Libra Group. Bloomberg Businessweek. Retrieved March 16, 2017. is a privately held international holding company operating in a variety of industries. Its 15 operating entities include businesses across six continents, in six sectors: aerospace, renewable energy, hospitality, real estate, maritime, and diversified investments.Libra Group – Official website. Retrieved January 11, 2017."Company Overview of Libra Holdings Ltd." Bloomberg Businessweek. Retrieved March 16, 2017.
Libra Group originated with a company founded by Michael Logothetis in 1976; a shipping company under the name of Lomar Shipping. To diversify, in 2003 Libra Group was established as its umbrella corporation, and in the mid-2000s it expanded into diverse industries. George Logothetis is the company's executive chairman, Nick Logothetis is Executive Vice Chairman, and Manos Kouligkas is COO. The company is privately owned by the Logothetis family.Libra Group – About Us. Libra.com. Retrieved January 16, 2017.
History Lomar Shipping Libra Group's predecessor company, Lomar Shipping, was founded by Michael Logothetis in London in 1976. Michael Logothetis's son George Logothetis joined Lomar Shipping in 1993. In 1995, he became company CEO, enlarging Lomar's fleet from less than five to more than 55 ships during the subsequent decade.Papapostolou, Anastasios. "10 Greeks of Diaspora that Left Their Mark in 2011". Greek Reporter. December 31, 2011.
Libra Group and diversification In 2003, George Logothetis founded Libra Group, based in New York and London, in order to diversify and expand the shipping company into new business areas.Musafer, Shanaz. "Family values help Greek shipping business go global". BBC News. July 7, 2013. George remains Libra Group's executive chairman.
At the time of the company's formation, international shipping was still its chief area of operations. Between 2004 and 2007, during a boom in the shipping business, Libra Group sold off most of Lomar's ships. With the profit from the ship sales, the new company purchased a fleet of airplanes, which were at a cyclical low, and set up an aircraft leasing division, Lease Corporation International (LCI), which leases aircraft to airlines such as British Airways and Virgin Atlantic. Libra Group repeated this successful "buy-low, sell-high" formula of going counter to prevailing market trends several times in the ensuing decade, building a large diversified multinational organization out of the former small shipping company.Wright, Robert. "Families will keep shipping buoyant, says Greek tycoon". Financial Times. July 14, 2013."50 Wealthiest Greek Americans". The National Herald. March 2, 2013. p. 12. Each of the company's new ventures was headed by existing top personnel or close associates."George Logothetis: The best advice I ever got". Fortune. October 25, 2012.
Expansion In 2006, Libra Group started expanding beyond aviation. Its new major ventures included real estate, hospitality, and renewable energy."Lomar Shipping Makes Super Deal". Capital.gr. December 8, 2009.Brady, Diane. "Executive on Greece: 'What Everyone Needs Now Is Certainty'". Businessweek. June 19, 2012.
In December 2009, after ship values slumped in the wake of the financial crisis, Libra Group re-entered the shipping business and purchased Allocean and its fleet of 26 ships."Logothetis family marks return to shipping with $325m buy". TradeWinds. June 3, 2010. From December 2009 through December 2013, the company purchased a total of 73 ships.Saul, Jonathan. "Funds buy shipping loans from capital-conscious banks". Reuters. December 18, 2013.
In 2009, the company also re-entered the aircraft leasing market when LCI purchased a new fleet of aircraft. In 2012, LCI expanded operations to include helicopter leasing as well.Laboda, Amy. "LCI Leases AW139 to Avencis Group for North Sea Crew Transport". Aviation International News. March 5, 2013.
Libra Group has also expanded beyond its core businesses of shipping, aircraft leasing, real estate, hospitality, and renewable energy, to include a variety of interests including media, home furnishing, and financial services.Saul, Jonathan. "Interview - Libra Group invests in Greece as economy turns up". Reuters. March 19, 2014. Between 2008 and 2014, the company purchased $7 billion to $7.5 billion of assets globally. As of 2026, the company has 15 operating entities in nearly 60 countries around the world.
Industry sectors and subsidiaries
Maritime Lomar Shipping, the original predecessor to Libra Group, is a Libra maritime subsidiary. Between 2004 and 2007, at the height of a boom in the shipping business, Libra Group sold Lomar's fleet of nearly 70 ships. The company made a substantial profit from sales, which occurred before the 2008 financial crisis.
In December 2009, after ship values had slumped from the recession, Lomar purchased a new fleet and returned to the shipping sector, investing $1.4 billion in 91 vessels – mainly container ships – between 2009 and late 2014. As of late 2013, Lomar operated a fleet of nearly 60 ships, including bulk carriers, reefer ships, container ships, offshore support vessels, liquefied petroleum gas tankers, chemical tankers, platform supply vessels, anchor handling tug supply vessels, and product tankers."Lomar". Libra.com. Archived from December 19, 2013.
In 2014, Lomar sold its entire fleet of six offshore support vessels for approximately $100 million, just before oil prices crashed; during this period the company sold additional vessels as well for another $100 million. Lomar purchased six container ships and two product tankers in December 2014, and seven more container ships in February 2015.Holmes, Tom. "Lomar expansion continues". Marine Trader. February 18, 2015. As of 2017, Lomar had a total fleet of over 80 vessels."Shipping". Libra.com. Retrieved January 24, 2017. Lomar recorded close to 2 billion in vessel sales during July 2020 to June 2023.
Lomar acquired 166-year-old Carl Büttner Holding's chemical tanker fleet for $160 million in October 2022.
In 2024, Libra's Lomar Shipping exited the container sector after selling close to 100 vessels for more than $2 billion between 2020 and early June 2024. As of 2024, Lomar has approximately 30 vessels including tankers and bulk carriers.
Americraft Marine, a Libra subsidiary, acquired St. Johns Ship Building in Florida in 2022 to build and service Jones Act-compliant fleets. The shipyard builds aluminum vessels, including crew transfer vessels (CTVs) used to service the offshore wind farm industry.
Lomarlabs was launched in March 2023 to explore adaptive maritime technologies such as carbon capture devices, robotics, and removable wind sails. The same year Lomarlabs announced a collaboration with Seabound, a maritime emissions reduction and carbon capture start-up. In September 2023 a new Libra Group maritime subsidiary, Seapath, formed a joint venture with Pilot LNG to develop the first dedicated LNG bunkering facility in U.S. Gulf Coast. In March 2024 Seapath launched a maritime leasing business focused on Jones Act-compliant vessels with $25 Million in initial transactions.
In January 2024, Americraft delivered the WINDEA Courageous, the first of 3 Jones Act-compliant Incat Crowther crew transport vessels (CTV) ordered by WINDEA CTV LLC.
Aerospace Lease Corporation International (LCI), Libra Group's former aircraft leasing subsidiary, was founded in 2004.LCI Aviation. LCIAviation.com. Retrieved March 16, 2017. LCI offices are located in Ireland, the United Kingdom, and Singapore. Since its inception, LCI has undertaken approximately $10 billion of transactions in the aviation market. It leases fixed-wing aircraft to airlines in Europe and Asia, including Singapore Airlines, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Oman Air, and Hong Kong Express Airways.Shalom, Francois. "Bombardier's CSeries gets another boost". Montreal Gazette. March 30, 2009. After selling its fleet of aircraft in 2007, LCI purchased new aircraft in 2009.Saul, Jonathan. "INTERVIEW-Conglomerate Libra sees investors returning to Greece". Reuters. March 7, 2013.
In 2012, LCI expanded into helicopter leasing.Rothman, Andrea. "Libra Buys AgustaWestland Helicopters to Start Leasing Business". Bloomberg News. February 12, 2012. In 2014, LCI purchased nearly $1billion in helicopters from Airbus and AgustaWestland;Wynbrandt, James. "LCI orders almost $1 billion in Helicopters from Airbus, AgustaWestland". Aviation International News. AINonline.com. February 25, 2014. in early 2015 it added 11 more helicopters from AgustaWestland."AgustaWestland Approves FlightSafety Learning Center, Signs 11-Helicopter Contract with LCI". Rotor & Wing International. February 13, 2015."LCI to Expand Helicopter Fleet With Further AgustaWestland Orders". PR Newswire. February 12, 2015. Helicopters leased by LCI are used for offshore oil operations, for commercial and governmental use, and for search and rescue as well as emergency medical services. Its lease clients in early 2015 included Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service and Australian Helicopters in Australia, and HeliService International in Germany."LCI Helicopters to lease four AW139s to Westpac Rescue in Australia". AviationNews-online.com. February 25, 2015.Alcock, Charles. "LCI Starts 2015 With Strong Leasing Activity". Aviation International News. AINonline.com. March 2, 2015.Spruce, Terry. "LCI to lease six AW139s to Australian Helicopters". HelicopterInvestor.com. February 26, 2015."LCI to lease second new AgustaWestland AW139 to HeliService". HeliHub.com. March 6, 2015.
In February 2024, LCI announced a commitment to acquire up to 21 more rotorcraft from Leonardo Helicopters under a new framework agreement.
Sumitomo Mitsui Finance and Leasing Company (SMFL) acquired a 35% stake in LCI from Libra Group in March 2023. In January 2023, LCI signed an agreement with Elroy Air, developer of advanced autonomous cargo aircraft systems, to acquire up to 40 of the company's Chaparral vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft. In April 2022, LCI signed an agreement with BETA Technologies to acquire up to 125 of the company's electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft.
In January 2024 LCI launched LCI Analytics, a new research and advisory division focused on consultancy and research services for critical rotorcraft and advanced air mobility operations.
In February 2026, Libra Group announced the sale of its remaining shares in aviation lessor, LCI, to Sumitomo Mitsui Finance and Leasing Co., Ltd. (SMFL).
Libra Group announced its project to become the first space leasing company in June 2023, offering satellites, spaceports and various infrastructure elements through a new subsidiary, Space Leasing International (SLI). Since its founding, SLI has expanded its portfolio to include traditional aviation and advanced air mobility assets
In November 2023 SLI acquired a satellite ground station in Alaska, the second of over 20 ground stations to be leased by SLI to RBC Signals.
Hotels and hospitality Libra Group has several hotel subsidiaries, which operate luxury hotels worldwide. The company established Grace Hotels, an international luxury-hotel management company that began in Greece. In 2018 Auberge Resorts Collection took over management of the Grace hotels with Libra Group taking a strategic interest in Auberge. The hotel chain's first location, Grace Mykonos, received the highest award at the 2007 European Hotel Design Awards. The Grace Santorini was in Condé Nast Travelers Gold List in 2012,THE GOLD LIST 2012 – GRACE SANTORINI, GREECE. Condé Nast Traveler. 2012. and the Vanderbilt Grace in Newport, Rhode Island was listed in Tatlers top 14 hotels in the U.S. in 2015.Tatler Travel Guide 2015 – USA – The Vanderbilt Grace. Tatler. 2015.
Other hotel companies owned by Libra Group, which has a portfolio of 70 properties, include Aria Hotels in Greece.