Air Partner buys Cabot

Aviation charter specialist Air Partner has acquired UK-based Cabot Aviation, a specialist broker in aircraft remarketing, for up to £1.2m.
Cabot Aviation was founded in 1998 by Malcolm Holt and Tony Whitty, who have grown the company into one of the leading aircraft remarketing brokers in the world. Cabot is headquartered in Tunbridge Wells but also has a sales presence in North America, Latin America, Russia & CIS, and Asia Pacific.
Holt and Whitty will lead Air Partner’s new aircraft remarketing division from the Group’s London Gatwick headquarters. The division will continue to trade as Cabot Aviation and will hold responsibility for all aircraft remarketing globally within the Air Partner group.
Gerald Khoo, of financial analyst Liberum, said: "Cabot advises airlines on the sale & purchase or long-term sub-lease of surplus aircraft. Air Partner’s traditional strengths lie in arranging charters and short-term leases.
"The Cabot Aviation deal adds capabilities in aircraft remarketing that are closely related to air charter broking. It should broaden and diversify Air Partner’s revenue base."
Commenting on the acquisition, Mark Briffa, chief executive of Air Partner, said: “Cabot Aviation will leverage the Air Partner global office infrastructure and supplier network to deliver even greater service breadth and depth to clients. We look forward to seeing the benefits this acquisition will bring to clients of both Air Partner and Cabot Aviation.”
Air Partner’s existing aircraft remarketing operations are predominantly in the short-term wet lease market and so the acquisition of Cabot Aviation adds significant aircraft sales and dry lease expertise – channels where Air Partner is currently experiencing demand from its existing client base.
Tony Whitty, chief executive of Cabot Aviation, said: "Joining the Air Partner group will enable us to enhance the services we offer our existing clients, while providing Air Partner’s client base with deeper remarketing capabilities and additional aviation services. We very much look forward to continuing to partner with and support our existing and new clients.”
In 2015, Cabot Aviation has been appointed by China Airlines as its exclusive remarketing broker in the sale of two B747-400s and one A340-300 aircraft, and has also arranged the purchase of a B757-200ER airframe on behalf of AJW Aviation.
Other Cabot Aviation clients include Cyprus Airways, British Midland, Cargolux, Daimler-Chrysler, KLM, DVB Bank, Halifax Bank of Scotland and Rolls-Royce Aircraft Management.
Malcolm Holt, chairman of Cabot Aviation, said: “Tony and I founded Cabot Aviation in 1998 and have enjoyed growing it into the successful international business it is today. We are extremely excited to be joining Air Partner, a group which shares our commitment to aviation expertise, international excellence and industry leading client service. We are now looking forward to building on our successes to date within the enlarged Air Partner group.”