Colter Bay Capital makes debut with A$115M senior secured loan to helicopter operator Vertical Aviation

Colter Bay Capital has made its first investment, providing a A$115 million (approximately US$82.4 million) senior secured loan to Vertical Aviation, a Perth-based helicopter and fixed-wing aircraft operator. The debt deal was announced in August 2026.

The transaction refinanced existing bank debt held by Vertical Aviation through a syndicate of private credit lenders, while also positioning the company for future mergers, acquisitions, and growth opportunities. Vertical Aviation owns and operates a fleet of helicopters and smaller fixed-wing aircraft.

Colter Bay Capital was founded by Mark Wang, a former Commonwealth Bank executive, and Nick Greiner, a former Premier of New South Wales.

This transaction places Vertical Aviation's balance sheet in the hands of a syndicate of private credit lenders rather than a single bank, a structure increasingly used when operators want both refinancing and headroom for acquisitions in one package. Non-bank lenders can move faster and structure debt around growth plans that traditional bank covenants might restrict, which is part of why Vertical Aviation used this route to refinance existing debt while also preparing for consolidation activity.

For Australian aviation finance, the deal signals that private credit funds are willing to underwrite sizeable secured loans against helicopter and fixed-wing fleets, an asset class banks have financed more conservatively. Whether Colter Bay Capital becomes a repeat lender to the sector, and whether Vertical Aviation follows through on the acquisitions this facility was structured to support, will show whether this is an isolated transaction or the start of a broader financing pattern.