Assent Aeronautics has launched a new aircraft transaction advisory business unit to deliver data-driven aircraft brokerage and transaction advisory services to the private aviation sector. It has recruited aircraft sales and acquisition expert Jake Banglesdorf to lead the effort as vice president, with Samson Whitfield as a principal broker.

“Jake has built a reputation as an epic communicator and a straight shooter who is passionate about treating his clients, team members and other aviation professionals like family,” says president W Hulsey Smith. “As a third-generation private aviation professional, he has experience working in nearly every facet of private aviation and we are proud to have him lead our aircraft brokerage and advisory business.”

The company is investing heavily in the new business unit and anticipates hiring between eight and ten principal brokers, and a number of support staff members in the coming year. Its first principal broker appointment is Whitfield.

With the addition of full-service aircraft brokerage, Assent Aeronautics now offers the full suite of services including aircraft management, out-sourced director of aircraft maintenance services and full-service aircraft brokerage and transaction advisory support.

Assent Aeronautics has more than 15 years and over 50,000 flight hours of proprietary aircraft operations and aircraft maintenance data that forms the base of its research and analytics capabilities. The company intends to lever the data trove to deliver predictive analytics for its clients in the areas of aircraft valuation, operating costs and asset management, delivering clarity and mitigating risk for clients upfront, before money is on the table in an aircraft transaction.

“Teaming up with the tremendous operational experience of Assents' aircraft maintenance and management staff will deliver truly differentiated aircraft brokerage and transaction advisory services. This is why I accepted the role leading this business unit,” says Banglesdorf. “It is extremely rare to find an aircraft brokerage firm that has a full time in-house technical team supporting and overseeing pre-purchase inspections and daily aircraft operations. I expect that our brokerage service will increase awareness of our aircraft management and maintenance business and vice-versa, in a synergy that we are extremely confident will allow us to better serve our clients.”

Aiming to demystify the overall aircraft ownership experience, specifically in the sales and acquisitions process, Smith goes on to says: “The pre-owned business aircraft market as a whole, while slowing, was incredibly robust up until the end of Q2. Since that time we have seen a precipitous drop in transaction activity, both pre-closing and closing. Based upon our proprietary data, we believe the market is currently in a squeeze. Specifically, this squeeze is a result of the disparity between the seller's perceived asset value and buyer's ultimate take price. There is a growing pent up demand on the buy side and a significant shadow inventory on the sell side. Once the squeeze breaks, perhaps under pressure to close transactions by end of year, we anticipate a return to the robust market activity of 2018 and the first half of 2019.”