суббота, 22 сентября 2012 г.

Gold charter plane deal worth pounds 4.4m.(Business) - The Birmingham Post (England)

Birmingham City Football Club chairman David Gold yesterday sold his executive aircraft charter business in a deal valued at pounds 4.4 million.

Mr Gold, who set up Gold Air in 1998, has agreed the sale with Air Partner, which will take over the management of a fleet of jets for high-earning clients.

The 70-year-old qualified pilot owned an 80 per cent stake in the firm with brother Ralph. He will now step down from the business.

Biggin Hill-based Gold Air does not own any aircraft, but makes its money on fees for operating and managing aircraft on behalf of customers.

Mr Gold was ranked 119th in April's Sunday Times rich list, and has been chairman of Championship football club Birmingham City since 1997 after buying it with David Sullivan four years earlier.

He is valued at around pounds 535 million and is co-owner and director of Sport Newspapers and chairman of Gold Group International, which includes the Ann Summers and Knickerbox lingerie chains.

Mr Gold set up Gold Air International - chartering 'jet travel to the rich and famous' - because he said he was keen for others not to benefit from flying him around the world to meetings.

Air Partner said the European private jet market is 'complex and highly fragmented' and believes a deal will help bring together two major players.

The company, which has paid pounds 1.4 million for Gold Air, plus pounds 3 million to pay off outstanding debt, said the deal will create a major UK operator of private jets.

Gold Air currently operates a fleet of six Learjet 45 and one Hawker 800. It is a profitable business, reporting annual sales of pounds 10.8 million to June 30.

Chief executive David Savile said: 'The acquisition of Gold Air is in line with the group's strategy to further invest in the growing private jet market.

'Air Partner will control the UK's newest fleet of private jets, have added 150 active customers to its client base and further diversified its revenue streams to include private jet management and sales - all without owning the fleet.'

Air Partner yesterday said that pretax profits rose 16 per cent to pounds 5.1 million in the last year to July 31, as sales increased 15 per cent to pounds 4.6 million.

The company flew more than 7,000 people out of Lebanon in July following conflict with Israel.

It also enjoyed a big surge in demand for flights as it took high-earners to the World Cup in Germany.

CAPTION(S):

Air Partner chief executive David Savile and Will Curtis, Gold Air MD, at the sharp end of the deal