Airports operator BAA is to sell its World Duty Free chain to Italian company Autogrill, which is controlled by the Benetton family, for £546.6 million.

The acquisition of World Duty Free will further strengthen Autogrill’s position in travel retail. The retailer runs 5,200 shops in 1,100 locations in 42 countries, mainly in airports, motorway and railway stations.

Last year, Autogrill bought Alpha Airports and is likely to combine its operations with those of World Duty Free, which has 58 stores.

BAA has been disposing of non-core assets and will use proceeds from the sale of World Duty Free to repay debt.

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