Bournemouth International Airport is to see a new facility for business aviation as Gama Aviation plans to transfer its primary turboprop and jet maintenance facilities from its locations at Farnborough Airport and London Oxford Airport into a flagship 135,000 sq ft secure facility at the south coast of England airport in the second half of 2018.
The move will provide capacity for the expansion of Gama Aviation’s European ground business, which grew by 20% in 2017, while also delivering immediate efficiency savings.
Steve Rigby, chief operating officer for Rigby Group, the owners of Bournemouth International Airport, said: “We are delighted to welcome Gama Aviation to Bournemouth International Airport. This move will create a major new facility for business aviation as a core component of the strategic development of the airport.”
In a statement, Gama Aviation said: “Restructuring costs of c.$2m, which will be funded out of operational cashflow, will be incurred largely in 2018 and treated as either exceptional items or capital expenditure, with no impact on underlying profitability of the Group.”
The company says the cash costs related to the restructuring will be offset by the end of the first half of 2019 through capital contributions by the new landlord and a rent-free period and added: “The transfer will deliver near-term efficiency savings and revenue synergies which are expected to more than offset the costs of additional space from 2019 onwards, while also laying the foundations for further growth.”
Neil Medley, Gama Aviation’s group chief operating officer, said: “To support the continuing growth of our high performing UK maintenance business, we are investing in a flagship maintenance facility to provide the capacity for maintaining all types and sizes of business aircraft for European clients. This will in turn allow the growth and development of our talented pool of engineers, as we add a range of new capabilities to broaden our service offering.”
Gama Aviation’s Europe Air division, and its ground facilities in Aberdeen, Glasgow, Jersey, Fairoaks and Doncaster will be unaffected by the above.
