Air Works acquires 85 per cent stake in UK-based Air Livery

Mumbai-based maintenance, repair and overhauling firm Air Works Engineering Pvt Ltd on Thursday said it had acquired an 85 per cent stake in leading European refurbishing firm, Air Livery UK Plc.

Suresh Soni, executive director of Air Works, said the acquisition would add significantly to both the revenue and profitability of Air Works. He added that Air Works and the acquired company would function as separate entities.
 
He said Air Works would retain the key management of Air Livery and would offer the same levels of service.

Air Livery's clientele includes Virgin Atlantic, British Airways, Swiss Air and Britain's Royal Air Force, besides some Middle East carriers like Qatar Airways, Etihad and Emirates.

The company said it was keen on expanding business in India and other South Asian countries and expected to generate around $8 million by way of revenues in the next fiscal.

Air Works currently operates a unit at Hosur near Bangalore where it has serviced seven narrow-bodied aircraft since the hanger opened in November 2008.
'We will have another hangar at Hosur by the end of this year, which will cater to wide-bodied aircraft and in the next two years, we will add three more hangars," said director at Air Works Ravi Menon.

Soni said the acquisition would help the company get access to marquee customers as well as enable it to offer the complete suite of services.

Air Works is owned 33 per cent each by GTI and construction and engineering major Punj Lloyd Ltd. GTI Group LLC is a New York-based private equity firm in which Soni is managing partner.

Air Livery has annual revenue of Rs135 crore and a net profit of Rs25 crore.