Airborne Capital Launches Targeting $US5bn of Managed Assets

DUBLIN, November 23, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

• Specialist aircraft leasing and asset management business backed by FEXCO  
• Highly experienced management team with over 100 years of combined experience 
• History of innovation and expertise in structuring and managing aviation investments 
• Offering a unique model to work with investors looking to invest in aviation

Airborne Capital today announces its launch with a strong industry experienced management team, and with substantial backing from FEXCO Group, Ireland's largest privately owned financial services company. The company has aggressive plans to grow the business to have aircraft asset under management of over US$5bn within the first five years of being set up.

Headquartered in Ireland, and initially with offices in Dublin and London, Airborne Capital is a specialist aircraft lease and asset manager with access to deep pools of capital. Airborne Capital will act as a bridge between investors seeking bespoke investment solutions in the aviation space, and issuers requiring aviation financing via differentiated capital solutions.

The commercial aviation industry is predicted to double the size of its fleet in the next 20 years on the back of growing passenger demand (4.7% per annum until 2036*). This growth is triggering a financing need that will not be covered by traditional sources of capital. Airborne Capital will provide solutions to fill this gap, and offer its expertise to new capital providers to meet the aviation industry's growth needs.

Ramki Sundaram will be CEO of Airborne Capital and has over 20 years' experience working in aviation finance and was previously Head of Aviation at Natixis, one of the leading banks in aviation financing. Commenting on the launch, he said:

"We are very excited to launch this venture with the strong support of FEXCO. The team at Airborne Capital has rich experience in setting up and managing innovative investment and fund platforms for investors globally who are looking to deploy capital in aviation."  

FEXCO has identified financial services for aviation assets as an attractive long-term investment opportunity for the group and this has underpinned its decision to invest in Airborne Capital.

Denis McCarthy, CEO of FEXCO said:

"We are delighted to be working with the Airborne Capital team on this important initiative and we look forward to broadening our presence in this dynamic sector of the financial services market. With the financial support we can provide and the industry expertise of the team we believe this business can grow rapidly to play a major role in the market segments it is targeting." 

Airborne Capital's team also includes the following as founding partners:

• Cian Dooley has over 25 years of diverse aviation experience ranging from aircraft manufacturers, aircraft lessors right from initiation, aviation financing banks and specialist aviation funds.
• Anand Ramachandran joins from the aircraft leasing firm Goshawk where he held the role of CFO. He has experience spanning various commercial departments of airlines and aviation financiers.
• Jocelyn Noel joins from Natixis where he led the aviation syndication to banks and institutions. He has previously worked in all key aviation finance centres - Paris, Hong Kong, New York and more recently in London.
• John O'Flynn will join in January 2018 from the aircraft leasing firm Goshawk where he held a position in the corporate finance function - prior to which he held various senior roles within Ryanair.
• Eugene Lui joins from the aircraft leasing firm Goshawk where he held positions across both the Corporate Finance and Commercial functions since joining the company as a founding member.