Silverjet shares were suspended today (23 May) after the last surviving UK business-only airline admitted a liquidity crisis because it hasn”t been able to access the expected loan from Viceroy Holdings.
”Silverjet has yet to receive the full drawdown,” read a statement from the carrier. ”As announced on 30 April, Silverjet”s working capital reserves are limited and advances under the Loan Facility are required as a matter of urgency.”
Services continue to run normally however.
The airline is expecting up to $100m from UAE-based Viceroy, with first instalments as an ”8.4m ($16.6m) loan facility and a proposed ”4.3m subscription agreement.
A Silverjet spokeswoman told ABTN: ”We have received some drawdown and Viceroy still wants to invest in Silverjet ” the issue is on their end, they haven”t been able to access funds as quickly as planned. Obviously as a public company we have to tell shareholders what”s going on, hence the suspension of shares.”
She said Silverjet is still confident of the investment going ahead, but remains in talks with other parties in the meantime.
”Our understanding is that Viceroy is committed, but until funds clear Silverjet”s account we have to continue other discussions ” any sensible offer that”s made to you, you consider. Obviously [we have] a great business model and it”s still an exciting time, especially when we”re the only [business carrier] now based in the UK.”
Oil prices have shot through the roof in recent weeks - hitting $135 a barrel yesterday ” and leading industry figures have predicted doom even for some large carriers, but Silverjet”s spokeswoman remained bullish in the face of this.
”There has been a deterioration of working capital ” no one knew oil prices would go through the roof quite like they have,” she said. ”But our load factors have been excellent, so at the moment all we need is Viceroy to access funds, and then we can carry on expanding as a brand and into new markets.”
Silverjet seemed very confident of receiving the cash boost - on Tuesday its CEO Lawrence Hunt announced a management shuffle: ”This is a very exciting time for Silverjet and we are currently restructuring some of the key roles in the company to reflect the new investment.”