Huge debts at Titanic shipbuilder Harland & Wolff revealed

Titanic shipbuilder Harland & Wolff owed more than £160m when it collapsed into administration last month, it has been revealed.

Teneo was appointed to oversee the process at the 162-year-old holding company in September while its subsidiary firms, including its prized Belfast shipyard, will continue to trade under the control of the directors.

Now a newly-filed document with Companies House has set out how the business fell into administration and how much it owed its creditors.

Teneo said that when it was appointed, no long-term funding was available from the group or its lender to support the company’s ongoing costs.

It added: “The [Harland & Wolff] sites were largely acquired by the group from insolvency processes and their success was predicted on securing significant revenue growth t support a large overhead base.

“Whilst the group delivered revenue growth, it was slower than required and a recent large contract win was not expected to become profitable in the near term.

“As a result, during 2024 the group had an increasing short-term liquidity requirement alongside a significant level of creditor arrears.”

Why did Harland & Wolff enter administration?

Harland & Wolff sought funding from the Department of Business and Trade and UK Export Finance as well as from its secured creditor.

The funding was required by 1 July, 2024, to tackle its liquidity shortfall and allow statutory accounts to be signed off and filed on time.

However, the government declined the application for funding support and the accounts remained outstanding as its shares were suspended from AIM.

Harland & Wolff then appointed Rothchild & Co to lead a sales process.

Teneo said: “Liquidity pressure in the company was increasing with an imminent threat of a winding up petition being presented by a creditor.

“Furthermore, the company’s cost base was considered to be unsustainable.

“Given the absence of any new funding, the directors of the company concluded that they had no alternative but to appoint Gavin Park and Matthew Cowlishaw as joint administrators of the company.”

How much did the company owe?

According to Teneo’s document, Harland & Wolff owned its secured creditor around $210.1m (£161.9m).

The firm said that, based on its current information, it does not expect there will be enough left over from selling assets to repay the company in full.

Teneo has also estimated that there are around 48 ordinary preferential claims totalling in the region of £130,800 relating to accrued and untaken holidays.

It added that the firm expects there will be enough funds to pay these claims in full.

There are also 75 unsecured creditors with estimated non-preferential claims totalling around £1.2m.

Teneo said that the total claims may be higher once more information is received.

The firm added that it is currently unlikely that unsecured creditors will get any of their money back.