Harland and Wolff, the Belfast-based shipbuilder best known for building the Titanic, has been placed into administration for the second time in five years. Last week, the company’s board had warned that the move was likely. However, the administration process is limited solely to the holding company, Harland & Wolff Group Holdings plc, with the companies that operate the yards continuing to trade.
Harland and Wolff’s main yard is in Belfast, with additional sites at Appledore in England and Methil and Arnish in Scotland. The company’s executive chairman, Russell Downs, has expressed optimism that new owners or an owner will be found for the yards. Joint administrators, Gavin Park and Matt Cowlishaw of Teneo Financial Advisory, have been appointed.
At present, the holding company has 66 employees, and administration means that shareholders in Harland and Wolff will lose their investment. In a statement, the company said, “The Administrators will unfortunately be required to reduce the headcount upon appointment. A number of employees will be retained to provide certain required services to the operational companies under a transitional services agreement with the Administrators.”
Founding partners, Yorkshireman Edward Harland and German business partner Gustav Wolff, established the Belfast shipyard in 1861. By the start of the 20th century, the company was the world’s most prolific builder of ocean liners and dominated global shipbuilding. However, the shipyard hasn’t built a ship in more than a decade and has a heritage that dates back over 150 years
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