Tamweel Aviation Finance (TAF), a new and integrated financing platform offering turnkey alternative financing solutions to airlines and aircraft leasing companies, has been established by Novus Aviation Capital in partnership with Development Bank of Japan Inc. (DBJ) and Airbus.
The new enterprise has been set up to facilitate the funding of aircraft acquisitions, providing secured junior and mezzanine loans to airlines for all Airbus aircrafts, with a focus on the twin-aisle segment, including the A380. TAF will be managed by Dubai-based Novus Aviation Capital.
The team responsible for the organization and management of TAF is led by Novus Executive Vice Presidents Mounir and Hani Kuzbari. Mounir Kuzbari oversees the financing strategy while Hani Kuzbari oversees the investment side of the business.
“We see great synergies and common vision with the partners which are key components to the success of this joint venture”, said Mounir Kuzbari. “TAF has been set up in response to a rapidly changing aircraft financing environment, with new investors and lenders becoming attracted to the stable and attractive returns that have been generated by commercial aircraft assets over an extended period.
“These developments coincide with economic and environmental pressures that are driving demand from the world’s airlines for new aircrafts and resulting in record order backlogs at the major manufacturers. Values of new deliveries scheduled for 2013 alone are expected to exceed US$100bn, placing significant financing requirement on airlines and leasing companies.”
“DBJ, having developed its aircraft financing business globally since 2011, came to realize a huge potential of mezzanine finance in this space. Such a view, coupled with DBJ’s strong balance sheet and its corporate strategy to broaden the portfolio of middle risk products led DBJ to reach an agreement with Novus and Airbus on set-up of this venture. TAF will provide entirely new solutions for airlines, and DBJ is very pleased to have TAF established in partnership with Airbus and Novus”, said Masao Masuda, Director at DBJ.
Hani Kuzbari added that TAF’s role is compatible with a range of formats, including commercial senior financings, operating leases, capital markets and tax structures. “This venture was largely initiated based on feedback received from our airline clients looking for new products with higher advance rates to supplement traditional financings currently available for new aircraft deliveries. TAF will be able to fulfill airlines’ needs for higher Loan-to-Values. We believe that an alternative funding vehicle such as TAF will be well received by the market and we hope to announce our first transaction before the end of this year”, he said.