By David Kaminski-Morrow in London
Irish lessor Pembroke Group's management buy-out will grant the company the freedom to expand its portfolio, with a particular focus on increasing the number of aircraft the company owns.
Pembroke was formerly owned by Rolls-Royce and GATX - both having a 50% share - but the company has been acquired by the management team, through an investment vehicle called Medulla Asset Managers.
Earlier this year GATX had stated that "certain assets" within its affiliated aircraft-related investments were not generating an "acceptable level" of return, and that these assets would be the subject of divestment plans.
Rolls-Royce had also previously indicated that aircraft ownership was not among its core business strategies.
Pembroke chief executive Garry Burke says the buy-out will release the constraints on the lessor. "Since 2002 we've been constrained from acquiring aircraft," he says, adding that the company has bought only one aircraft in recent years. "We're hoping to expand the fleet we manage, including the number of owned aircraft."
Pembroke has 121 aircraft on its books, but only around 20 of those are owned by the lessor. Burke says the lessor will primarily focus on increasing its narrowbody portfolio - its fleet is composed mainly of Boeing 737s and 717s, Airbus A320 family jets, as well as Fokker 100s and BAE Systems Avro RJs. But he says that it will consider widebody types as well. He adds: "We still see good leasing prospects - we're in the right part of the cycle."
Dublin-based Pembroke's current management assignments will remain in place.
Financial details of the acquisition, and the company's new ownership structure, have not been disclosed, but the Anglo Irish Bank has part-financed the buy-out. Pembroke will continue to be headed by Burke and has recruited former Shannon Aerospace chairman James King to the same role at the lessor.
Source: Flight International
