VistaJet: Billionaire’s private jet firm makes UK loss
The UK arm of private jet charter company VistaJet has fallen into the red despite its revenue climbing closer to the £100m mark.
For 2024, the division has reported a pre-tax loss of £5.7m, having made a pre-tax profit of £9.2m in the prior 12 months.
New accounts filed with Companies House also show VistaJet’s UK revenue rose from £90.9m to £93.4m over the same period.
VistaJet was founded by Swiss billionaire Thomas Flohr in 2004.
In 2024, the UK arm operated 214 aircraft – 174 of which it owns and a further 40 under lease.
The wider VistaJet group is headquartered in Malta while it also has bases in New York, Los Angeles and Hong Kong.
VistaJet raises $1.3bn to pay down debt
A statement signed off by the board said: “The outlook for the group and company is continued revenue growth through program sales to both new and existing customers complimented by strong on demand sales.
“These customers will be derived from a diverse segment of industries globally.
“A large portion of the group’s overheads are fixed, and this incremental revenue will drive group margin improvement as witnessed in 2024.
“Wider macroeconomic trends are being monitored such as the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Palestine, higher interest rates, the fluctuation of commodity prices, inflationary increase of salaries, foreign exchange rates, availability of local markets and services and access to local resources.”
The results come after the wider VistaJet group raised $1.3bn (£967.3m) earlier this year in a bid to pay down its debt.
The group’s raise included $600m from Singapore-based private equity firm RRJ Capital and a £400m senior secured loan.
In July, City PM reported that Flexjet, the world’s second-largest private jet company, had been valued at around $4bn (£2.9bn) after securing $800m in new funding.
The US firm’s latest funding round has been led by private equity giant L Catterton – which itself is backed by luxury group LVMH.
Other backers of the round include KSL Capital Partners and J. Safra Group.