INVESTIGATORS have caught BAA trying to influence consultants advising the Competition Commission inquiry that urged a break-up of the airports group.

The commission has censured BAA, saying it “takes any suggestion of interference in the discharge of its functions very seriously”.

The revelation caps a miserable few months for the company, which owns seven UK airports including Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted.

It has parted company with its chief executive, seen a calamitous opening of the flagship terminal 5 at Heathrow and been the subject of a report that castigated it as anticompetitive.

This is likely to lead to its break-up and the sale of one or more of its airports next year, bringing an end to its near-monopoly of flights in London.

In January, the commission held a tender for consultants to advise it on BAA’s plans for a new runway at Stansted. Part-way through, it became concerned “that there may have been interference in the tendering and appointment process”.

“As a consequence, the commission saw evidence of behaviour that could be interpreted as constituting an interference with the first tender,” the commission said. It later appointed Alan Stratford & Associates and Gleeds to do the work.

BAA told the commission it was an “isolated incident involving one employee” which was “in no way authorised, encouraged or condoned by senior management”.

The airports group said yesterday: “BAA regrets that the unauthorised actions of one employee could be perceived as interference in the commission’s appointment of a consultant.

“We will continue to engage with the commission as it conducts and concludes its market investigation, and have, in agreement with the commission, revised and reissued our internal guidelines.”

It refused to say whether the employee involved had been sacked.

Hochtief, the German construction and infrastructure group, is likely to head a crowd of bidders if Gatwick airport is put up for sale next year. The German group, which has airport investments around the world, is understood to have already indicated that it is interested in buying the London hub.

Manchester Airports Group, which last week said it was considering selling Humberside airport, is another potential bidder, as is Global Infrastructure Partners, the joint-venture between Credit Suisse and GE.

Meanwhile, Ferrovial, BAA’s controlling shareholder, is pressing ahead with a refinancing of BAA. Royal Bank of Scotland and Citigroup are in talks with a consortium of eight banks, expected to include Spain’s Santander and the Bank of Montreal.

The deal will be done in two stages, with the second, larger stage raising about £10 billion against the three London airports.

It will be structured in order to allow the easy separation of one of the airports if Ferrovial is forced to sell, City sources said.

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