Irish firm make Silverjet relaunch offer; airline interested
06.06.08
An Irish investment company is widely reported to have made an offer to Silverjet administrators to relaunch the Luton Airport based all-business-class airline. An airline is also reported to be interested, and a sale is now expected early next week.
Kingplace is a shelf-company registered in Ireland and managed by Heritage Cie SA, a Geneva trust and management company. The offer put to administrators Begbies Traynor is being made on behalf of un-named private clients.
Ian Ilsley, Heritage chairman and a director of Kingplace said: ‘Kingplace can confirm it has made an offer to Begbies Traynor and Silverjet chief executive Lawrence Hunt, with a view to purchasing Silverjet.'
'We are excited at the prospect of acquiring Silverjet and resuming operations as quickly as possible with the existing staff and in particular, Silverjet’s highly regarded crews. We will be investing in the future development and success of the brand.’
Silverjet chief executive Lawrence Hunt said: ‘I am delighted to confirm that Kingplace is in conversation with Begbies Traynor about Silverjet resuming operations in the near future. My aim is to see Silverjet up and flying as quickly as possible, working with our incredible team of staff and delivering our very ‘sivilised’ travel experience. We hope to make an announcement in the near future about when we will be able to resume operations.’
However, according to the Telegraph the company faces competition from an airline. Mark Fry, joint administrator, told the newspaper: ‘They are up against a very serious bidder,’ but declined to name it. He said: ‘We are in talks with a couple of bidders and terms are being discussed.’
Silverjet collapsed last week owing creditors £40m, £17m of which is secured against the three aircraft. Of the remaining £23m, £10m is owed to property entrepreneurs Simon and David Reuben. The rest is due to trade creditors. Shareholders have lost everything.
The debt secured against the aircraft could transfer with any new owner, but Mr Fry is seeking some return for the holders of the remaining £23m debt, the Telegraph reports. However, the newspaper speculated that this could be less than £5m.
Mr Fry told the Telegraph that he believes any non-airline bidder would also need to sink ‘at least £10m’ into Silverjet to get it airborne again.
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