London Gatwick invites bids for flagship food and beverage sites as airport prepares for future growth

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London, UK, 16 September 2026
  • London Gatwick has launched its largest ever food and beverage tender, inviting bids for five South Terminal units and one North Terminal pub unit, spanning more than 3,800sqm
  • Head of Retail, Stephane Geffroy says “there has never been a more exciting time to partner with London Gatwick”
  • Applications are now open until 12pm (midday) 10 November 2026, with interested parties invited to contact the London Gatwick commercial team via retail@gatwickairport.com

London Gatwick has launched its largest ever food and beverage tender, inviting operators to bid for a collection of flagship hospitality locations across both terminals at a pivotal moment in the airport's future growth.

The UK’s second-busiest airport, which connects passengers to more than 230 global destinations, is offering six food and beverage units spanning more than 3,800sqm, representing one of the most significant hospitality opportunities currently available in the UK travel sector.

London Gatwick is seeking hospitality partners to help shape the next phase of its commercial offering, as the airport prepares for future growth opportunities including its privately-funded Northern Runway Programme. This is expected to unlock significant long-term growth, creating new opportunities for brands to serve an expanding international passenger base.

The South Terminal’s opportunities for quick service and fast casual concepts, include units measuring 309sqm, 320sqm, 547sqm and 790sqm, alongside a dedicated pub space of 647sqm. In the North Terminal, operators are invited to bid for a landmark pub unit spanning 1,084sqm.

The tender forms part of London Gatwick's wider strategy to enhance the passenger experience through a varied food and beverage offer that reflects the needs of its diverse passenger base. The airport is now seeking partners capable of delivering compelling concepts for all passengers, meeting the airport’s vision to be the airport for everyone, whatever your journey.

Trading space is available either as individual opportunities or as part of a wider portfolio proposition, enabling operators to tailor bids to suit their brand and growth ambitions. Submissions will be accepted until 12pm (midday) 10 November 2026.

Stephane Geffroy, Head of Retail, London Gatwick said: "This is a landmark opportunity and our largest ever food and beverage tender. We are bringing to market a collection of high-profile locations across both terminals that will play a central role in shaping the future of our hospitality proposition.

"There has never been a more exciting time to partner with London Gatwick. As we look ahead to future growth opportunities, including our recently approved Northern Runway Programme, we are entering a new phase of growth that will see the airport expand its capacity to up to 80m passengers a year, creating significant commercial opportunities for our partners over the coming decades.

"London Gatwick welcomes millions of passengers from across the globe and we are looking for ambitious operators that can deliver standout concepts, exciting new trends, exceptional customer experiences and a varied food and beverage offer that reflects the needs of our diverse passenger base. This tender gives brands the opportunity to establish themselves at the heart of one of the UK's most important airports at the most significant time in our history.”

The latest hospitality tender represents a unique opportunity for operators to become part of London Gatwick's long-term growth story, helping to create vibrant and engaging spaces where passengers can eat, drink and relax before they fly.

Interested parties should contact the  London Gatwick commercial team retail@gatwickairport.com - for further information and tender documentation.

With around 43m annual passengers, London Gatwick is the UK’s second largest and one of Europe’s top airports. It is a vital piece of national infrastructure that drives both the national and regional economies by generating £5.5bn GVA and supporting over 76,000 jobs (2023). More than 60 airlines fly from the airport to over 160 short-haul and more than 50 long-haul destinations. With a declared maximum capacity of 57 movements an hour, London Gatwick is the most efficient single runway airport in the world. 

The airport is located 28 miles south of the UK capital and is extremely well-connected, with more than a quarter of England’s population (15m people) – including all of London – less than one hour away by road or rail. A six-year, £2bn sustainable growth programme includes an ambitious plan to be a net zero airport by 2030 and to increase capacity by bringing the airport’s existing Northern Runway into routine use, alongside its Main Runway.  VINCI Airports owns a 50.01% stake in the airport, with Global Infrastructure Partners managing the remaining 49.99%.

VINCI Airports, as the leading private airport operator in the world, manages the development and operation of more than 70 airports located in 14 countries. VINCI Airports draws on its expertise as a comprehensive integrator to develop, finance, build and operate airports, leveraging its investment capability and know-how to optimise operational performance and modernise infrastructure while bringing about their environmental transition. In 2016, VINCI Airports became the first airport operator to commit to an international environmental strategy, setting itself the aim of reaching zero net emissions (scope 1 and 2) across the network by 2050 while supporting the territories’ local climate transition.

For more information: 

www.vinci-airports.com

@VINCIAirports

https://www.linkedin.com/company/vinci-airports/

Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), a part of BlackRock, is a leading infrastructure investor that specialises in investing in, owning and operating some of the largest and most complex assets across the energy, transport, digital infrastructure and water and waste management sectors. With energy pragmatism central to our investment thesis, we are well positioned to support the global energy transition.

GIP’s scaled platform has over $170bn in assets under management. We believe that our focus on real infrastructure assets, combined with our deep proprietary origination network and comprehensive operational expertise, enables us to be responsible stewards of our clients’ capital and to create positive economic impact for communities. For more information, visit  www.global-infra.com.