On 21 September 2017 Japan Investment Adviser Co., Ltd. (JIA), the parent company of JP Lease Products & Services Co., Ltd (JP Lease), and Arena Aviation Capital (Arena) announced the launch of a joint venture (JV), through which JIA will invest in the Arena platform. This solidifies the already existing strategic relationship between the two parties and further increases the potential of Arena for future business growth.

“This investment builds on the foundation laid by our fruitful co-operation during the past two years”, says Patrick den Elzen, Arena Managing Director. “Whilst this transaction solidifies the strategic relationship between Arena and JP Lease, the capital injection enables us to further develop the organization and accommodate the rapid growth of our portfolio of Assets under Management. Not only for JP Lease but also for other Investor customers.”

Arena currently manages 30 aircraft of which 19 for JP Lease. The platform will continue to trade under the name Arena Aviation Capital, in line with Arena’s strategy to facilitate discretionary investments for its investor base under the Arena banner. “We view the Japanese tax equity market as an important and growing source of capital for mid-life and older aircraft, and JP Lease is the perfect partner to access it” says Dirk Jan Smit, Arena CFO. “At the same time we have expanded our team and professionalized our organization to be ready to attract and serve additional sources of capital”.

During the first six months of 2017, Arena managed the acquisition of 12 aircraft for JP Lease leased to first tier airlines worldwide. In the second half of this year to date, letters of intent have been signed for a further 10 aircraft and as such we target to manage a portfolio of 40+ aircraft with a market value approximating US$ 2.0 Bio by year-end.

"I would like to congratulate our colleagues at Arena Aviation Capital for the opportunity to jointly put together this transaction and thank their whole team for their partnership and leadership. We had already built a significant business in recent years and share Arena’s vision on growth and diversification of its investor base.

The creation of this joint venture and our investment forms part of our strategy to grow our presence in the aircraft leasing industry and to ensure that our assets are managed professionally by industry experts for our own customers ", says JP Lease President and CEO Mr. Teiji Ishikawa.