Isle of Man Aviation Conference 2016

2016 was Peregrine’s third year attending the now well established Isle of Man Aviation Conference.

This year saw another impressive turnout, not only in the quantity of attendees but also the quality of the speakers and panelists and the general audience as a whole.

Following a welcome from Mark Byrne and the introduction of Alan Peaford as the conference chair, the Honorable Clare Christian OBE took to the stage to open the conference and emphasized the importance of the aviation sector to the Isle of Man economy, praising its successes since being founded.

Building on this, Simon Williams, Director of Civil Aviation at the Isle of Man Aircraft Registry, provided an update on the number of aircraft registered on the Island (871*) and the new online services coming in to force to improve the service available to those using the registry.

*Figure at the time of the conference.

Some of the highlights of this year’s conference included:

Use of Isle of Man Structures to Deal with Tax Complications

We were treated to an interesting discussion on how the effective arrangement of an Isle of Man structure could mitigate exposure to certain tax matters. One particular aspect related to the use of an Isle of Man structure in relation to the risk of benefit in kind in connection with the use of business aircraft.

Potential Implications of Brexit

The conference was held immediately prior to the Brexit referendum and many attending seemed confident of a “remain vote”. Despite this, the potential impact of a “leave vote” was considered. As is still the case, there are more unknowns than known’s in connection with Brexit, but the general consensus was that trade and VAT agreements would probably want to be maintained on both sides and that, in any event, the exit negotiations would be a drawn out affair, suggesting no changes would be imminent.

Performance of the Business Aviation Sector

The facts and figures surrounding the business aviation sector is far from depressing however, it was noted that the industry as a whole would benefit from the dispersion of the myths that the use of aircraft for business is only for the super wealthy. Effective business aviation has shown to be a significant cost saving alternative compared to the use of commercial airlines. In particular, the flexibility in terms of time and destinations being a major determining factor.

Dealing with Clients

There was commentary on managing the expectations of clients, but also consideration as to how to meet and exceed them. The panel covered a range of topics including how to create an effective environment for the efficient dealing with aircraft sale and purchases.

Top 10 Ways to Increase your Legal Fees

An almost backwards take on how to save legal fees, taking a humorous look at (many more than) 10 reasons legal fees can be drawn out without achieving any significant benefit.

Finance and Associated Issues

An overview of aircraft financing including an interesting insight in to the link between financers and aircraft operators and how, in a successful relationship, the two will work together.

How Peregrine Can Help

Provision of Incorporation and Management services for Holding Companies

As a licensed corporate and trust service provider in the Isle of Man, we are able to incorporate and manage a holding company for your aircraft, bringing the tax advantages of the Isle of Man, including no capital taxes, to your aircraft holding structure.

Private Banking contacts to arrange finance

During more than 25 years providing services to high net worth individuals, we have established a portfolio of contacts in the private banking sector to assist in sourcing finance for the purchase of your aircraft.

Established contacts within the Aircraft Registry

We have personally met and discussed our needs and those of clients with senior personnel at the aircraft registry in order to ensure we can provide the best service possible to aircraft owners.

To learn more about what Peregrine can offer, please contact us on +44 (0) 1624 626586 or email us at [email protected].

Peregrine Corporate Services is licensed by the Isle of Man Financial Services Authority.