BP announces $10 million investment and strategic partnership with leading on demand jet charter marketplace Victor
BP today announced an initial investment and the creation of a strategic partnership between its BP Ventures and Air BP businesses with Victor, one of the world’s leading ‘on-demand’ marketplaces for private jet charters
As part of the partnership, BP Ventures has committed to investing $10 million in Victor. In addition, Air BP has entered into a commercial agreement to become the preferred fuel supplier for flights arranged via the Victor digital platform at Air BP locations.
This investment is part of BP Ventures strategy to invest to accelerate the development, commercial viability and deployment of digital technologies and offers across the BP group. Air BP, which has a growing digital presence, stands to further benefit from this new collaboration.
Victor launched in 2011, providing quick, easy and efficient ‘on demand’ jet charter booking services for flyers by connecting them with business and private jet operators using a proprietary digital platform underpinning its sales, marketing and customer service functions. This smart, data-driven platform, and a uniquely transparent customer proposition, has enabled it to operate more efficiently – at a lower cost than many traditional charter brokers. Victor’s customer-friendly mix of ‘hi-tech and high touch’ has also delivered 946% revenue growth over recent years. Victor has helped drive the transformation of private jet chartering.
Through its cooperation with Air BP, Victor will continue to innovate and develop its core digital platform. This will allow operators to participate in a more streamlined charter quote, booking and settlement process. Victor will also trial an initiative giving customers the chance to offset carbon emissions from their Victor-booked flights via BP Target Neutral.
"Digital technologies are changing the way customers and corporates access services across multiple industries. This is now BP Ventures fifth deal in less than a year – following Fulcrum Bioenergy, Drover, BiSN and most recently Beyond Limits - and demonstrates our commitment to helping advance the development of cutting edge technologies by partnering with innovative industry disrupters, whose technologies are complementary to the wider BP business."
David Gilmour, Vice President of BP’s group technology business development
"Digital technologies are playing a vital role in transforming the business aviation sector. This collaboration brings Air BP together with a leader in this emerging space in the industry, combining strengths and capabilities to support our customers as they work towards a lower carbon future."
Jon Platt, Chief Executive Officer for Air BP
"I am proud to welcome BP Ventures as a strategic, cornerstone investor. Their track-record for identifying forward-thinking businesses that can deliver sustained growth speaks for itself. Receiving backing from a major, legitimate institutional investor like BP is strong endorsement of our management team and our strategic vision to reshape the general aviation market. This is a hugely exciting step forward in the company’s evolution."
Clive Jackson, CEO & founder of Victor
About BP Ventures
BP Ventures identifies and invests in private, high growth, game-changing technology companies, accelerating cutting edge innovations across the entire energy spectrum. Since 2006, BP Ventures has invested over $350 million in corporate venturing and has 42 active investments in its current portfolio. Since 2016 BP Ventures has invested in 9 new companies, committing to over $100 million of capital. The portfolio includes a $30m investment in Fulcrum Bioenergy that will provide bio-jet fuel to the aviation industry. BP Ventures’ portfolio is primarily focused on emerging technologies in oil and gas exploration and production and downstream conversion processes. In addition, it has a renewed strategic focus on five key areas: bio & low carbon products, carbon management, power & storage, advanced mobility and digital transformation.
About Victor
Victor is a leading B2C platform driving disruption across the private aviation industry. Launched in 2011, the company’s B2C offering rewrote the jet charter rulebook with a fully-transparent, subscription-free, globally ‘on-demand’ marketplace allowing members to swiftly check pricing options and aircraft specifics before booking the flights they need. Victor’s unique combination of smart technology and exceptional ‘high touch’ customer service, means that its B2C customers – with access to thousands of aircraft via a global network of over 200 partner operators – are always connected and in control.
Victor was ‘Internet’ category winner at the Deloitte UK Tech Fast 50 2016 awards - and one of Deloitte’s EMEA Tech Fast 500 brands – for sales growth of 946%. Earlier this month, Victor made the Sunday Times Tech Track 100 for the third consecutive year – 2017, 33rd position ($39.8m revenue); 2016, 20th position ($23.9m); 2015, 15th position ($11.4m). Victor is also ranked 113th in this year’s FT 1000 list of Europe’s fastest-growing companies.
About Air BP
As the aviation division of BP, Air BP is one of the world's largest suppliers of aviation fuel products and services. It currently supplies over seven billion gallons of jet kerosene and aviation gasoline to its customers across the globe each year.
Through its direct operations, Air BP fuelled more than 6,000 flights every day – that’s over four aircraft every minute or one every 15 seconds. The company supplies fuel at more than 800 global locations in over 50 countries serving customers from the private pilot to some of the world’s largest airlines.
Customers range from domestic and international airlines, the military, business and private aircraft owners, as well as international airports and airfield operators.
Supporting its fuel offer, Air BP provides a range of services for customers including technical expertise via a complete aviation fuel consultancy service, including the design, build and operation of fuelling facilities, to help customers protect their operations and manage risks. Other services on offer include supporting customers to meet their environmental goals, the Air BP Sterling Card for efficient general aviation refuelling and RocketRoute MarketPlace enabling users to purchase fuel and connect with thousands of ground handlers, FBOs and aviation providers worldwide.
For a full list of locations served by Air BP, go to Where to find
About BP Target Neutral
BP Target Neutral is administered by BP as a not-for-profit scheme – BP covers BP Target Neutral’s operating costs. BP Target Neutral’s work is governed by an independent Advisory & Assurance Panel of prominent environmental and industry experts. The panel ensures that all policies and activities conform to best practice in carbon management, and where possible will seek to set new standards for that best practice.
Members of the BP Target Neutral Advisory & Assurance Panel include Mark Kenber, former CEO of the Climate Group, Mike Barry, Director of Plan A, M&S, Rita Clifton, CBE and Tim Smit, Co-Founder Eden Project.
For more information please visit our website
Further information
BP Ventures: CNC Communications: +44 203 219 8800, bp@cnc-communications.com
Air BP: Emerald Media: +44 1420 560094, liz.danner@emeraldmedia.co.uk
Victor: James Gillies, MWWPR: 020 7046 6080, victoruk@mww.com
Cautionary statement
In order to utilize the ‘safe harbor’ provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the ‘PSLRA’), BP is providing the following cautionary statement. This press release contains certain forward-looking statements – that is, statements related to future, not past events – which may relate to one or more of the financial condition, results of operations and businesses of BP and certain of the plans and objectives of BP with respect to these items. These statements are generally, but not always, identified by the use of words such as ‘will’, ‘expects’, ‘is expected to’, ‘aims’, ‘should’, ‘may’, ‘objective’, ‘is likely to’, ‘intends’, ‘believes’, ‘anticipates’, ‘plans’, ‘we see’ or similar expressions. Actual results may differ from those expressed in such statements, depending on a variety of factors including the risk factors set forth in our most recent Annual Report and Form 20-F under “Risk factors” and in any of our more recent public reports.
Our most recent Annual Report and Form 20-F and other period filings are available on our website at www.bp.com, or can be obtained from the SEC by calling 1-800-SEC-0330 or on its website at www.sec.gov.