Dubai’s DAE Capital sets up dedicated asset management unit

DAE Capital, the leasing arm of Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE), has formed an asset management unit that will seek to build a US$5 billion portfolio of assets in the coming years, the company said yesterday.

DAE Aircraft Investor Services (DAE-AIS) will include in its remit the two aircraft portfolios that DAE already manages – Falcon Aerospace and Diamond Head, the latter of which was acquired as part of DAE’s takeover of Dublin lessor Awas last August.

The two portfolios have combined assets under management of $850 million.

The new unit, DAE-AIS, commences operations with immediate effect and will be headed by DAE’s executive vice president Dan Stone, a DAE spokesman said.

The unit will aim to service the needs of debt and equity investors in aviation assets.

“DAE-AIS will provide a unique offering blending our full platform capabilities with a dedicated service unit led by industry veteran Dan Stone [currently the principal engineer at Honeywell Aerospace],” said Firoz Tarapore, chief executive of DAE.

“Dan will be responsible for growing the assets under management of approximately $850m to $5bn to address the growing needs of investors in this sector.”

There are no immediate plans to hire additional staff, the DAE spokesman added. Currently, eight job functions within the DAE group will serve the new unit.

DAE said yesterday that the new asset management unit will provide investors with a single point of contact to serve their interests within the wider DAE platform, as well as ensure high standards of care for investors’ assets.

Earlier this month, DAE Capital said its total aircraft fleet rose to 383 owned, managed and committed aircraft at the end of last year, boosted by the acquisition of Irish firm Awas.

The acquisition, from private equity firm Terra Firma Capital Partners and the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board, gave DAE ownership of around 400 aircraft, and tripled its estimated fleet value to over $14bn.

Over the course of last year, DAE Capital purchased 37 aircraft, sold 25 aircraft, completed 78 leasing transactions and reached 109 customers in 55 countries, it said in its 2017 company update.