Advising Gama Aviation on rescue deal to purchase Specialist Aviation Services

Stevens & Bolton has announced today that it advised aviation specialist, Gama Aviation, in its last-minute rescue deal to purchase the business and assets of Specialist Aviation Services, via a pre-packaged administration process.

Specialist Aviation Services provided "critical"  air ambulance services across the South of England, covering Surrey, Sussex, Kent, Dorset, Somerset, Essex and Hertfordshire. It supported more than 5,000 ambulance flights in 2023.

In a highly complex transaction, which prevented the grounding of most air ambulances in the South of England, Gama Aviation and Stevens & Bolton worked against the clock to transfer Specialist Aviation Services’ 170 employees (based in the UK and Middle East) across to Gama Aviation, whilst arranging – with the very helpful support and co-operation from the Civil Aviation Authority - for Gama Aviation to obtain the necessary regulatory approvals to enable Gama to operate the aircraft with immediate effect. The deal involved the novation of helicopter operating leases to Gama Aviation, alongside the transfer of technical and maintenance services provided by third party suppliers in North America and Italy and the taking of licenses to occupy Specialist Aviation Service’s main site in Gloucestershire. 

Commenting on the deal, Financial Restructuring & Insolvency Partner, David Steinberg, said: “With Specialist Aviation Services running out of cash quickly, we understood how severe the repercussions would be if the company filed for administration without transferring its business at the same time. We were delighted to help get this deal over the line and are immensely proud of our team who delivered an excellent result.

Commercial Partner, Beverley Flynn, went on to comment: “This was a highly complex and time-pressured transaction. Our team put in everything they had to complete the deal in time to ensure air ambulances continued to provide vital services to the South of England. The last ten days were particularly intense, with everyone sacrificing their evenings and weekends to ensure the deadline was met.”

The Stevens & Bolton team was led by David Steinberg and Beverley Flynn, supported by Lucy Trott, Samantha Uzzell, Luke Fahy-Spada (finance, restructuring & insolvency), Guy Cartwright, Jessica Gregson and George Harrington (commercial), Jonny Cope (real estate), Gustaf Duhs and Jeremy Kelly (regulatory).