Limerick aviation software firm Cloudcards raises €1.4m

It brings to €5m the total raised by the company since 2016.

Established 10 years ago, Cloudcards manages about €8bn worth of client assets across its software platform and expects the figure to exceed €30bn within the next five years.

The firm offers a range of software solutions for aircraft owners, including cloud asset management that allows lessors manage all aspects of the asset from legal, financial and technical and a cloud-based project management tool, CARDS. In addition to software solutions, Cloudcards provides technical services to airlines and lessors.

Its customers include Air Transport Services Group (ATSG), Avmax, World Star Aviation and CMIG Aviation as well as Ireland-based lessors SMBC Aviation Capital, Formidion Aviation, and BBAM.

Cloudcards’ founders are brothers Barry and Brian Fitzgerald. The company’s chief executive is Bill Blake.

Its backers include a firm called Currabourne, which is controlled by Martin Higgins, the managing director of Focus Capital Partners. Fergal Broder’s Adstock Property Holdings is also an investor. Adstock is also a backer of Zeus Scooters.

Other investors in Cloudcards include financier John Conway, formerly of financial institutions including Merrion Capital.

The latest investment will support the Limerick-headquartered company’s expanding operations, as it doubles its headcount from 10 to 20 employees and further develops its product offering.

The world’s aviation top brass has been meeting in France this week for the Paris Air Show – the first since the pandemic. A number of major aircraft orders have been confirmed at the show.

“This surge in orders signifies a remarkable recovery in passenger demand for both commercial and business flights, while also reflecting the financial markets' strong confidence in the sector," said Bill Blake.

He added that the fresh investment at Cloudcards will see the firm focus on strengthening its software development team as well as evolving its product roadmap “to deliver a comprehensive aviation platform for aircraft owners to cover all essential software requirements for managing aviation assets”.

About 55pc of rhe world’s commercial aircraft are leased with the vast majority either owned or managed by Irish entities, equating to 13,000 aircraft.