ASL Aviation Holdings, a Dublin-based aviation services company has locked in a USD65 million loan from Investec Aviation Finance, a business unit of the international bank and wealth manager, Investec. The loan will pay out some existing debt and also help fund ASL's fleet renewal program.
The funding, which comprises a term loan and revolving credit facility, is secured by 17 aircraft, including 16 freighters and one passenger plane. ASL owns, operates, or manages a fleet of approximately 130 aircraft. ch-aviation data indicate that ASL owns 24 aircraft via eight different special purpose vehicles (SPVs) including one ATR72-500, two ATR72-500(F)s, three ATR72-200(F)s, one B737-400(C), eleven B737-400(SF)s, four B737-800s, and B737-800(BCF)s. The company's core business is facilitating aircraft, crew, maintenance, and insurance airline operations for passenger and cargo airlines worldwide. It has interests in ASL Airlines Belgium, ASL Airlines France, ASL Airlines Ireland, Safair, ASL Airlines Switzerland, ASL Airlines UK, ASL Airlines Hungary, K-Mile Asia, and Quikjet Airlines.
Investec says the 17 aircraft used to secure the funding operate in seven different jurisdictions within the ASL group or on lease to third-party lessees. The bank adds that the new loan is a refinance and upsize of existing facilities between Investec and ASL, which date back a decade and previously covered 14 aircraft.
"We are delighted to continue our long-standing relationship with a facility that allows us to be flexible in meeting our growth ambitions," said Dave Andrew, CEO of ASL.
Investec Aviation Finance says it deals in asset lending, PDP finance, ECA debt arranging, aircraft trading and leasing, and other bespoke aviation-related financing and leasing solutions. They have been operating for over 15 years and have organised over USD10 billion in funding.
ASL declined to identify the aircraft in question when contacted by ch-aviation for further elaboration.
