Harland and Wolff, the shipbuilding company behind the Titanic, has announced it will be placed into administration for the second time in five years. Insolvency practitioners Teneo will act as administrators, with non-core staff redundancies across the group. The Belfast yard, along with the shipbuilding operations in Appledore, England and Methil and Arnish, in Scotland, may continue under new ownership said the board. Any value in investments will be wiped out. A statement from the firm said several parties had expressed an interest in acquiring the yards with a first-round bid deadline expected soon. Funding is needed in the near term, but ultimately, the yards are expected to be generating cash.
Non-core operations are being wound down. This includes a marine services business that is to be sold in the hope of preserving several jobs and a small business in the US. Some non-core staff and others in support roles were told on Monday they were losing their jobs. The company warned that “a further reduction in headcount in our core activities may be necessary” depending on the progress of the sales process. Rothschild bank is running the sales process.
Spain’s state-owned shipbuilder Navantia is interested in the Belfast operation, and Babcock International, the UK defence contractor, is also believed to be a potential bidder for the Belfast business. The yards “together or separately have a credible future”, said executive chairman Russell Downs. Accountants PwC and law firm Simmons and Simmons have been appointed to investigate “the alleged misapplication of remittances in excess of £25m and certain other lower value matters, such as the disbursement of funds for little or no corporate benefit”.The company’s former CEO John Woods told the Financial Times that the allegation of misapplication of funds was “ridiculous”.
The GMB Union has called on the government to act to ensure that no private company is allowed to choose which yards or contracts they wish to save. GMB Union national officer Matt Roberts said that “workers, their families and whole communities now face their lives being thrown into chaos due to chronic failures in industrial strategy and corporate mismanagement”. The four Harland & Wolff yards are “needed for our future sovereign capabilities in sectors like renewables and shipbuilding”, he said
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