A US private equity firm is set to "take control' of Southend Airport after agreeing a deal to settle a debt with its current owner.

The airport was put up for sale in June, as current owners Esken revealed its financial struggles.

In 2022, it was reported the owners were mulling over a sell-off, following £8.6 million losses.

Esken, formerly Stobart Group, now says it has reached a deal over the £193.75 million debt its subsidiary, London Southend Airport, owed to Carlyle Global Infrastructure Fund.

It comes days after additional easyJet flights were announced during the peak summer season this year.

The deal will see Carlyle take an 82.5 per cent stake in the airport, while Esken will keep a 17.5 per cent stake. Esken’s shares will also be delisted from the London Stock Exchange as part of the process.

“The expectation is that any return for shareholders at the end of the process is likely to be negligible,” Esken told investors this morning.

Esken, formerly Stobart Group, said it had decided to agree to the proposal designed to settle the airport’s £193.75 million debt to Carlyle.

“The company has agreed to accede to that recapitalisation proposal in relation to the airport,” it said in a statement.

“This will therefore proceed on a consensual basis, rather than through a contested court process, which could be potentially destructive for all stakeholders.”

Esken will also delist its shares in London and “wind down” the remaining parts of the group.

“The court process for the Esken restructuring plan is likely to take several months to conclude but, in the meantime, the future funding of Southend Airport is secure and the board will progress the orderly wind down of the remaining group,” the business said.

Once a rising star among airports which service London, Southend Airport’s future has been uncertain since the Covid-19 pandemic put the brakes on international travel.

In 2021, as the pandemic continued to eat into passenger numbers, the company borrowed £125 million from Carlyle to secure its finances through the crisis.

But later Carlyle claimed that Esken had broken the terms of its loan and asked for £200 million back. The latest deal will settle that dispute.

Esken had already announced the possibility of a deal last month, saying it had until March 4 to mull it over.