With many options available to those working in the aircraft leasing sector; there is a growing rise in the top talent choosing a career in corporate services.

THE CORPORATE SERVICES INDUSTRY:
Corporate services have played a pivotal role in the aircraft leasing industry in Ireland. With many companies setting up operations and requiring the financial and company secretarial support in their early years and occasionally on a long term basis, for professionals in financial services this sector has launched many successful accounting careers.

In recent times the corporate services space has started to evolve with a couple of firms acting as a managing agents to the well known names in the aircraft leasing industry as they look to launch ABS products, a trend that has been around for years that is now gaining huge traction and momentum as confidence grows with aircraft leasing structures to generate strong and stable returns.

ABS PRODUCTS IN AIRCRAFT LEASING:
As aircraft leasing companies are reliant on raising cash through either equity or debt, one of the debt options available to them is to issue an asset backed security (ABS) product and as highlighted in a report by EY this is a type of structured product typically favoured by aircraft leasing companies given insurers preference for fixed payments.

Some use the product as an equity sale of assets, where they retain the right to manage the assets as a servicer to the portfolio, dealing with maintenance, repossession and sale of the aircraft but sell the equity to new investors. Other lessors use the structure for portfolio refinancing, where the lessor retains the equity in the aircraft.

SOME NOTABLE ABS LAUNCHES IN RECENT YEARS HAVE BEEN:
In August 2016, Castlelake closed a $916m aircraft securitization
Aergo in 2017 with $605m transaction
Goshawk closing their first ABS mid 2019
Apollo also priced a $510m deal at the end of 2019
BENEFITS TO YOUR CAREER:
If you are currently training in the Big 4, auditing aircraft leasing companies or working in a centralised finance function of a lessor then looking at a move of this nature could really benefit your career and CV in a number of ways:

EXPOSURE TO ABS STRUCTURES:
Whilst these transactions are being completed by the majority of larger lessors, not all accounting roles will offer the same exposure to working on these type of deals, something which can really compliment a strong financial accounting/technical reporting background.

OPPORTUNITY TO BE INVOLVED IN THE ONBOARDING AND CLIENT RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT:
Operating in a client focused role of this nature will present the opportunity to get more commercially involved in duties that extend beyond traditional auditing and accounting such as establishing global structures, providing local directorship and company secretarial requirements with direct oversight of cash and liquidity management.

ESTABLISHING A WIDER NETWORK IN THE AIRCRAFT LEASING INDUSTRY:
As there are only a couple of managing agents in the local Dublin market, this results in a diverse portfolio of leasing clients that not only operate in new life models but also companies that have expanded to include mid-life and older aircraft, and cover both commercial and regional.

GENERALISE YOUR EXPERIENCE IN A SPECIALISM:
Gaining exposure in other aspects of aircraft leasing will ensure you become a well rounded professional in this sector should you seek a long term career in the aviation sector. Being involved in the monitoring and communication with lessors in respect of any lease marketing and sale activities that are being performed will give you the broader viewpoint.

Previously, where we may have seen individuals in the market moving to a role in the corporate service providers to gain practical accounting exposure to spring board their skillsets into a centralised function of a lessor, we are now seeing an outflow from the lessors into these specialist service providers. Those currently in audit or working in a specialised finance division, with a defined and somewhat narrow focus, can realise some of the benefits as outlined above.

For more information about careers with companies that operate in this sector please reach out to the team at Coopman Search & Selection.

+353 1 211 8333

connect@coopman.ie