Harland & Wolff slams ‘misleading’ claims government won’t back £200m loan

Troubled shipbuilder Harland & Wolff has dismissed reports that the government will reject its request for a £200m loan guarantee.

The Belfast-based shipyard, which is best known for building the Titanic, said it had “not received any  decision from [the] government in relation to its application” and that it continued to “provide information and updates on a regular basis” to aid its decision making process.

The Financial Times reported on Tuesday that Labour had deemed approval of the guarantee an inappropriate use of public funds. One Whitehall figure told the paper it would be “deeply irresponsible.”

The previous Conservative government were reportedly split over the decision to prop up the business.

In a statement released today responding to the article, Harland & Wolff said: “The company considers these articles to be speculative and misleading. The company has not received any decision from government in relation to its application and the company continues to provide information and updates on a regular basis to facilitate government in its decision-making process.”

Harland & Wolff suspends trading

Trading in Harland and Wolff’s shares has been suspended for more than two weeks after it missed a deadline to publish audited accounts.

The company said it had been in “ongoing discussions” with its auditors regarding the method of accounting for revenues in some of its contracts.

It said the assessment had forced it to delay publication of its 2023 annual report until July 8.

Alongside the announcement, the company also published its unaudited financial results for the financial year ended 31 December 2023. The figures showed a jump in revenue from £27.8m last year to £86.9m for the year to the end of December, but reported an operating loss of £24.7m, down from £58.5m.

How did we get here?

Harland & Wolff’s future, and by extension, the future of a £1.6bn contract to build Royal Navy ships in Britain, rests on this £200m government loan guarantee.

But even before the election was announced, rumours started to emerge that the Treasury would not guarantee the loan.

Harland & Wolff, however, has not been right for years. Auditors were warning in 2023 that the business faced “material uncertainty” unless it could source fresh work.

The company’s financial issues stretch back decades and it currently has a market value of just £20m, alongside a significant debt pile. It was saved from administration in 2019 via a £6m deal with the energy firm Infrastrata.