BDO Northern Ireland reports a number of parties have shown interest in taking on the failed Harland and Wolff shipyard. Brian Murphy and Michael Jennings of BDO NI were appointed as Joint Administrators of Harland and Wolff Group Plc and Harland and Wolff Heavy Industries Ltd on Tuesday 6 August 2019.
A statement by BDO said: “In light of insufficient funds to cover the current running costs of the business and in the absence of any other funds being available at this point, in conjunction with Unions, the administrators have agreed to facilitate an unpaid temporary lay-off until Friday 16 August. This provides a limited additional time for all parties to pursue any potential opportunity to find a commercial basis to continue the business as a going concern. For a small number of workers, the option of redundancy has been provided and taken up. A limited core team of workers has also been retained to maintain the site and facilitate the administrators in carrying out their duties.
“A number of interested parties/potential bidders have come forward since our appointment and we are expediently following up on these enquiries in an effort to seek a viable commercial solution. This is our focus and we are working closely with interested parties and stakeholders with the aim of securing a positive outcome.”
