Aircraft lessor and Libra Group subsidiary LCI has acquired two Leonardo Helicopters AW189s valued at over $25 million through its joint venture (JV) with Thora Capital.

The super-medium helicopters are on operations across the globe and bring the total of LCI's acquisitions alongside Thora to $120 million.

CEO Jaspal Jandu says: “Thora is a trusted financial partner with whom we have built a portfolio of helicopters used in mission-critical operations. We are delighted to be expanding this successful partnership and growing its footprint worldwide.”

Thora Capital managing director Russell Christopher adds: “LCI's proven helicopter acquisition, management and technical experience is integral to the success of our partnership. Together, we are building a portfolio of investment grade assets that are sought after by helicopter operators across the globe.”

With the closing of a new five-year facility with Investec Bank, the LCI group has surpassed the raising of over $300 million of helicopter related finance and refinance in 2022. This follows on from the $1 billion of aviation and helicopter capital raised from 2019 to 2021, a significant achievement spanning the COVID pandemic.

CFO Praveen Vetrivel explains: “As a lessor, we are required to be across a huge variety of capital sources from around the world. Interest rates and financial compliance costs are up, and we look to offset these with our own efficiencies such as the raising of capital at scale. With a new aviation investment cycle upon us, we are deploying our resources across a broad and efficient range of products including operating leasing; finance leasing; deposit payment finance; hedging; and also additional equipment finance.

“Lessors such as LCI play a significant role in the aviation and helicopter value chain and facilitate new deliveries from the OEMs as well as trading in the secondary market. As such, we are vested in the long-term value and sustainability of assets and form a key stakeholder in this community.”