http://www.AVBUYER.com AVBUYERMAGAZINEVol 23 Issue 8 2019 101
M AVBUYER .comRefurbish Your
Jet with
Maximum Appeal
(Part 1 )
efurbishing or upgrading an aircraft is a
very different investment proposition
compared to refurbishing a property.
While property generally appreciates in
value over time, aircraft are fundamentally
depreciating assets. Outside of very specific, often
unpredictable market conditions, aircraft will lose
value as they age.
Any investment into a business aircraft therefore
needs to be looked at from the point of view of
slowing that value loss as much as possible and
extracting maximum utility, rather than expecting a
positive financial return.
The most effective way to slow natural
depreciation is to ensure the aircraft is desirable to
the market so it sells quickly when the owner decides
they want to upgrade or generate some cash.
Mainstream, sought-after aircraft models in top
maintenance condition that have undergone a high-
quality cabin refit don’t tend to stay on the market
for long (unless they’re unrealistically priced).What Makes an Appealing Interior?
Naturally, when considering how to fit out the cabin
of a private jet, it’s crucial to make choices that not
only align with your current needs and desires, but
also account for your future buyer’s mindset as much
as possible.
Decisions made now often have a sizeable impact
on the future point of sale. The one similarity with
selling property is that a well-executed interior
should enable the buyer to visualize himself or
herself in the cabin with little or no change rather
than having to consider the cost of ripping it all out
and starting again.
Following are several themes that are important
to consider when it comes to the perceived value
that a well-executed cabin refit generates at the
point of sale from a buyer’s perspective.
Note: With our use of the term ‘value’, we
encompass not only the actual return by way of an
increased sale price (which tends to be the exception
rather than the rule), but also the impact on the timeR
When refurbishing your business jet, how far
should you go? How can you anticipate appealing to
future buyers, and what should be the priorities with
a sale in mind? Arc & Co’s Gary Crichlow shares
the insights of Tobias Laps and Iain Houseman...
Gary Crichlow, director of aviation finance, Arc &
Co has worked in aviation finance for the past
12 years. He was the aviation asset manager at GE
Capital and Lombard handling numerous aircraft
transactions. Arc & Co has years of experience
in arranging and advising on finance deals across
real estate, aviation and marine assets.Maintenance 1 Aug.qxp_Finance 16/07/2019 11:59 Page 2