Jackson Square Aviation Announces 2010 Results

SAN FRANCISCO, January 21, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

Jackson Square Aviation ("JSA") is excited to announce its 2010 results. Since its formation less than a year ago, the company has built a portfolio of 48 aircraft, with a value of $2.2 billion, and has quickly emerged as a leading provider of capital to the world's airlines.

"We had a highly successful launch in 2010," said Richard Wiley, JSA's founder and CEO. "With our focus on sale/leasebacks of next-generation equipment, we were able to establish a great base for our growing portfolio with the world's leading carriers. Throughout the globe, the capital requirements for operating leases remain high and our business is to fill the airlines' needs as they expand their fleets. As a result of the strong OEM backlog delivering over the next few years, we maintain an ambitious growth profile and a goal to have 100+ aircraft in our fleet by the end of 2011. With a strong equity base from Oaktree Capital and our market-leading origination franchise, we offer a powerful financing solution for our airline customers."

The company's fleet consists of 48 narrowbody and widebodyaircraft which deliver through 2012, including 24 A320s, 21 B737-800s, 2 A330-300s and 1 B777-300ER. The average age of the fleet is under one year and the average lease term extends over 10 years through 2021. Every aircraft in JSA's fleet has a firm lease in place, as JSA's business model is oriented towards long-term sale/leasebacks.

"We had a number of exciting campaigns in 2010 and we are working hard on building out our 2011-2012 pipeline," said Toby Bright, JSA's Head of Marketing. "We maintain a balanced approach throughout the world and have a high quality mix of flag carriers and LCCs within our customer base. Jackson Square offers financing on all in-production Airbus and Boeing models, including widebodies and freighters, and we're extremely proud of the portfolio we've built out thus far."

Highlights of 2010's successful campaigns include the following transactions:

    
    - Announced 14 A319/A320 transactions with Air Berlin, Avianca, easyJet,
      Virgin America and Wizz Air
    - Announced 10 B737-800 transactions with Air Berlin, American Airlines,
      and Shenzhen Airlines
    - Delivering 10 A320s in 2011/2012 to a leading European flag carrier and
      a leading Latin American LCC
    - Delivering 2 A330s in 2011 to a leading Asian flag carrier
    - Delivering 8 B737-800s in 2011/2012 to two leading Asian flag carriers
      and one leading European LCC
    - Delivering 1 B777 in 2011 to a leading European flag carrier
    - Pre-delivery payment financing on 10 aircraft delivering through 2012

JSA finances itself with a mix of equity, commercial debt and warehouse lines, with well over $1.5 billion in total committed financing in place. Scott Weiss, JSA's Chief Operating Officer and EVP of Capital Markets, commented that, "As the banking market opened up again in early 2010, we are able to reach out to the transportation-focused banks and obtain sufficient financing to support our growth. While we'll continue to pursue other capital alternatives as our fleet expands, we remain particularly committed to the commercial banking channel as the backbone of our balance sheet. Our banking partners understand our philosophy quite well and are firm believers in backing the strong operating lessors in new aircraft transactions. And as our core business expands, we will continue to pursue other public and private capital alternatives as they become available." JSA currently has $510 million in committed equity from Oaktree Capital and its management team, over $700 million in warehouse facilities, and over $500 million committed from various banking partners for bilateral term financing.

Jackson Square Aviation is a full-service aircraft leasing company based in San Francisco with offices in Seattle, London and Miami, with an Asian office opening in 2011. The management team, which had previously worked together at Pegasus Aviation Finance Company, has over 100 years of combined industry experience. Led by the seasoned aircraft leasing trio of Richard Wiley, Toby Bright and Scott Weiss, the team has collectively acquired over $10 billion of aircraft, has purchased and/or remarketed over 400 aircraft, and has developed relationships with over 30 commercial lenders and investment banks across Europe, Asia and North America. JSA's primary shareholder is Oaktree Capital Management, L.P., a $75 billion institutional money manager based in Los Angeles.

http://www.jacksonsquareaviation.com