Joint venture in Malta for Hangar8

Hangar8 has announced that
it has acquired an initial 49% interest, with an option to gain 51% control, in
a new business (“the Joint-Venture”) established in Malta.  The
Joint-Venture is with two private investors who will provide working capital
while Hangar8 will contribute its marketing and proven management expertise.

The acquisition of a base in
Malta
results from the country’s creation of a new aircraft register following The
Malta Aircraft Registration Act, which came into force on 1 October 2010.

The company will operate in Malta as Maleth
Aero and will be based at Skyparks Buisness Centre.

Michael
O’Brien, chief executive, Hangar 8 Malta commented “The benefits of the link with Malta are that
the country has positioned itself as a service-oriented and  tax efficient
jurisdiction to own and operate aircraft and therefore will be seen as an
attractive home for new owners.  The establishment of our Joint-Venture
with Hangar8 enables us to accelerate our original business plan by a couple of
years. The Civil Aviation Directorate within the Authority for Transport in Malta (“Transport Malta”)
has provided us from the outset a very personal and professional process when
going in search of our EU OPS Air Operators Certificate which was awarded on
the 20^th January.  In addition our experience with Asian
countries will assist Hangar8 entering this particular market where it sees
strong growth coming through in the future.”

Dustin
Dryden, chief executive, Hangar 8 plc commented “This acquisition of a presence in the new corporate aviation
market in Malta, at no cost to shareholders, illustrates the strength of the
Hangar8 brand and allows us to participate in what we believe will become a
significant aircraft register due to its location and its financial
terms.  Malta
is now a very attractive destination for owners to register their aircraft, for
whom we will provide the same high quality services, now including maintenance
through our EASA 145 Approval, that we provide to owners elsewhere.”

Dr
Stanley Portelli, chief executive officer, Transport Malta
commented “We are proud to be
associated with Hangar 8 through their investment in Malta. Their choice of Malta
vindicates the Maltese government’s continuous efforts in establishing our
island as the jurisdiction of choice for service-oriented cutting edge
industries. Working with Michael and his team immediately gave us strong
indications that we were dealing with a serious operator and we will endeavour
to work on adding value to their business by being responsive and sensitive to
their requirements.”