News
29 October 2006
Press Release - Sunday 29 October 2006
ICELANDIC INVESTMENT GROUP ACQUIRES 51% SHAREHOLDING IN UK AIRLINE ASTRAEUS
Fons Eignarhaldsfelag, the Icelandic investment company, has today entered into a binding agreement to acquire a majority shareholding in Astraeus, the niche UK airline based at London Gatwick with Aberdeen Asset Management and Astraeus Management. Aberdeen Asset Management is a major UK based Fund Manager with funds under management of US$140billion.
Fons is headed by Palmi Haraldsson and Johannes Kristinsson and has a number of aviation interests including Iceland Express. Palmi has a wide variety of other business ventures in the retail industry.
The arrangement will see Astraeus continue to operate its existing route structure from London Gatwick and Manchester, whilst at the same time providing back-of-house support and assistance to other airlines in Fons' expanding portfolio of investments. Exciting developments are in prospect, particularly in the Scandinavian arena, where Iceland Express has just announced an expanded route network of flights from Summer 2007.
Fons will invest £5 million to take a 51% stake in Astraeus. The remaining 49% of the shareholding will be held in equal portions by Astraeus' management and Aberdeen Asset Management, the private equity provider which supported the airline's launch in 2002.
"Today's announcement opens up fantastic opportunities for Astraeus," said Managing Director Hugh Parry. "The strong financial backing from Fons will enable us to press ahead with an exciting programme of development to extend Astraeus' route network and high quality of customer service into new markets. It will also enable us to benefit from economies of scale in purchasing, flight operations and technical areas by working with the other airlines under Fons' ownership."
Palmi Haraldsson, Chairman of Fons Eignarhaldsfelag, said "I'm delighted to have reached this agreement to acquire a majority shareholding in Astraeus. It is an exciting young company with a competitive cost-base and a track record of innovation across all areas of the business, whether in operational, technical or commercial terms. Its focus on niche routes ignored by other airlines is paying dividends, and with additional financial support, the potential for expansion is huge. I look forward to working closely with the whole Astraeus team to grow its business in the months and years ahead."
Neil Macfadyen, Investment Director of Aberdeen Asset Managers Private Equity, said "this is the start of a bright co-operation with Fons and we are delighted to have them on board as we progress our expansion plans in Astraeus."
[ENDS]
For further information, please contact:
Iain Macauley IMPR [
PR advisor to Astraeus] Tel 07788 978800
![[email address]](http://www.pprune.org/?emailimage=af6287c805817fe8e6a7180d8c7cdf26)
Notes to Editors:
Astraeus is a niche airline based at London Gatwick, operating four Boeing 757 and two Boeing 737-700 aircraft on a range of flights serving markets in Africa, Europe, the CIS states and Canada. In addition to scheduled services to Sierra Leone, Ghana, Equatorial Guinea and Egypt, it operates a range of charter flights on behalf of leading independent tour operators. Its Boeing 757 aircraft are configured with only 201 seats (34 less than many other carriers' configurations) to provide enhanced legroom for all passengers.
It is launching the first ever direct services between the UK and the Cape Verde Islands on Thursday 2 November - early signs are very encouraging as the inaugural flight between London Gatwick and the islands' main international airport at Sal is already fully booked.
Astraeus' development plans include launching additional specialist flights to serve the oil & gas industry, and opening up new markets in West and East Africa, an area long neglected by other British scheduled carriers. It will introduce the first direct flights for over 20 years between London and Monrovia, the capital of Liberia, on December 13. Further announcements on new routes and service developments are expected in the near future.
The airline commenced operations in April 2002 and now employs 370 staff from its operating bases at London Gatwick and Manchester. Its turnover in the year to 31 October 2006 is expected to exceed £100 million.
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