ADMINISTRATORS for PlaneStation, the collapsed former owner of Manston Airport, are thought to be close to selling a nearby business park.

Grant Thornton has confirmed that it has agreed the sale of Kent International Business Park to a local developer. But a spokesman declined to name the developer and said the deal was subject to contract.

Immediately before its collapse, PlaneStation had been seeking a buyer for the park to raise cash to pump into its struggling EUjet low-cost airline.

But it ran out of time and money when the Bank of Scotland pulled the plug on its credit line, forcing PlaneStation into administration and ending EUjet’s 10-month presence at Kent International Airport.

The 125-acre site has huge development potential but has been slow to take off.

Its main tenant for the past few years has been Cummins, the power generation firm which set up a major plant there with development aid.

The site is close to Kent International Airport which was recently sold to Infratil, the owner of Glasgow Prestwick airport, for £17 million.

Andrew Conquest, the administrator, achieved that deal and is trying to sell other PlaneStation assets.

The Grant Thornton spokesman said: "He has agreed the terms for the sale of the business park but the deal is not yet signed and exchanged."