Apollo cash offer
715p
£5.7bn equity value
easyJet to Pull Out of Leeds, Dropping Six Routes; Apollo’s £7.15 Offer Puts Pressure on Network Decisions
LEEDS, August 20, 2026, 08:10 BST — easyJet plc is set to halt all operations from Leeds Bradford Airport, with all flights ending after January 5, 2027. The carrier will cut six routes, concluding a 16-year run at the airport. This report was compiled just as London markets opened.
easyJet
Recommended cash acquisitionDeal spread, route discipline
easyJet plc · LON:EZJ · investor snapshot
Verified market quote
675p
Aug. 6, 2026 · 14:06 GMT · intraday
Gross deal spread
5.9%
40p per share; calculated from 675p
Unaffected premium
81%
Versus 394p on May 28, 2026
What the Leeds exit changes
Routes ending after Jan. 5, 20276
Share of 1,000+ route network<0.6%
Published peak weekly departures≈12 + seasonal Geneva
Likely financial impactSmall; capacity can move
The route-share estimate is derived from easyJet’s published network total. It is not company guidance.
Offer math
Completion is expected by March 31, 2027, subject to shareholder and regulatory conditions.
Q3 FY2026: revenue held, margin did not
RASK: revenue per available seat-kilometre. CASK: cost per available seat-kilometre.
Operating scorecard
Q3 group revenue£2.983bn
Headline pretax profit£85m
Passengers25.8m
Load factor88.9%
easyJet holidays PBT£84m
Fuel cost increase£105m
Recent analyst recommendations
| Broker | Date | View | Target |
|---|---|---|---|
| JPMorgan | Aug. 7, 2026 | Hold | 715p |
| Morgan Stanley | July 28, 2026 | Hold | 715p |
| UBS | July 27, 2026 | Hold | 635p |
| Citigroup | July 13, 2026 | Hold | 715p |
| Barclays | July 8, 2026 | Buy | 690p |
Targets are snapshots, not guarantees. Post-offer ratings increasingly describe completion risk.
Risk lens
The route exit is not the main downside. If the Apollo scheme fails, the 81% offer premium can unwind while fuel, load-factor and unit-revenue pressure returns to the centre of the valuation. Watch regulatory approvals, the shareholder vote, late-summer bookings and any wider network pruning.
easyJet Departure From Leeds Leaves Capacity Largely Unchanged With Apollo Spread Remaining Wide
easyJet plc will cease operations from Leeds Bradford Airport after January 5, 2027. The carrier announced it had assessed its route network and will now focus on those services that show the highest demand among travellers. Passengers holding bookings past this date have been notified and given options to transfer or receive a refund.
easyJet plc · LON:EZJ
Leeds exit is small.
Deal risk is not.
Market data: August 19, 2026, 17:08:07 BST
London market closed · GBX
London market closed · GBX
Close
670.2p
▲ 0.15%
Apollo cash offer
715p
Recommended · £5.7bn equity value
Gross spread
6.7%
44.8p per share
Leeds seat ceiling
<0.2%
Preliminary share of annualised group seats
What the price says
Market closeCash offer
The route news is visible. The valuation question is whether Apollo closes on the stated terms by the end of Q1 2027.
Leeds flying: preliminary annualised ceiling
Current departures≈12/week
Return sectors≈24/week
A319–A320 seats156–180
Implied seats195k–225k
Actual exposure is lower because several routes are seasonal.
Latest operating pressure
Q3 headline pretax profit£85m ▼70%
Load factor88.9% ▼1.3 pts
Total airline RASK6.37p ▼3%
Seats flown29.0m ▲1%
Fuel cost increase£105m
Broker snapshot
Morgan StanleyHold · 715p
UBSNeutral · 635p
CitiHold · 715p
BernsteinHold · 660p
BarclaysBuy · 690p
Routes leaving Leeds after January 5, 2027
BarcelonaPalmaMalagaParisGenevaBelfast
Investor read: this is network pruning. Reallocated aircraft matter more than the lost local schedule.
Next checks
Scheme documentWatch
Shareholder voteWatch
Regulatory approvalsWatch
Q4 RASK£33m per 1 pt
Sources: easyJet Q3 FY26 trading update; easyJet/Apollo Rule 2.7 announcement; Google Finance; published Leeds Bradford schedules; UBS and Investing.com broker data. Capacity share is a preliminary upper-bound estimate based on published weekly frequencies, matching return sectors, standard A319/A320 gauges and annualised Q3 group seats.
UK Stock Market Today: FTSE 100 Rises as Miners Rally, Morgan Sindall Jumps and easyJet Slides
The FTSE 100 edged up roughly 0.2% to 10,579 by Thursday morning, lifted mostly by gains in mining and financial shares as optimism for dialogue between Washington and Tehran calmed nerves. The mid-cap FTSE 250 outperformed, too. Shares of Morgan Sindall popped, while easyJet slipped on a downbeat outlook for bookings and fuel expenses.
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