(Bloomberg) -- The owner of the shipping yard that built the Titanic has appointed administrators from financial advisory firm Teneo, after collapsing for the second time in five years.
Harland & Wolff Group Holdings Plc confirmed the decision to go into administration — a form of insolvency in the UK — after warning last week that it was inevitable. The move applies to the holding company, which said some of the 66 people it employs will lose their jobs.
The UK’s Labour government rejected the troubled shipbuilder’s appeal for emergency funding earlier this year, pushing it to the brink and prompting Chief Executive Officer John Wood to leave his role. A £200 million ($264 million) loan facility had been provisionally agreed by the previous Conservative government.
Teneo’s Gavin Park and Matt Cowlishaw were appointed joint administrators, according to Friday’s statement. It confirmed Cavendish Capital Markets and Panmure Liberum will resign as joint brokers with immediate effect.
The company’s assets, including shipyards in Northern Ireland, England and Scotland, have attracted the attention of various defense companies. Earlier this week, the UK government tried to persuade Spain’s Navantia to bid for four of its shipyards, according to the Financial Times. Navantia was said to be interested in buying the Belfast yard, it added.
Harland & Wolff previously collapsed in 2019, before being bought out of administration by UK-based InfraStrata as part of a wider bet on the industry.
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