Gama Aviation Share Discussion Threads

[igoe104] 08/1/2016 08:13

Gama Aviation Plc (AIM: GMAA)
("Gama", "Gama Aviation" or the "Company")

Conditional acquisition of Aviation Beauport Limited ("Beauport") and

£10,000,000 facility with the Royal Bank of Scotland ("RBS")

Acquisition of Aviation Beauport Limited

Gama Aviation Plc, one of the world's largest business aviation service providers, is pleased to announce the conditional acquisition of Aviation Beauport Limited; a privately owned Jersey based business offering a range of business aviation services. The acquisition of Beauport is conditional upon approval from the Jersey Competition Authority which is expected to complete by the end of February 2016.

The acquisition comprises a consideration of £2,600,000 in cash and the issue of 1,000,000 ordinary shares, which based on Gama's closing share price on 7 January 2016, gives a total consideration of £5,325,000. On completion, the purchase of Beauport will include fixed assets comprising property with a book value of approximately £2,000,000 and a net current asset neutral position including cash of approximately £650,000. In the twelve months to 31 December 2015, Beauport is expected to achieve a turnover of approximately £6,000,000 and generate an EBITDA not less than £725,000. The Board expects the acquisition to be earnings enhancing in the first year.

Beauport has been operating since 1969 and has established itself as the only premier aircraft service provider in the Channel Islands. It provides a suite of business aviation services including aircraft charter, FBO services (including handling, parking and hangarage services) as well as having four aircraft currently under management.

The Board sees a strong strategic rationale for the proposed acquisition:

· Jersey is an important market with strong growth potential within the mature European market;

· The newly established Jersey Aircraft Registry provides the opportunity to increase business aviation traffic to the island;

· Jersey not only complements Gama's existing geographical footprint but importantly provides significant access to the high net worth local residents and aircraft owning business domiciled in Jersey both in respect of aircraft management and charter activities;

· The acquisition provides an important extension of Gama's MRO capabilities and allows us to enhance the line maintenance service provision to the airport; and

· The acquisition provides Gama with unique FBO facilities for business aviation in Jersey, offering handling, parking and hangarage services.

Marwan Khalek, CEO of Gama Aviation Plc commented:

"This earnings enhancing bolt on acquisition is an excellent strategic fit for the Group and allows us to extend our product offering in both our European Air and Ground operations. It will also provide unique access and opportunity to be of service to the large number of high net worth individuals who reside in Jersey thereby providing potential growth in customers."

Mike Bell, owner of Beauport commented:

"I am delighted to have Beauport become part of the Gama family of companies, the pre-eminent company in services to the general aviation community. The industry is becoming dominated by fewer but larger players, and Gama is at the forefront of that expansion, and it seemed logical to work with one of the most respected and progressive players in the industry".

£10,000,000 facility with the Royal Bank of Scotland

Gama Aviation is also pleased to announce that it has agreed a £10,000,000 credit line in the form of a revolving credit facility for £8,000,000 and an additional overdraft facility of £2,000,000 from its principal bankers, RBS. This facility will be used to fund the cash consideration of the acquisition of Beauport and will also provide further expansion capital.

Kevin Godley, CFO of Gama Aviation Plc commented:

"The £10,000,000 facility agreed after an extensive competitive process cements our long standing relationship with RBS and provides Gama Aviation with the ability to accelerate on the delivery of our strategy of organic growth and growth by acquisition".

[igoe104] 08/1/2016 08:10

Gama Aviation confirms the conditional acquisition of Aviation Beauport Ltd, a privately owned Jersey based business offering a range of business aviation services, for about GBP5.3m.

The acquisition of Beauport is conditional upon approval from the Jersey Competition Authority which is expected to complete by the end of February 2016.

The acquisition comprises a consideration of GBP2,600,000 in cash and the issue of 1,000,000m shares, which based on Gama's closing share price on 7 January 2016, gives a total consideration of GBP5,325,000.

Gama Aviation is also pleased to announce that it has agreed a GBP10,000,000 credit line in the form of a revolving credit facility for GBP8,000,000 and an additional overdraft facility of GBP2,000,000 from its principal bankers, RBS.

This facility will be used to fund the cash consideration of the acquisition of Beauport and will also provide further expansion capital

[igoe104] 21/12/2015 12:43

I`m expecting a big improvement over the next 12 months regarding GMAA S/P.

business picking up in all areas a cheap fuel price, surely £4 has to be a 12 month target.

[igoe104] 27/11/2015 16:41

Wheels Up poised for European expansion

24 November, 2015
BY: Kate Sarsfield
Las Vegas


US membership-based Beechcraft King Air 350i operator Wheels Up plans to launch a European programme in 2016 and expects to have its first twin-engined turboprop "on the ground" early next year.

Speaking to Flightglobal at last week's National Business Aviation Association convention, Wheels Up founder and chief executive Kenny Dichter said the company is already evaluating possible bases for the aircraft.

"If you look at a map of western Europe there are over 55 key cities that the 350i can connect non-stop from three possible base locations," he says. These could include London City airport and Paris Le Bourget, which Dichter describes as the continent's "most heavily travelled city pair" for business aircraft users.

New York-headquartered Wheels Up began operations in August 2013 on the back of a record order for up to 105 350is. To date, 35 of the bespoke eight-passenger turboprops are in operation, supporting Wheels Up’s 2,000 members, along with 15 pre-owned Cessna Citation XLS superlight business jets. Another five King Airs are scheduled for delivery by year-end.

"Since our launch, we have helped to revolutionise the private aviation space in the US by lowering the price barrier to entry," says Dichter. "We want to do the same in Europe."

He likens the business aircraft market to a pyramid containing around 60,000 users. At its apex are the "tiny percentage" of high-end business jet customers, Dichter says. "With Wheels up, we are opening up the pyramid to a lot more people and believe we can grow it to a million users."

To help fund its European expansion, Wheels Up in September raised $115 million from a handful of private investors. It has also appointed UK business aviation services provider Gama Aviation to operate the 350is on its behalf – an extension of the partnership already in place between the membership programme and Gama’s US subsidiary Gama Charters.

"The company is already a long-established King Air maintenance provider and operator, so it is well placed to support our fleet in Europe," says Dichter.

[rivaldo] 17/11/2015 08:28

GMAA's partner Wheels Up are forecasting "unprecedented" 50% revenue growth next year - and there's plenty of mentions of GMAA in this article:



Extracts:

"Kenny Dichter, co-founder and CEO of Wheels Up (Booth N137), a membership-based private aviation club, predicts a 50% boost in revenue next year and an 80% increase in revenue flight hours."

"There are a small percentage of people at the top of the pyramid who can afford a Boeing Business Jet or a Gulfstream. Business aviation currently has only about 50,000 to 60,000 users. We’re opening up the pyramid to a lot more people. We believe we can grow it to 500,000 to a million users." Dichter’s high-profile clients include New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, Serena Williams and Caitlyn Jenner.

"Winners fly Wheels Up. This is a service for the working wealthy, more of a utility than a luxury."

"Gama Aviation has extensive operating experience in Europe, helping to clear the path for expansion into Europe."

[shackles83] 05/11/2015 19:07

Has anyone noticed NetJets are now offering aircraft management in Europe?

[gorilla36] 05/11/2015 14:28

Rivaldo - Indeed I guess that is possible, we shall see.

[rivaldo] 05/11/2015 13:42

Cheers gorilla - but I wasn't thinking of holidays at all. I should have been clearer. You gotta think outside the box!

I'm thinking about general travel in the local and wider area, for business, for rich individuals, for officialdom etc. What's happening now affects perceptions in general, and all of the categories I've mentioned will be looking to see if their travel arrangements need to be made safer now that (seemingly) ISIS are carrying out these kinds of actions.

So private aviation services may end up with extra traffic and usage at some point, be it short or long-term.

[gorilla36] 05/11/2015 12:32

rivaldo - With all due to respect to my high opinion of your board contributions here and elsewhere I think your last comment is delusional. Sharm is a mass package holiday destination. Rich people who can afford private jets can also afford to holiday somewhere safer (perceived).

[rivaldo] 05/11/2015 10:01

GMAA may well benefit short-term and long-term from the current sad tidings at Sharm-El-Sheikh, with increased usage of its private facilities and aviation services in the Middle East.

[igoe104] 03/11/2015 07:57

You would think this should be going up not down with the falling prices at the pumps. should be a massive saving on costs for airlines.

Small sells and no buys are depressing the price at the moment.

[igoe104] 02/11/2015 15:03

Only 2,737 traded as well, this stock is extremely liquid.

[gorilla36] 02/11/2015 13:50

One has to ask what is the catalyst to make this go higher.

[rivaldo] 29/10/2015 23:17

Twirl, DD has left the Group to "pursue his own personal non-competing business interests". He therefore had £millions tied up in a company he had no control over. I suspect he's done what anyone would do in those circumstances, including me!

GMAA have won a very significant award - I'd normally discount such awards, but this one looks pretty meaningful:



"Gama Aviation’s Sharjah base wins prestigious award at Aviation Business Awards in Dubai

Gama Aviation has been named the 2015 Fixed Base Operator of the Year in the Aviation Business Awards at a ceremony in Dubai.

Gama Aviation’s operations in Sharjah were recognised for providing its customers with outstanding service and facilities over the past 12 months. The award, which was judged on a number of criteria including innovation, design, customer satisfaction and investment, was collected by Martin Ringrose, Gama Aviation’s managing director for the Middle East region.

The Aviation Business Awards, which are in their ninth year, were held at the Park Hyatt hotel in Dubai and recognised the best businesses in Middle Eastern business aviation, with awards covering ground handling, maintenance, repair and operations, airports and airlines.....

.....Martin Ringrose commented: “Earlier this year we undertook a significant expansion of our operations in Sharjah, which included acquiring additional aircraft parking space to meet growing demand and expanding the responsibilities of our MRO team. We are delighted that our dedication to providing our customers with unrivalled service has been recognised at the 2015 Aviation Business Awards and we look forward to further growing our presence in the Middle East through high-quality, client-focused service.”

Gama Aviation also conducted a review of the handling rates in Sharjah and, as a result, has been able to reduce the basic handling prices by 20%. This ensures that the Sharjah FBO, just 30 minutes from Downtown Dubai is extremely competitive when compared to similar offerings in the region notably Dubai World Central (60+ minutes away from Downtown Dubai).

Gama Aviation has operations in 45 different locations in 17 countries across five continents, making it one of the world’s leading aviation services companies. Its services include: line and base maintenance; FBO services; engineering design; aircraft management; charter operations; training; and aviation and ground management systems."

[twirl] 27/10/2015 17:42

Rivaldo>> why do you think Dryden sold.

[rivaldo] 22/10/2015 07:25

Indeed igoe. I was correct in my earlier post's assertion that the large volumes were Dryden's holding as per last night's RNS - hopefully this means the overhang is cleared and GMAA can continue its long-term uptrend.

Perhaps we'll also get an RNS telling us who's been doing the buying.

More news - GMAA are certainly thinking creatively in linking up with a high-end chalet provider:



"Art de Vivre is partnering with Gama Aviation to offer private jet charter services to complement their stunning Alpine chalet collection for the 2015/16 Winter season"

[igoe104] 21/10/2015 09:52

I`d imagine we should see a big buy come in soon, which will indicate the sells have been mopped up by a fund. Hopefully now we will start to see the share price creeping up.

[rivaldo] 21/10/2015 08:49

News re Scottish expansion:



"Gama Aviation Opens Unique New Base for NHS Scotland
October 21, 2015 03:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

FARNBOROUGH, England--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Gama Aviation (LSE:GMAA), the global aviation services company, has opened a new purpose built base at Glasgow airport to support its contract with the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS).

The base will house Scotland’s national specialist transport and retrieval service (SCOTSTAR) for critically ill NHS patients and will be the first time anywhere in the UK that all the country’s national retrieval services will operate from a single, central base.

This provides the Scottish Government with the huge benefit of being able to combine the external expertise of Gama Aviation with the clinical care of its own services. SCOTSTAR brings together the Scottish Neonatal Service (SNTS), the Transport of Critically Ill and Injured Children Service and the Emergency Medical Retrieval Service, with the SAS, which co-ordinates the teams. The result is a single integrated national service with a sustainable multidisciplinary medical and clinical team, making best use of the range of air and road transport by providing immediate access to specialist aircraft and vehicles.

Gama Aviation has carried out air operations for the SAS since 1993 with its current contract due to run until 2020. The number of flights operated by the company has grown annually – last year Gama Aviation carried out 491 missions out of a total of 2,654 cases to which the SCOTSTAR teams responded.

Gama Aviation currently operates two Beechcraft King Air 200C fixed wing turboprop aircraft based at Glasgow and Aberdeen airports, along with two dedicated Eurocopter EC145T2 helicopters located in Glasgow and Inverness. This core fleet is supplemented when needed by Eurocopter Super Puma helicopters based in both Shetland and Aberdeen.

Ryan McGrath, Regional Manager Scotland, from Gama Aviation, said: “The contract with the Scottish Ambulance Service covers some of the most important missions we undertake as they can literally be a matter of life or death. Our investment in the new base will allow for a seamless incident response and patient transfer which is a bespoke service for Scotland. This highlights the advantage to our clients of pairing their own capabilities with our external aviation expertise to deliver a high quality, cost effective service.”

Gama Aviation has operations in 45 different locations in 17 countries across five continents, making it one of the world’s leading aviation services companies. Its services include: line and base maintenance; FBO services; engineering design; aircraft management; charter operations; training; and aviation and ground management systems."

[rivaldo] 20/10/2015 14:08

Huge volumes just gone through, followed by an immediate tick up. Clearance of an overhang perhaps?

The 2.158m could well be the remainder of Dustin Dryden's holding as it fits the percentages perfectly, in which case that would certainly be a big overhang cleared.

[rivaldo] 19/10/2015 07:33

Good news:



"EASA Approved Gama Aviation Landing Trainings for 7 Types of Aircraft
09 October 2015 /

Gama Aviation announced Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) Approved Training Organisation (ATO) approval to conduct the landing training required for the issue of aircraft type ratings. This enables Gama to carry out training programmes under the new interpretation of the EASA Part-FCL training requirements for base training.

The ATO initially covers seven types of aircraft including Challenger, Global Express and Gulfstream G550, with more types to be added in the near future. Gama Aviation anticipates that within a few months it will be able to provide training on up to 30 aircraft types.

The ATO was launched to meet the needs of roster of more than 450 pilots and 20 students have already completed their type ratings using the facility. However, Gama will also be extending the service to other operators.

Hamish Ross, head of our training said: “As a business we place a huge emphasis on training, across all aspects of our operations. We demand the highest standards and that is why we have established our own ATO, both for our own needs and those of the rest of the industry.”

Gama Aviation has operations in 45 different locations in 17 countries across five continents, making the company one of the world’s leading aviation services companies."

[rivaldo] 06/10/2015 07:21

More news of GMAA's partner Wheels Up:



"U.S subscription carrier Wheels Up eyes Euro ops in 2016
01OCT2015

Wheels Up (Teterboro) is planning to venture into the European market in late 2016 using part of the USD115 million in additional capital it successfully raised from funds and trusts managed by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc., Fidelity Management and Research Company, and NEA.

Europe is attracting a number of subscription-based start-ups such as Take Air (Antwerp) in Belgium as well as Texas-based firm Rise (Dallas Love Field) which plans to set up a Rise Europe (London City) subsidiary early next year.

Kenny Dichter, founder and CEO of the New York-based All-You-Can-Fly membership start-up, said the funds would also be used to fuel the company's US expansion as well as to enhance its IT platform, which includes a unique member-to-member ride-sharing feature.

"Wheels Up is a disruptive force and is democratizing the private aviation space with its unique membership model, which broadens the addressable market, and its partnership with Textron Aviation to exclusively offer the Beech (twin turboprop) King Air 350i, one of the world's most iconic airplanes, in fleet format," Dichter said.

Founded in 2013, Wheels Up has 105 King Air 350is on order from Hawker Beechcraft (Wichita Beech Factory) of which thirty-nine have already been delivered with the remainder due to be delivered through 2018. Gama Charters, the US subsidiary of UK firm Gama Aviation (GMA, Farnborough), dry leases and serves as the sole operator for the Wheels Up King Air aircraft. The UK parent will likely act in the same capacity for Wheels Up's European services".

[rivaldo] 01/10/2015 09:21

Nice publicity in today's Times - except that Gama's aviation services are largely recurring in nature. The article is incorrect, as GMAA is definitively more than a "jet broker":



"Gama’s revenues flying high in wake of takeover

If there is one business that does well when the City does well, it’s private aviation. Got a heap of clients to take on international roadshows, then who are you going to call but your friendly jet broker?

Need to make an ultra sneaky trip at the last moment to discuss that mega merger, you’re not going to risk flying commercial, are you?

Feeling a bit flush and want to take the girlfriend away for that impromptu long weekend in Ibiza, who you going to call? Not easyJet, right?

Which brings us to Gama Aviation and its fleet of more than a hundred aircraft. Yesterday the AIM-listed shares had a nice pop — up 8½p to 301p — as Gama put out half-year results that showed a 47 per cent rise in revenues to $191 million for the six months to the end of June — not bad in a time of austerity.

With the UK’s growing population of international plutocrats, hedge funders, and bankers, the Farnborough-based business provides the sort of fancy rides that your top one-percenter expects whether they’re travelling for business or pleasure.

In a merger this year with Hangar8, Gama reversed into its listing, which has provided the launch pad for further growth and swelling operations in the US — a new base will open in Chicago. There is also growth in the Middle East and Asia."

[rivaldo] 30/9/2015 12:08

Cantor Fitzgerald reiterate their Buy with a 400p target:

[rivaldo] 30/9/2015 10:36

Brief comment from the IC today - hopefully ST will pick up on these results with more commentary:



"Simon Thompson recommendation Gama Aviation (GMAA), the private jet business which reversed into Air Partner to gain a London listing, has issued strong results for the six months to June. Revenues rose by 22 per cent to $191m against a pro-forma $157m for last year while underlying profits were 69 per cent higher at $4.9m. "