A COMMERCIAL servicing company ousted from Prestwick Airport to boost business for the hub's own in-house firm had offered to invest £2 million this summer to develop a "first-class executive terminal", it has emerged.

Landmark Aviation, a multinational services company who will cease trading at Prestwick airport today, offered £2m to upgrade the airport's facilities months after the loss-making Ayrshire base had been purchased by the Scottish Government for £1.

Bosses at the Texas-based firm are said to have been dismayed when airport management rebuffed the offer and opted to axe their lease instead. They are now switching business to a rival airport.

Mary Fee, Labour MSP for the west of Scotland and member of Holyrood's Infrastructure Committee, said parliament must be told what ministers knew.

She said: "Nicola Sturgeon's handling of Prestwick Airport has been a farce since day one. She has repeatedly been unable to answer the most basic financial questions about the airport and its future since taking it into public ownership.

"We now learn that a £2 million offer from a company who wanted to invest in Prestwick's future was made, and seemingly rejected, whilst the Scottish Government poured millions into the airport with no long-term business plan."

The offer was submitted in writing to Prestwick Airport's then executive chairman, Tom Wilson, on May 8, on condition that Landmark be granted a long-term lease.

In the letter, Landmark's vice president, Edward Zwirn, wrote that the firm "want to be part of this airport in the long-term" but that the existing month-to-month ground lease "does not have a long enough term to allow us the ability to recoup a return on investment".

Mr Zwirn went on: "Please accept this letter as Landmark's official request for a long-term ground lease in return for the development of a first-class executive terminal at the airport.

"It is our intent to invest up to £2,000,000 within said executive terminal and associated vehicle parking."

The offer was reiterated in an email on June 30 from Mr Zwirn to Graeme Sweenie, Prestwick's commercial director.

However, in October both Landmark and their only other commercial competitor at the site, Greer Aviation, were told that their leases at the taxpayer-owned airport were being terminated and their existing contracts brought in-house by airport management as part of a strategy to return Prestwick to profitability.

Bert Greer, managing director at Ayrshire-based Greer Aviation, which has operated at Prestwick since 2001, is now preparing a legal challenge against the decision. He said airport bosses had "created a monopoly and removed competition".

Mr Greer added: "We have tried to obtain from the management their rationale for taking this decision without having had any discussions with our company. They have not offered any meaningful reasons or details of any investigation, save to say that it is for commercial reasons."

Landmark Aviation, who are owned by global asset management giant, the Carlyle Group, are the world's second largest fixed-base operator (FBO) with 75 sites. The company set up at Prestwick this year after acquiring the RSS Jet Centre and provided services such as refuelling and maintenance to military and private jets.

A spokesman for Transport Scotland said the airport was being run "at arm's length" from Government and that consolidation of FBO operations was "in the best interests of the company".

He added: "Work is proceeding to establish a new FBO facility, including interviewing staff currently employed by Greer and Landmark."

Prestwick Airport chief executive Iain Cochrane said: "The Landmark proposal included a number of material conditions which were not deemed to be in the long-term interests of the airport. "Further commercial discussions did take place but ultimately no commercial agreement was reached."