Bridgepoint, GFH Bank and AIP Capital build $1bn aircraft engine leasing platform

Bridgepoint, Bahrain-headquartered GFH Bank and AIP Capital are building an aircraft engine leasing platform worth more than $1bn (£755.5m). GFH joins as cornerstone investor and strategic partner. Bridgepoint funds and AIP Capital are also committing capital, Alternative Credit Investor reported on 13 October.

AIP Capital will lead the sourcing, asset management and trading of the portfolio, which will span next-generation and current-generation engine types. The platform will lease engines to airlines, maintenance, repair and overhaul providers and other operators. It will buy engines through direct purchases from manufacturers, sale-and-leaseback transactions with airlines, secondary acquisitions and finance leases.

All three partners will raise money from institutional and private wealth investors as they scale toward the $1bn target. The deal marks GFH's entry into the aviation sector; the bank holds more than $25bn in assets and funds under management.

"Aircraft engines represent a compelling asset class, combining resilient, contracted cash flows with robust long-term structural demand," said Hammad Younas, chief executive of GFH Equities.

Bridgepoint and AIP Capital began buying engines together in 2024, taking an initial portfolio of LEAP-1B engines. In July they agreed to purchase a further 11 from CFM International. The platform puts that engine-buying relationship behind a vehicle the three partners intend to scale with outside capital.

The partners cite long-term structural demand for engines. Extended maintenance turnaround times, growing backlogs for new aircraft and sustained growth in air travel are all increasing the need for spare engines. The Gulf Cooperation Council, home to some of the world's fastest-growing airlines and aviation hubs, is an important driver of that demand, they said.

Bridgepoint has also been working the capital-structure side of its own book this year, transferring €1.2bn from a 2017 fund into a Pantheon-led continuation vehicle in September, per this publication's reporting.

Bridgepoint said the partnership expands its asset-backed investment strategy and deepens its presence in the Middle East.