Headquartered in Brussels, Belgium, TCR is the largest independent lessor of airport ground support equipment (“GSE”).

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Overview

TCR operates at more than 230 airports across more than 20 countries. Since inception, TCR has defined the market for leased GSE, providing high quality assets and a full service leasing, maintenance and fleet management offering to its clients, which are predominantly independent ground handling companies, airlines and airports. This enables GSE operators to concentrate on their core business of ground handling.

Why we invested

We were attracted to TCR due to its good asset backing, strong market position and barriers to entry.

GSE is a scarce resource that is critical to the functioning of an airport. Through first mover advantage, TCR has benefited from securing the largest independent GSE fleet in Europe. TCR has access to maintenance workshops in prime locations at airports, many of which are located airside, enabling the company to provide a high quality maintenance and asset management service, which results in high availability of TCR’s fleet. The company is also able to offer full-service rentals on a pan-European basis, thereby matching the footprints of its customers.

Outsourcing ownership of GSE equipment makes economic sense for independent ground handlers, as it allows them to manage the mismatch between short-term handling contracts and the typically 10-15 year useful life of equipment. TCR’s rental contracts are aligned with the ground handlers’ contracts with the airlines and are typically 3-5 years in duration; TCR experiences a high level of contract renewal.

The business has a diversified portfolio and is present at over 230 airports across 20 countries with a diverse contract and customer base. The investment in TCR provides exposure to the long-term growth in the aviation market, which is fundamentally GDP driven, yet it is expected to be insulated from short-term shocks to demand due to its exposure to aircraft movements rather than passenger numbers.

Recent developments

TCR performed well in the year, driven by higher fleet utilisation rates and accelerated expansion into new markets. The broader macro environment has been supportive, with aviation activity now exceeding pre-pandemic levels. Higher interest rates are favourable to ground support equipment (‘GSE’) lessors, while growing decarbonisation efforts, particularly in Europe, have increased demand for electric-powered GSE and also equipment pooling arrangements to improve efficiency.

During the year, TCR secured several key contracts, including an exclusive contract to supply a centralised all-electric GSE pool at JFK International Airport New Terminal One. This marks a significant step forward in TCR’s North American presence and provides a strong platform for further growth in this largely untapped market for the company.

In February 2025, we completed a debt refinancing on attractive terms, supporting future growth and enabling a substantial distribution of £60 million to 3i Infrastructure.