Shares in embattled Harland and Wolff will remain suspended indefinitely as it looks to divert resources to preserving its core operations in the event of administration.
The company’s top brass no longer believe it can finalise its 2023 accounts and have therefore suspended “work to complete its unpublished accounts,” according to a statement on the London Stock Exchange. Harland said it would instead focus on its work with Rothschild, which has been appointed financial adviser to help stave off bankruptcy.
The Belfast shipyard’s Aim-listed shares have been suspended since July after accounting issues forced it to delay publication of its audited annual report.
The firm, which built the Titanic in its prime, has been gripped by crisis since the new Labour government failed to guarantee a £200m loan seen as critical to the continuation of its operations.
It has received an emergency £20m from US lender Riverstone Credit Partners but still needs to secure its medium and long-term future.
Harland and Wolff today formally confirmed the appointment of Russel Downs as interim executive chairman.
Downs, a former partner at PwC, was brought in following the termination of controversial former CEO John Wood’s contract.
Another accountant, Alan Fort, has joined as a non-executive director, having previously held a role as chief restructuring officer at the steelmaker Celsa UK.
Top of their in-tray is the company’s FSS project, a £1.4bn contract with the Royal Navy to build warships for the UK government.
In a statement, Downs said: “We remain focussed on working with interested parties and key stakeholders to ensure that we can navigate through this uncertainty preserving the underlying value in the yards and the FSS contract for its employees and other stakeholders.”
Harland and Wolff added it remained “reliant on the support of its existing lenders… who continue to support the group through the provision of short-term liquidity and under its existing structure of guarantees, share pledges and secured debentures.”
The news comes as a group of shareholders on Monday raised fears of a looming “pre-pack” administration, which would keep the company running but see stakeholders’ investments all but wiped out.
The collective holds around 30 per cent of the total shares in issue for the company. In an emailed statement, it said: “We are now under the impression that the group under instruction of the US lender are intent on selling the business possibly by means of a pre-pack administration deal in which shareholders will be wiped out without any say in the matter.”
The statement added: “It has been stated by an internal source that 400 employees in the business are also shareholders, if the business was to be sold for a small sum they equally would all lose out.”