OWNER of London Manston Airport, the Wiggins Group, is seeking a partner to share the estimated £100 million cost of developing the project over the next 10 years.

The troubled company, which is looking for a new chairman and saw its share price fall to around 4p after delays in its debt repayment schedule, does not have deep enough pockets.

So it has turned to potential investors to help it proceed with ambitious plans to build a new terminal, expand runways, improve air traffic control and other services. The company has confirmed it is in talks with three possible candidates.

But the company has always insisted that it is in for "the long haul" and not about to sell an airport that plays a key role in its PlaneStation network.

Wiggins intends keeping a majority stake in the airport. Paul Tipple, head of strategy and development, said Wiggins was looking for a sizeable contribution.

"We are looking for a partner to take a stakeholder interest in Manston Airport. This is not a sign that Wiggins wants to get out."

He said: "Wiggins is a comparatively small company and ideally what it needs is a partner who can bring to the party capital to help develop the airport to realise its long-term potential."

Meanwhile, Wiggins is looking for a new chairman after Irving Kuczynski, a senior member of the New York-based World Bank, decided not to take up the job just three weeks after his formal appointment.

It is understood that Dr Kuczynski changed his mind after thinking more about the demands of transatlantic travel that would be needed to fulfil the British company's busy schedule of meetings.

Wiggins is looking for someone who will command City confidence in a firm that is never far from the headlines.

Chief executive Oliver Iny, who recently welcomed Government aviation minister David Jamieson to Manston, is often dubbed a "maverick" by analysts and commentators.