Backers including founder Clive Jackson have secured the “winning bid to buy back control” of Fly Victor from administrators of Alyssum Holdings. Fly Victor had been placed in this holding company in 2018 following investments from BP Ventures and others but was declared insolvent last month. BP has yet to reply to AIN’s request for comment.

The successful management buyout (MBO) of the on-demand private jet charter company will see Jackson leading the company again, backed by “a consortium of former investors and regular flyers.”

A company spokesperson told AIN, “Our focus also remains on tracking to profitability and we are very confident we will return a profit this year.” Twenty percent of the company’s share capital has been preserved for its management and staff, though it is not known what share Jackson now has in the company.

Fly Victor was launched in 2011 with a major selling point being the sale of unused “empty legs” and even empty seats on aircraft, though the latter idea was later dropped. Its core business case was based on filling the gap between airlines that could be unreliable and jet brokers which Jackson said levied excessive mark-ups while revolutionizing business aviation by focusing on “transparency and the environment.”

In a statement, the company said, “breaking free to chart an independent future will allow the company to maintain its commitment to challenging business aviation to decarbonize in a matter of years rather than decades.” The company has launched a campaign to ensure every Victor charter flight is mandated to fly 200 percent carbon neutral and claims it is “set to become the world’s most environmentally responsible aviation company.”

On transparency, it said: “Disclosing operator details and specific aircraft tail numbers to customers before booking has enabled Victor to build customer trust and become a leading provider of on-demand jet charter.”

Jackson commented: “It was a competitive bid process and there were multiple bids, so I am delighted that we secured the winning bid. Joining Jackson in the MBO consortium is Rob Procter, a significant private investor, formerly of Morgan Stanley and a former shareholder in the original Alyssum Group.