As we have been reporting, the invading government plans in the Malvinas Islands to replace the port that has been operating since the post-war era on the coast of Puerto Argentino. These new port facilities would be built by the company Harland & Wolff to be used in activities linked to oil exploitation, fishing, tourism, science, research, defense and Antarctic projection.
But their desires collide with a harsh reality: the economic and financial problems that Harland & Wolff is experiencing.
The British government will not offer financial support to Harland & Wolff Group Holdings PLC due to the risk of loss of public money .
John Wood, the executive president who was relieved of his position in the face of the company's crisis
In a statement issued by the company it is reported that: “The Department of Business and Commerce has notified the Company that Her Majesty's Government will not proceed with the Company's application for the EDG facility at this time. Therefore, the Company has accelerated discussions with Riverstone Credit Management LLC (Harland & Wolff's principal creditor) in order to obtain new alternative credit facilities to support the company's near-term working capital needs following the significant recent growth in income. These alternative financing agreements are expected to close in the coming days.”
They also reported that: “As part of this long-term planning, the Company is engaging Rothschild & Co to evaluate strategic options for the Group.”
As anticipated by the Mexican portal Ofici Nista , the Harland & Wolff shipyards were forced to suspend their shares listed in London at the beginning of July and have missed two deadlines to present audited accounts , which raises doubts about their finances and their ability to fulfill the Royal Navy's £1.6bn contract to build the fleet's three solid support ships.
This adds greater problems with its workers , who have been demanding a recomposition of their salaries , since they have been frozen since the beginning of the year .
Harland & Wolff reportedly held a board meeting to consider its finances. However, it has not provided workers with any updates on the talks and management at the main shipyard in Belfast has not been informed, leaving workers with more doubts than certainties about the future of their jobs.
Harland & Wolff has been draining resources to hire a staff of 1,500 at the Belfast plant, at the Appledore shipyards in Devon and Methil and Arnish in Scotland , as it plans to divide work on vessels supporting the fleet. the Royal Navy on its four floors.
It should be noted that this contract was obtained by associating with the Spanish state company Navantia and the British BMT Group , the only way to win that tender since Harland & Wolff has not built any ship since 2003 , but the British conservative government also granted it, at the time, the juicy contract for 1.6 billion pounds (about 2 billion dollars).
A spokesperson for the company had already announced that “Harland & Wolff is aware that public officials are informing the new ministers about our case.”
“We have proposed a revised deal at the guaranteed standard level of 80%, which has been awarded to hundreds of other companies, and we look forward to hearing the government's response ,” adding that “the new government has been in power for just over a week, so which will take time to resolve the process. So far, we have not received any decision and we are willing to meet whenever it is convenient for you.”
Not obtaining the requested credit guarantee constitutes a tremendous blow for Harland & Wolff , which had reached an agreement more than a year ago with UK Export Finance , a ministerial department, in times of conservative management.
With this new situation, shipyards will be forced to borrow money from private lenders at standard market rates to refinance their £191 million liabilities .
And the new situation will put in doubt and at a very high level of risk the port transformation project that the occupation government in Malvinas wants to carry out .
In fact, Harland & Wolff has already warned that, if it does not obtain the requested credit guarantee, it will have to reconsider the execution of several of the works it has planned in other parts of the world, mainly the case of the renovation of the Argentine Port in the Malvina Islands.
The Spanish saw it coming
The Spanish media were more adverse in this regard, since they considered that the firm “is heading towards its second bankruptcy in five years in the event that it does not receive a series of public aid from the British Government” according to Economía Digital Galicia .
The Galician portal confirmed the information provided by its Mexican counterpart, adding a disastrous detail: “Harland & Wolff's shares have been suspended from the stock market since the beginning of July after it did not present its annual accounts in a timely manner.”
Jhon Wood, the new executive president, in charge of the difficult task of recapitalizing the company .
They even reported that its executive president, John Wood , in charge of taking the reins of the company in the last five years since its rescue, “has provisionally stepped aside to make way for the restructuring expert, Russell Downn” who will be in charge. of "a recapitalization aimed at providing the company with a sustainable financial base" , as reported by Harland & Wolff in the statement.
Sources:
Harland & Wolff Group Holdings PLC
