It is not only British homeowners who face a summer of repossessions – BAA is in grave danger of having its debt called in. Attempts to refinance the £10 billion of debt taken on by Ferrovial when it bought BAA two years ago have so far failed.

The £400 million cash injection from Ferrovial and other shareholders will buy BAA a little time but if it cannot refinance in the next two months, the company’s credit rating will almost certainly be moved to junk status. When that happens half the company’s bondholders, who own about £3 billion of debt, will be able to call in their money.

That would probably trigger a fire sale of BAA assets to fend off bankruptcy. If BAA runs out of cash, it could be forced to shut airports.

A sale of Gatwick and Glasgow airports is thought to be in the works, which would raise about £2.5 billion. If BAA loses the support of its debtholders completely it may be forced to sell even more assets, potentially leaving it with only the crown jewel: Heathrow.

Ferrovial got into this mess when it bought BAA, a much bigger company, using debt only. Interest rates have since risen, which has made refinancing an imperative, but the credit crunch has made that extremely difficult to achieve.

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