VanAllen to acquire Essex Aviation as pair join forces

Business aviation consulting firm VanAllen is set to acquire aircraft transactions and strategic consulting specialist Essex Aviation.

Described as a “force multiplier” by Jeff Agur, CEO of VanAllen, the acquisition will see the two companies join forces to offer a wider set of services to clients, whilst continuing to keep the brand names which have become renowned in the industry. 

Lee Rohde, the founder and CEO of Essex Aviation, will join VanAllen’s leadership team as the new executive vice president. Aside from that, restructuring of either company will be minimal.

“Lee and I have been friends for a long time – we’ve known each other for 20 years,” Agur told CJI. “The opportunity to do what we do individually, now together, is a force multiplier. We’re focused on doing a lot of neat things together that we’ve been doing competitively over the years. Philosophically, we’re very much aligned, and that’s how this whole process got started.”

Quick to stifle any concerns he may be retiring, Rohde explained: “Over the years, Jeff and I talked a lot, and I’ve also spoken to other brokers about the challenge of doing more business while managing headcount. I was thinking about how I would handle that, and Jeff was already ahead of me. 

“I thought, why rebuild something that might be better to connect with and work alongside?” he added.

Meeting the VanAllen team “sealed the deal”, said Rohde. In particular, a strong business services team delivering high-quality market research and reporting for clients stood out. “It felt like an easy plug-and-play with what we’re doing,” he said. “The benefits of the acquisition are definitely one plus one equals five.”

“The process was very thoughtful,” added Rohde. “It took longer than expected, but that was for the greater good – making sure we had all the important conversations, good and tough, so there would be no surprises and a strong foundation.”

So what is new for clients of either company? VanAllen’s Agur said both teams already collaborate internally, and now “even more so”. “Both teams bring long track records and knowledge bases. It’s a great opportunity to complement each other’s skills,” he added. 

Rohde believes he now has more to offer Essex clients, especially consulting services. “VanAllen has a much more structured base of flight department consulting, staffing, compensation and reporting—all at a next level versus what we’d been doing,” he said.

Agur and Rohde feel like there’s are the only two firms in the industry taking a “broader, big-picture approach”. 

“As a joint team we will be able to continue to go deeper: helping first-time buyers decide on management, financing, crew, home base and more,” said Rohde. “We’ve often gained clients, especially first time buyers, when they realised we are prepared to assist them in all aspects to meet their current and future aviation travel requirements.”

No financial details of the transaction have been disclosed. The acquisition is expected to officially take effect on January 1st, 2026.