Former Monarch owner Greybull Capital has said it has a “moral obligation” to repay some of the cost of repatriating customers if it makes a profit from the sale of the airline’s assets.
The firm’s promise echoes transport secretary Chris Grayling’s call for creditors to help cover the £60 million bill left by the CAA’s programme to fly home all 110,000 customers stranded abroad when the airline collapsed earlier this month.
Monarch’s administrator, KPMG, is currently seeking clarification in court on whether it has the right to sell the carrier’s take-off and landing slots at airports, which it estimates are worth £60 million. Greybull would have first rights on any money raised by the sale of assets, which means it could stand to profit from the airline’s failure.
Greybull said in a statement on Sunday: “We concur wholeheartedly with the secretary of state’s recent statement that any stakeholder who finds themselves in-pocket at the end of the administration process would be under a moral obligation to contribute to other stakeholders.
“This would include helping to defray the costs incurred by the Department for Transport in repatriating Monarch customers.
“This was first discussed in principle with the secretary of state and his department several weeks ago. We also agree with the secretary of state that it is premature to prejudge the outcome of the administration.”
According to the BBC, a letter sent to the transport committee dated October 24, Greybull pledged a commitment to sharing any profit from the administration with shareholders, which includes an obligation to help repay the repatriation bill. However, the sale of any assets and returning money to creditors and investors is up to KPMG.
Monarch’s failure also left more than 2,000 people without jobs and has caused the government to rethink the ATOL bill when it came to light that many of the customers it flew home were not covered and therefore had no legal right to repatriation.