Avolon gives thanks after flying start

ONE MORE THING:IRISH AIRCRAFT leasing business Avolon celebrated Thanksgiving yesterday with a media briefing in Dublin and a festive dinner of turkey and pumpkin pie.

Founder Dómhnal Slattery and his three most senior lieutenants provided an overview of the history of the 18-month old business.

It’s an impressive checklist. To date, Avolon has raised $1.4 billion in equity from blue-chip investors and $2.6 billion in debt, spread across 16 lenders in Europe, the US and Asia.

This was at a time when global financial markets were largely closed to lending. Avolon has 84 aircraft in its portfolio and airline customers include Ryanair, Air Asia and American Airlines.,

Slattery is working to a five-year plan that will involve doubling its current debt facilities out to mid-2015 and doubling the size of its fleet.

At that point, the Dublin-based company will look at a possible IPO or a trade sale to provide an exit for its private equity backers – CVC, Cinven, Oak Hill Capital Partners and GIC in Singapore.

In the meantime, its focus is on Asia-Pacific, where air travel continues to grow. To that end, Avolon will be opening an office in Singapore on January 1st.