any rights of appeal.
If the information requested refers to a third party, they may be consulted before deciding whether it can be released.
Yours sincerely,
Governance Team
Tees Valley Combined Authority
Dear Garry Blight,
Freedom of Information Act 2000 - Ref: 241-2023
Thank you for your correspondence received on 07/11/2023. We apologise that the response is delayed; we are still awaiting the response to Question 5, which has been omitted so as to not delay the response to your remaining queries further, and the response to which will be sent to you in due course. In response to your request, we can now provide the following information.
You asked:
1. On what date did Esken, formerly known as Stobart Group, inform TVCA of its intention to relinquish its ownership of 25% of the shares in Teesside International Airport Limited?
Our response:
We do not hold this information as per Section 3(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Esken, formerly known as Stobart Group, did not inform TVCA of its share relinquishment as it is not obliged to do so.
You asked:
2. On what date did Esken transfer the shares in Teesside International Airport Limited to Goosepool 2021 Limited?
Our response:
26th July 2021.
You asked:
3. On what date did TVCA make the decision to ask the shares be transferred to Goosepool 2021 Limited?
Our response:
TVCA had no involvement in the decision to transfer Esken's shares in Teesside International Airport Ltd.
You asked:
4. Kindly provide all emails from TVCA which relate to the transfer of Teesside International Airport Limited shares to Goosepool 2021 Limited sent or received between 1 February 2021 and 1 August 2021.
Our response:
TVCA does not hold this information. Please note that due to TVCA's email retention policy, a limited number of emails are retained after 6 months of receipt.
You asked:
6. Was the Secretary of State informed of a transfer at an undervalue? If not, were the reasons for this recorded.
Our response:
There was no transfer at an undervalue, therefore the Secretary of State was not informed. Mayor Give Teesside International New Protections Against Being Sold Without Referendum - Teesside International Airport
You asked:
7. Please provide any conflict of interest forms completed by Alison Fellows and / or Peter Judge in respect of this matter.
Our response:
There are no conflict of interest forms for Alison Fellows or Peter Judge in respect of this matter.
You asked:
8. Did Alison Fellows and / or Peter Judge have a role in the decision making process? If so, what meetings did they attend? What was their role?
Our response:
We do not hold this information as per Section 3(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
If you have any queries or concerns please contact [email address] in the first instance.
However, if you are unhappy with the way your request for information has been handled, you may request an internal review within 40 working days by writing to:
Group Chief Executive, Tees Valley Combined Authority, Teesside Airport Business Suite, Teesside International Airport, Darlington. DL2 1NJ.
If, after your complaint has been determined, you remain dissatisfied with the handling of your request or complaint, you have a right to appeal to the Information Commissioner at:
The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO)
Wycliffe House, Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Telephone: 0303 123 1113
Website: https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/
The ICO does not make a charge for an appeal.
Yours sincerely,
Governance Team
Tees Valley Combined Authority
Dear Garry Blight,
Freedom of Information Act 2000 - Ref: 241-2023
Please see the response to Question 5:
You asked:
5. What was the value of the shares in Teesside International Airport Limited transferred into Goosepool 2021 Limited?
Our response:
Esken, formerly known as Stobart, transferred £249.99 worth of shares in Goosepool 2019 to Teesside Airport Foundation, formerly Goosepool 2021.
If you have any queries or concerns please contact [email address] in the first instance.
However, if you are unhappy with the way your request for information has been handled, you may request an internal review within 40 working days by writing to:
Group Chief Executive, Tees Valley Combined Authority, Teesside Airport Business Suite, Teesside International Airport, Darlington. DL2 1NJ.
If, after your complaint has been determined, you remain dissatisfied with the handling of your request or complaint, you have a right to appeal to the Information Commissioner at:
The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) Wycliffe House, Water Lane Wilmslow Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Telephone: 0303 123 1113
Website: https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/
The ICO does not make a charge for an appeal.
Yours sincerely,
Governance Team
Tees Valley Combined Authority
I ask you to review the first response.
The reference to section 3.2 of the FOI Act suggests information is held. Clearly this would not be for a personal purpose given TVCA’s interest in the airport.
Also it does not sound realistic to claim that Esken, formerly known as Stobart Group, would fail to inform the TVCA of its plans, noting that the shares were ultimately transferred into a company that had recently been established by employees of the TVCA.,
Dear Garry Blight,
For the avoidance of doubt, assuming you are referring to Question 1, please see the following clarification:
You asked:
1. On what date did Esken, formerly known as Stobart Group, inform TVCA of its intention to relinquish its ownership of 25% of the shares in Teesside International Airport Limited?
Our response:
We do not hold this information as per Section 3(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Esken, formerly known as Stobart Group, did not inform TVCA of its share relinquishment as it is not obliged to do so.
Section 3(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 states:
(2)For the purposes of this Act, information is held by a public authority if-
(a)it is held by the authority, otherwise than on behalf of another person, or
(b)it is held by another person on behalf of the authority.
This means that TVCA does not hold this information.
If you would still like TVCA to internally review the response to Question 1, please clarify this now. Once you have clarified your request such that TVCA can answer your query, you will be provided with an acknowledgement containing the deadline for our response, which will be 20 working days from receipt of satisfactory clarification. If you do not clarify your request within 20 working days of receiving this email, your request will be closed.
Yours sincerely,
Governance Team
Tees Valley Combined Authority
So, just to be clear, Tees Valley Combined Authority’s claim is that Esken, formerly known as Stobart Group, didn’t inform TVCA of its intention to relinquish its ownership of
25% of the shares in Teesside International Airport Limited but then, by a total coincidence, transferred all 25% into a company which TVCA had set up for that purpose.
It’s not a very convincing claim, is it?
Dear Garry Blight,
Thank you for your email. We are treating this as a clarification of the original response and not an internal review or a further FOI request. We shall respond to your clarification request in due course.
Yours sincerely,
Governance Team
Tees Valley Combined Authority
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