'Intermediary East' differs from 'hands-on' West

Andrew Hughes, Ocean Sky's managing director, aircraft management, says there is a particularly marked cultural difference between eastern and western Europe. "With clients in east Europe the transaction is almost always managed through the use of intermediaries in a very hands-off relationship where the actual buyer only comes in at a very late stage. In that situation, it's firstly a matter of divining where the authority actually lies and also safeguarding your own position against liabilities if there turns out to be a problem. Professionally it is a challenge because rather than giving direct advice on a purchase you are having to rely on an intermediary's interpretation of what you are saying and must guard against miscommunication."

Hughes adds: "In western Europe the actual owners are much more involved because culturally when you are parting with $20m to $50m you want to physically take command of the situation and you take the money very personally. There are always advisers on hand, either corporate or independent financial advisers mostly, but you know that the hand you shake is the one that will be signing the cheques."

He reports processes ranging from 21 days to 30 months. Hughes recalls: "The latter was a very charming client who we knew well enough to be confident that he would be making the purchase – but for one reason or another it kept getting postponed. We got through a new letter of intent every couple of months and everyone kept their fingers crossed and we got there in the end. The fastest was less than three weeks when a delivery slot on a new aircraft came available at the right price. Effectively the original purchaser was unable to complete and go ahead with delivery so he needed to sell fast – fortunately I had a buyer for that specific type, which was at a great price and no financing was involved to complete."