Harland and Wolff: Titanic shipbuilder enters administration

Belfast shipbuilder Harland and Wolff, which built the Titanic, has officially entered administration for the second time in five years.

Last week, the company’s board warned that the move was inevitable.

The administration process is limited to the holding company Harland & Wolff Group Holdings plc, while the operating company running the shipyard continues to trade.

Its main shipyard is in Belfast, with other facilities in Appledore, England, and Mayhill and Anish, Scotland.

The company’s executive chairman, Russell Downs, is optimistic that a new owner or owners will be found for the yards.

Teneo Financial Advisory’s Gavin Park and Matt Cowlishaw have been appointed joint administrators.

The holding company currently has 66 employees.

Haaland and Wolf said in a statement: “It is unfortunate that administrators will be required to reduce headcount at the time of their appointment.

“Under a transition services agreement with management, some employees will be retained to provide certain required services to the operating company.”

The company also reiterated that the administration process means Haaland and Wolff shareholders will see the value of their investments wiped out.

Founded in 1861 by Yorkshireman Edward Harland and his German business partner Gustav Wolff, Belfast Dockyard is best known for building the Titanic.

By the early 20th century, Harland and Wolff dominated the global shipbuilding industry and became the world’s most prolific builder of ocean liners.

haaland and wolff buyout administration 2019.

The then-Norwegian shipowners withdrew their support, the company fell into bankruptcy, and no ship was built for a generation.

The new owner, Infrastrata, is a small London-based energy company with no extensive experience in marine engineering.

Infrastrata later changed its name to Harland and Wolff and won a major Royal Navy contract in 2022 as part of a consortium led by Spanish state-owned shipbuilder Navantia.

However, as the business scale expanded, financial losses continued to increase.

The 2021 accounts cover a 17-month period and show losses of more than £25m.

Audited annual accounts for 2022 showed a turnover of £28m and a loss of around £70m, with auditors believing there was “significant uncertainty” about the company’s ability to continue as a going concern.

Unaudited accounts for 2023 showed a loss of £43 million.

The company has become increasingly reliant on high-interest borrowing from US specialist lender Riverstone.

It is also banking on securing government loan guarantees so it can refinance with more traditional lenders.

In July, the new government confirmed it would not provide any support because “the risk of loss of taxpayer money is very high”.

Restructuring expert Russell Downs was parachuted in as executive chairman and began strategic review Responsible for the business together with advisors from Rothschild Bank.