Britain floated BAA, owner of Heathrow, in 1987 after a tender that beat the fixed price.

BAA, formerly the British Airports Authority, owned and ran Heathrow and six other airports. The Airports Act 1986 converted it into a plc, and the government floated it in July 1987.

The offer combined a fixed price of 245p for institutions with a tender element. The tender drew valid applications at or above 283p, so all 125 million shares provisionally placed at the fixed price were clawed back, adding £56 million of proceeds for the taxpayer.

City analysts estimated the float would drain about £1.2 billion from British investors. The sale created one of the world's largest listed airport groups and opened the global wave of airport privatization.

The July 1987 float raised about £1.2 billion; the tender at up to 283p clawed back 125 million shares placed at 245p, adding £56 million for taxpayers.

The tender let strong demand push the final price above 245p.

Heathrow's near-monopoly position made the asset rare and sought-after.

A two-tranche structure protected retail and institutional allocations.

The government timed the sale while markets were strong.

A fixed price plus tender structure lets the market set the true price: when demand exceeds supply, the tender recaptures value that a fixed-price sale would give away.

BAA became a FTSE-100 airport group, and the 1987 flotation became the model for airport privatizations worldwide; BAA was later bought by Ferrovial in 2006 and eventually broken up under competition pressure.