According to a recent Bloomberg report, Investec Bank’s aviation arm made its first foray into financing the Airbus Group A380 superjumbo with a deal to purchase four jets operated by Emirates before leasing them back to the Dubai-based carrier.
Investec will pay a total of $1 billion for the double-deckers, of which two are new and owned by Emirates, with the other two, first delivered in 2013, being bought from Aviation Finance’s Stellwagen Finance, it said on Monday.
London-based Investec, which already finances single-aisle and smaller twin-aisle aircraft built by Airbus and Boeing, plans to own the A380s for 12 years before selling them on the secondary market, Alok Wadhawan, co-head of Investec Aviation Finance, said in a telephone interview.
Interest in aircraft purchases has increased as yields from more traditional assets struggle to recover to the levels seen before the 2008 credit crunch and global recession. The price of oil has also buoyed airline earnings, while making the four-engine A380 a more viable prospect, Wadhawan said.