What does London Luton Airport Limited stand for? An introduction to our business values and principles
1. A shareholder perspective
LTN belongs to the people of Luton. Luton Borough Council holds the shares in LLAL in trust for the people of Luton. LLAL, therefore, has a two-fold responsibility: firstly, and most immediately, to its legal shareholder in law, the Council; secondly, to its shareholder in spirit, the people of Luton.
It will discharge the first by holding itself accountable to the shareholder, consulting with it on all material matters both within and outside the normal course of business through its annual Business Plan, and through developing a dividend policy that seeks to maximise the return to the shareholder within the limits of financial prudence, and the need of the company to invest in the business to secure future returns.
It will continue to discharge the second through its Community Funding Programme, but moving progressively away from simple corporate philanthropy to investing in sustainable growth in prosperity and wellbeing that, in turn, supports the long-term success of the business.
In addition, LLAL will support the regeneration of Luton in its widest sense, engaging with stakeholders as appropriate
2. A cultural perspective
One of Luton’s great strengths is its cultural diversity. The town has welcomed new communities for much of its history, and particularly during the period that saw the development of Luton’s industrial and commercial foundations, including the opening of London Luton Airport in 1938, itself a symbol of town’s outward-looking, entrepreneurial spirit.
LLAL is committed to promoting cohesion, both through its Community Funding Programme, and through supporting events, activities and projects that increase engagement, participation and understanding across communities and cultures.
As a company that owns an international airport, LLAL is well-placed to promote internationalism (without which, its business would have little purpose or profit); as a company committed to broadening horizons through travel, it can – from a rational business perspective – support those activities that tend towards the same end: books, film, cross- cultural engagement, participation in sport, for these are often the things that stimulate the desire for travel.
3. A regional perspective
LLAL will continually stress the benefits that LTN brings to the wider community through the creation of jobs, businesses and investment opportunities across the region, affecting Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire in positive ways that are no less real for being less intangible than the lived experience of some local residents who bear the impact of airport operations.
LTN has received strong support from the business community, not least the Bedfordshire Chamber of Commerce. LLAL should capitalise on that support by engaging with similar organisations in the other counties, and with regional economic partnerships.
LLAL will continue to operate its Near Neighbour Fund, making a contribution that is of greater value symbolically than monetarily to those communities most affected by airport operations. The intention is not to buy their silence – for their criticisms are both necessary and salutary if one is to be a good neighbour – but to acknowledge, once more, that LTN is a regional resource of regional benefit.
In addition, LLAL will seek to support relevant and appropriate activities across the region that are consistent with its brand identity, demonstrate its commitment to being a good neighbour, and which are likely to bring about material benefits to the business through awareness-raising, advertising and promotions, and reinforcing its presence in its natural catchment area.
4. A balanced perspective
LLAL’s great strength is its ability to speak – fluently and with conviction – the language of local government. As a public airport company, governed by local authority Members, it can empathise with the apprehensions and correct the misapprehensions of Members and officers of neighbouring authorities in ways that are simply not open to a purely commercial organisation.