Aviation property manager lands $260M credit deal

Sheltair manages aviation-related property at 22 airports.
Sheltair manages aviation-related property at 22 airports.

Sheltair obtained a $60 million credit line and a $200 million senior credit facility for business acquisitions and for facility expansion at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and other airports.

SunTrust Bank led a group of lenders who participated in the $250 million credit deal, including BankUnited, Capital Bank, Fifth Third Bank, Florida Community Bank, Mercantil Bank and Synovous Bank.

Sheltair will use some of the $250 million of financing to build eight additional hangars at the Fort Lauderdale airport. The company opened a $25 million hangar and office complex at the airport in 2013, the first phase of a three-phase project, the Daily Business Review reported. Mortgages on Sheltair’s airport leaseholds serve as the collateral for the financing.

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Fort Lauderdale-based Sheltair manages over 3 million square feet of aviation-related properties at 22 airports in Florida, Georgia and New York. The company has 16 fixed-base operations (FBOs), which are refueling stations for private aircraft. The company’s FBOs in the Sunshine State are located at airports in Fort Lauderdale and eight other Florida cities.

Saavedra Goodwin, one of the attorneys who represented Sheltair in the bank negotiations, told the Daily Business Review that, “banks are attracted to a company that is as healthy as Sheltair. … It is well managed, well positioned and has a wonderful portfolio of property.” [Daily Business Review] – Mike Seemuth