Novus Aviation Capital

What Novus Aviation Capital does

Novus Aviation Capital is an independent aircraft leasing and financing platform headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, founded in 1991. The company focuses on investing in commercial aircraft assets and serves as an asset manager that structures and manages aircraft lease funds for institutional investors, with aircraft leased to airlines globally.

The firm's core business is the origination, structuring, and management of aircraft lease vehicles that acquire narrowbody and widebody aircraft from the two major OEMs (Boeing and Airbus) and place them on operating lease with airline counterparties. Its most material commercial relationship is with Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group (SMTG), a Japanese trust bank, with which Novus has co-launched three aircraft lease funds in 2016, 2019, and 2026 — the most recent targeting US$500 million from investors in Japan, Asia, and the Middle East.

Novus monetizes through a combination of fund management fees on committed and deployed capital, asset management fees on leased aircraft portfolios, and lease economics (rental income net of debt and asset costs). The business is relationship-driven and capital-intermediated rather than technology-driven: a small team of 11–50 employees operates from Dubai, with leadership including founder and co-CEO Mounir Kuzbari and senior vice president Cyrille Picard. Geographic reach is global by design (aircraft lessees worldwide), but capital sourcing has been anchored on Japanese institutional capital via SMTG, with the latest fund explicitly broadening to Asian and Middle Eastern investors.

Name

Novus Aviation Capital

Legal name

Novus Aviation Capital

Website

https://novus.aero

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Novus Aviation Capital is an independent Dubai-based aircraft leasing and financing platform that invests in commercial aircraft via managed lease funds, leasing Boeing and Airbus aircraft to airlines globally on behalf of institutional investors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Aircraft Leasing

NAICS

Commercial Air, Rail, and Water Transportation Equipment Rental and Leasing (532411), Other Financial Investment Activities (5239)

akta.pro primary industry

Private Aviation Insurance & Financing/Leasing Services (THABAFAM)

Keywords

• Aircraft leasing
• Commercial aviation
• Aviation financing
• Fleet management
• Aircraft investment

Headquarters

HQ city

Dubai

HQ country

United Arab Emirates

HQ region

Middle East

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel

Core offering

Novus Aviation Capital is an independent aircraft leasing and financing platform that invests in commercial aircraft assets. The company sources, finances, and leases Boeing and Airbus aircraft to airlines worldwide, and structures and manages aircraft lease funds in partnership with institutional investors such as Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group (SMTG), with funds launched in 2016, 2019, and a third fund targeting US$500 million.

Product overview

Novus Aviation Capital operates as an aircraft leasing company, partnering with financial institutions to launch aircraft lease funds that purchase Boeing and Airbus aircraft and lease them to airlines globally. The company has launched three aircraft lease funds alongside Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group (SMTG) — in 2016, 2019, and 2026. No additional distinct products, modules, or named offerings were identified in the provided source data.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Aircraft Lease Funds (managed jointly with Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group)
• Direct Commercial Aircraft Leasing

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• Air Lease Corporation: U.S.-listed aircraft lessor that places new Boeing and Airbus aircraft with airlines worldwide. Comparable because both companies acquire the same type of commercial aircraft assets and derive revenue from leasing them to a global airline customer base.
• BOC Aviation: Singapore-headquartered aircraft lessor majority-owned by Bank of China, with a global airline customer base. Comparable due to similar bank-anchored funding model, focus on new Boeing/Airbus aircraft, and similar leasing relationships with airlines worldwide.
• Avolon Aerospace Leasing: Irish-based major aircraft lessor backed by Bank of China and ORIX, serving global airlines with a Boeing/Airbus fleet. Comparable because both are large-scale commercial aircraft lessors using third-party capital and partner relationships to source fleet acquisitions.
• AerCap Holdings: World's largest aircraft lessor with a diversified portfolio across Boeing and Airbus serving global airlines. Directly comparable because Novus Aviation Capital purchases the same OEM aircraft and leases them to airline customers globally, just at a smaller, fund-mediated scale.
• SMBC Aviation Capital: One of the world's largest aircraft lessors, owned by Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group — the parent banking group of Novus's partner SMTG. Highly comparable given overlapping Japanese institutional capital sourcing, the same Boeing/Airbus aircraft focus, and the same global airline customer base.

Direct peers

• Aircastle: U.S.-listed aircraft lessor that acquires and leases young, fuel-efficient commercial aircraft. Comparable due to matching focus on Boeing/Airbus narrowbody and widebody aircraft leased to airlines globally, using similar lease structures.
• BBAM Aircraft Management: U.S.-based aircraft lessor and manager that runs third-party capital through managed fleet platforms. Directly comparable because it similarly raises and manages aircraft-focused investment vehicles, purchases commercial aircraft, and leases them to airlines — matching Novus's fund-mediated leasing model.
• Jackson Square Aviation: San Francisco-based commercial aircraft lessor with a similar fleet strategy focused on Boeing and Airbus narrowbody/widebody aircraft leased to global airlines. Comparable as a mid-sized aircraft lessor running similar lease structures to airline customers worldwide.
• Griffin Global Asset Management: Japan-rooted aircraft leasing platform with commercial aircraft investments, closely comparable to Novus given the parallel Japanese institutional capital sourcing and fund-style approach to aircraft leasing.
• Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE): UAE-headquartered aircraft leasing giant that purchases Boeing and Airbus aircraft and leases them to airlines globally. Highly comparable as a Dubai-based, regional commercial aircraft lessor pursuing the same fleet strategy and customer base as Novus, with a comparable UAE operating environment.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/NovusAviation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Novus Aviation Capital