The land at London Heathrow Airport is owned and managed by Heathrow Airport Holdings Limited (formerly known as BAA). This company is not a public government entity but a private consortium. The ownership structure is international, reflecting the global nature of aviation finance. As of early 2026, the largest shareholders include Ardian (a French private equity firm) and the Qatar Investment Authority, alongside other major investors like the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia, the China Investment Corporation, and various pension and investment funds from Australia and Canada. While the land is privately owned, the airport's operations and expansion plans are subject to heavy regulation by the UK government and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) due to its status as critical national infrastructure. The history of the land dates back to its days as a private airfield in the 1930s (Great Western Aerodrome), before it was requisitioned by the government during WWII and eventually privatized in the late 1980s.