20 Feb 2017
We are excited to announce that our charity now fully owns both of its helicopters. This will free up additional funds month on month and means greater stability for our service, and it’s all thanks to continued contributions from our incredible supporters.
Until a few months ago, both of our MD-902 Explorers (G-EHMS and G-LNDN) were partially owned by the bank, with London’s Air Ambulance making monthly repayments with a view to eventually owning both aircraft.
The journey began back in 2010 when we took out a seven year loan to help pay for our first helicopter (G-EHMS). Thanks to the fundraising efforts of our supporters, our charity had sufficient reserves to pay off the loan on G-EHMS two months early on 13th October 2016, saving an estimated £25-40k in interest payments.
A successful ‘Your London, Your Helicopter’ campaign in 2015 to raise funds for an additional aircraft (G-LNDN) meant we could pay off the loan for our second helicopter much more quickly. Our charity borrowed money to pay for the helicopter in December 2015 and by 24th January 2017 the loan was fully repaid. By settling the loan 46 months earlier than planned, this repayment saved our charity an estimated £50k in interest payments.
Aside from associated running costs, this means we no longer have to pay to keep our helicopters in the air. Not only will this release a large amount of money for our charity every month, owning our own assets will also provide protection and sustainability for our service.
Charles Newitt, COO and Interim CEO of London’s Air Ambulance, said: “I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who’s supported us over these last seven years. In that time we’ve gone from partially owning a single helicopter to fully owning two emergency medical aircraft — and what an incredible journey it’s been. That we’ve also managed to save an estimated £85-90k along the way is a welcome bonus. This is an extremely positive step for our charity and, most importantly, our patients.”