London Stansted Airport is set to get a fourth FBO, with The Diamond Hangar scheduled to open in time for the start of the 2012 Olympic Games on July 27. The main shareholder in the new venture, which is trading on the Aero Toy Store brand, is Ben Shirazi, son of the U.S. aircraft sales and completions group’s founder, Morris Shirazi.
The new UK-registered company acquired the former SR Technics maintenance facility and has been investing approximately $3 million to redevelop it to provide ground handling and aircraft maintenance services. It also intends to get into aircraft management with its own air operator certificate and will seek to exploit its connection with Aero Toy Store by marketing aircraft sales and interior refurbishment work conducted by the U.S. company’s alliance with Italian design group Pininfarina.
Diamond Hangar managing director Mike Foley said that the new FBO intends to focus on larger business aircraft and intends to lure operators currently using other London-area airports such as Luton. The 250,000-sq-ft facility, which will have five separate lounges for passengers and crews, is located on the opposite side of the airport from Stansted’s three established FBOs: Inflite, Harrods Aviation and Universal Aviation.