Group Strategy
In this section of the website we will describe the recent review of the Group strategy and its evolution which is driving change across the business to a focused organisation where margin improvement comes from a focus on delivering highly valued services within the business aviation and special mission markets in areas where the Group has full control and established competitive advantage.
Review of the Group strategy
In May 2020 the Executive undertook a dispassionate review of the Group’s strategy and performance. Based on the conclusions of the Group’s strategic review and the recommendation of the Executive Team, the Board determined that the previous strategy of consolidating the fragmented, global, business aviation market should be evolved to recognise anticipated market demand and possible economic uncertainties likely to affect the next five-year planning period.
Accordingly, the evolved strategy would require the Group to:
- Focus its resources to build market share in market sectors where it has established competitive advantage and control over its business activity
- Grow its UK government contract base to add further resilience to the Group’s financial performance
- Provide a clearer Group structure to shareholders that articulates the different business mix contained within the Group
- Focus on adding operational scale through organic growth and specific infrastructure development to enhance operational gearing leading to margin improvements
- Using merger and acquisition activities, within our financing facilities, only to accelerate growth in key markets that will lead to further improvements in operational gearing and subsequent margin improvement
- Recognise the role that data aggregation and analysis will play over the planning period, using its investment in business aviation software as a service (SaaS) platforms to drive competitive advantage and grow enterprise value
Focus for growth
The Board believes there is considerable scope for margin improvement by more effective, focused delivery of highly valued services within the Business Aviation, Special Mission, and Technology and Outsourcing sectors in service areas where the Group has full management control and established competitive advantage. Our focus for growth strategy will be underpinned by:
Focusing on our clients
Our clients rely on us to deliver, and they depend on us to remove the complexities and intricacies of aviation. In doing so we provide them with services, aviation platforms and availability that delivers a decisive advantage. We must therefore provide services that are relevant to their needs and enables their mission, now and in the future.
What we are doing
- Focusing on key customer sectors
- Providing focused investment to drive operational scale and gearing
- Enhancing our service offers
- Strengthening our customer management teams
Focusing on our business model
Several of the Group’s businesses operate on tight margins, with operational gearing helping to power the business model. Revenue losses, revenue leakage, bad debt provisions and unfocused spend all hinder our own performance and require focused management effort to contain, reduce and eliminate.
What we are doing
- Divesting businesses over which the Group has no or ineffective management control
- Exiting poorly performing businesses and contracts
- Improving contract management and controls
- Improving our ‘know your customer’ processes and bad debt management
Focusing on our people
We are a service business, and the knowledge, integrity and dependency of our people is highly prized by our clients and the business. Therefore, our ability to drive margin improvement is predicated by our people’s performance and the support the Group provides to allow them to perform effectively and delight our clients.
What we are doing
- Focusing our HR efforts to attract and develop new talent and reduce employee churn
- Placing greater emphasis on our people’s mental health and wellbeing
- Addressing the diversity and inclusion challenges within the aviation sector
- Placing more emphasis on measuring the performance of our people and rewarding those that drive our business forward
Focusing on our place in society
Aviation has challenges; however, it provides significant economic benefits to a wide variety of communities worldwide. In both respects, we must ensure we maintain the highest standards and ethics while adapting and encouraging the use of the latest technologies to improve our world.
What we are doing
- Playing an active role in the communities in which we are located
- Inspiring the next generation of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) students
- Promoting Social Value through our contracts and commitments
- Understanding our obligations to the environment through our activities and those of our clients
