London: 27 June 2022
Airline Management Group Ltd (AMG) and Buchler Phillips (BP) are delighted to announce a unique joint venture, offering the aviation industry a wide spectrum of business consulting expertise to address its complicated and critical challenges.
Together, AMG and BP will undertake turnaround, performance improvement and start-up projects worldwide. AMG has hands-on experience at Board and C-level of developing and implementing complex airline and aviation strategies globally. Buchler Phillips, meanwhile, has a very long history in financial restructuring: the reorganisation of a business’s assets and liabilities to reach an appropriate and sustainable position. BP can advise on debt-for-equity swaps or re-capitalisations, capital raising through its venture capital strategic partners and managing exits or the return of capital through a solvent winding up process.
Over many years, if not decades, the airline industry has consistently failed to deliver shareholder value. It requires very specific expertise, from engineering to commercial, finance to operations. The complexity is wide and deep, utilising multiple skills to maintain safety, as well as management and leadership skills to operate a usually sizeable business. Despite the prevalence of such skills in most airlines, the industry struggles to achieve financial longevity and sustainability in the face of the current market conditions.
Not surprisingly, Covid-19 compounded the financial fragility of the aviation industry. Whilst the market is gradually recovering, revenues from trading are expected to be insufficient to help battered balance sheets – IATA estimates that airline industry debt levels increased by more than $220bn to over $650bn during the pandemic. This enormous burden is compounded by ongoing cost pressures, exacerbated by war in Europe, global inflation, higher interest rates, and a requirement to focus on investing in a net zero future.
Commenting on the new partnership, AMG’s CEO Peter Davies, a former IATA board member who has led, restructured and launched airlines in countries as diverse as South Africa, Belgium, Malta, Trinidad and Oman, said:
“The industry has found itself continually striving to manage change – and often failing. Our JV combines operational, strategic, and financial restructuring skills that enable stakeholders to successfully address many of the deeply rooted issues that have been compounded by Covid-19. We’ll be providing a unique service of not only demonstrable skills in understanding the issues, but the key implementation dexterity necessary to deliver success.”
David Buchler, Chairman and Founder of Buchler Phillips, the UK’s leading independent, corporate recovery, turnaround and restructuring firm, added:
“Our partnership provides the critical balance between operational and commercial implementation with the intellectual understanding and strategy to restructure the balance sheet. This combination is a key differentiator in securing a sustainable outcome for airline and aviation businesses in need of support.”
Airline Management Group Ltd is a UK based company whose experienced board and management team have hands on responsibility at C-level in developing and implementing complex airline and aviation industry projects around the world. Airline Management Group creates dynamic, pragmatic, and profitable solutions to the airline industry with a focus on delivering shareholder return and economic longevity. Our focus is on taking responsibility for implementation. Our customer focus, network, knowledge, and expertise provide value to investors and shareholders as we create and implement innovative changes in the industry. Our collective track record extends across legacy to low-cost carriers, from start-ups to turnarounds in both government and private ownership.
Buchler Phillips Ltd is the UK’s leading independent, corporate recovery, turnaround and restructuring firm, dealing also with business advisory work in a wide variety of sectors. Based on a professional heritage dating back to the 1930s, the senior team at Buchler Phillips is equally comfortable advising global corporations, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) or individuals on all aspects of financial and operational challenges, as well as supporting them in their ambitions to grow. Backed by decades of experience, each of our Partners and team members, bring to any given engagement unique independent insight, free from conflicts of interest, that is often sought but rarely found by clients or co-advisors. The firm is sector-agnostic, but has particularly strong credentials in real estate; retail; financial services; transport and logistics; UK sport; leisure and hospitality; manufacturing and engineering; technology, media and entertainment.