Luton Rising rebrand for airport company cost the 'very small sum' of £10k

A rebrand of Luton Borough Council' s airport company has cost around £10,000, according to the local authority.

Luton Rising was revealed as the new name for London Luton Airport Limited (LLAL) at an event to unveil a new skills, innovation and business hub in the town, which is expected to create more than 200 jobs (see previous report).

A spokeswoman for Luton Rising said: “We're always conscious of the need to deliver exceptional value, so most of the work has been done in-house with a modest investment of around £10,000 for additional support.

"This is a very small sum compared to the hundreds of thousands of pounds, or more, that most organisations spend on rebrands.

“One reason we’ve changed our name is because our company was frequently confused with the operating company which runs the airport, and it’s a change that's probably long overdue.

“Solving this problem also gives us the opportunity to tell our story better. Luton Rising isn't a business owned by remote shareholders.

"We're owned by the people of Luton, through our sole shareholder, Luton Borough Council. We're part of the community investing to improve lives and committed to the Luton 2040 vision of a town where nobody has to live in poverty.

“Since 1998, we've provided more than £400m income to support front line services and improve people’s lives in the town.

"This constitutes an annual sum more than 20 times greater than that provided by any other UK airport owner per passenger," she added.

“We believe our sustainability measures will be some of the most far-reaching commitments to minimise environmental impacts ever put forward by a UK airport.

“We aim to go further still, pro-actively supporting the council’s target for Luton to be carbon neutral by 2040.”

Luton Rising acquired a 33,000 sq ft four-storey building in Kimpton Road from Vauxhall, early last year, and renovation work is under way ready for opening in summer 2022, according to the local authority.

"The building will feature state-of-the-art wireless IT and communications systems, as well as flexible open plan office spaces aimed at attracting businesses in the post Covid-19 recovery phase," said the council.

Morton House has been chosen as the name for the building, previously known as K block, in memory of Luton Town Football Club legend Bob Morton, who played for the Hatters from 1946 to 1964.

Speaking at the rebranding event, the council's corporate director airport Graham Olver said: "We're looking at getting all our businesses together under one banner.

"So aviation, the train, place making and the philanthropy we work with, which enables us to see ourselves as a group.

"It's a group of businesses which comprises Luton Rising and support everything the borough council does."

Asked about the potential confusion between LLAL and airport operator London Luton Airport Operations Limited (LLAOL), he replied: "We certainly wanted to avoid that confusion really.

"We're looking to make our impact in areas which are complimentary to the operator, which has done great work to date.

"We look at Luton DART (direct air-rail transit) as the key enabler to take cars off the road and have a positive impact on the environment and really commit to all the elements which make up the ecosystem around the airport."