GTLK Europe liquidators offer two 737-800s for sale

Over the past few months, Teneo, the liquidator appointed to wind down operations of GTLK Europe and GTLK Europe Capital, has been preparing the fleet for sale and has now launched a sales process for two 737-800s. GTLK’s parent is Russian state-owned leasing company JSS GTLK, but the majority of the aircraft leasing business was run by Irish-registered firms, GTLK Europe and GTLK Europe Capital, which operated out of its Dublin office. GTLK operations were halted almost overnight following sanctions imposed on Russian-owned companies by the European Union and the United States following the invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. The liquidation team at Teneo has been tasked with preparing GTLK Europe’s portfolio of aircraft assets ready for sale to extract as much value as possible for the creditors and shareholders. Given the unique situation, that process has been a labyrinth of legal, challenges and roadblocks, along with the myriad maintenance challenges associated with preparing aircraft for sale, which in some cases have been effectively abandoned for 18 months. Alongside processing the aircraft grounded outside of Russia, Teneo has been seeking compensation for GTLK Europe from insurers over the loss of 37 aircraft, which remain stranded in Russia. Today’s news shows the beginning of the sales process for the entire fleet. The full fleet includes, 737s, 747s, 777s, A220s, A319s and A320s, as well as one helicopter and a corporate jet. Some of the aircraft are brand new A220s, while others are in demand aircraft and remain on lease. The two 737-800s offered for sale today are equipped with CFM56-7B engines and are currently in service with a “highly credible Middle Eastern operator” according to the sales notice from IBA, which has been appointed as the market agent for the two aircraft. “The focus since the appointment of the joint liquidators last year has been to work with regulators domestically and internationally to establish a path forward for the Liquidation within the sanctions regime,” said joint liquidators to GTLK Europe & GTLK Europe Capital, Damien Murran and Julian Moroney, Teneo Restructuring Ireland. “We are now building on the work that has been done through this enablement phase with a view to realising the assets on behalf of creditors. The open market sales process for these aircraft reflects the substantial progress made since the appointment.” The aircraft will be sold lease encumbered, so their respective, pre-existing leases will be unaffected by the transaction. This is the first open market sales process launched by the joint liquidators but other aircraft are expected to be offered for sale in the coming months. The scale of the challenge for the team at Teneo cannot be underestimated but as this sales process demonstrates they have done a tremendous amount of work in just under a year and have a process in place to realise value of the fleet.