Colibri Aircraft reports 'record year' as number of private jet first-time buyers takes off

Colibri Aircraft, which specialises in the marketing, resale and purchase of pre-owned private aircraft, has reported an increase in the number of clients buying a private jet for the first-time.

Around 21% of the pre-owned aircraft the London-headquartered firm sold in 2017 went to first-time buyers, around 50% higher than in 2016.

The average price of a jet Colibri Aircraft sold to a first time-buyer in 2017 was $3.68m (£2.64m).

The company said that the increase in first-time buyers of private jets is due to a rise in the number of high net worth and ultra-high net worth individuals, and a fall in the price of pre-owned jets.

In Europe, the number of people worth $30m (£21.5m) or more is set to rise by 12% between 2016 and 2025.

Analysis by Colibri Aircraft reveals that on average the asking price of pre-owned private aircraft fell by around a third between 2014 and 2017 from around just over $13.5m (£9.68m) to just under $9m (£6.5m).

Oliver Stone, managing director of Colibri Aircraft, said: “2017 was a record year for us in terms of sales and a key factor behind this was the growing number of clients who are first-time buyers.

“We expect this trend to continue and within ten years’ time we would not be surprised if half our clients fall into this category.”