Manston Airport in Kent has been sold to regeneration specialists who plan to develop the site for manufacturing, housing and schools.
Trevor Cartner and Chris Musgrave, part of the consortium behind Discovery Park, Sandwich, have bought a majority stake for an undisclosed fee.
They plan a 20-year £1bn redevelopment to "create more than 4,000 jobs".
But Roger Gale, Tory MP for Thanet North, said it sounded "remarkably like opportunist land-banking".
