Helicopter company leasing rankings 2018

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by Alasdair Whyte

13 December 2018

After almost a year of slow business in the helicopter leasing space, 2018 closed with the largest independent helicopter lessor Waypoint Leasing being acquired by investment bank Macquarie and merged with its leasing arm.

With such a shake up to the industry, it seemed like the right time to update our lessor ranking table.

Whilst the worst of the oil and gas downturn is behind us and more offshore contracts have been opening-up, there is still and oversupply of helicopters – specifically the H225 and the S92 – which need to find homes.

The ranking below shows official figures from five of the biggest leasing companies’ current portfolio figures. These figures are subject to change.

If you have any questions or corrections, please contact [email protected].

Milestone Aviation:
Current portfolio value: $4.7 billion
Number of helicopters: 300+
Orders and options: valued at $3 billion
Customers: more than 37 customers in over 30 countries.
Shareholder: GE Capital Aviation Services

Macquarie Rotorcraft (after acquiring Waypoint Leasing):

Current portfolio value: est. $1.8 billion
Number of helicopters: approx. 200
Shareholder: Macquarie Bank

LCI Helicopters:
Portfolio: $750m (Ascend Full Life Base Value)
Number of helicopters owned, managed and on order: 61
Orders and options: Between $105m – $125m
Customers: 18

Lobo Leasing:
Current portfolio value: $300 million
Number of helicopters: 32
Shareholder: GSO Capital Partners

Nova Capital:
Current portfolio value: $275 million
Number of helicopters: 80
Shareholder: founder & CEO<
Equity Sponsor: Rive Private Investment

Source: www.helicopterinvestor.com

Prior to Macquarie buying Waypoint, many figures in the helicopter industry were predicting consolidation in the leasing and operating space. Despite a growing number of leasing opportunities, the number of lessors in the space was not sustainable. Towards the end of last year, most new helicopter deliveries were going through lessors as opposed to operators but 2018 saw a credit freeze hit the helicopter market and as a result far less deals.

The future of the helicopter market is still uncertain, but the overall response to the Macquarie acquisition has been positive. Now there are less players on the pitch and the promise of more deals in the pipeline in both established and upcoming markets.