Titanic builder Harland & Wolff to appoint administrators as debt woes deepen

(Reuters) -Harland & Wolff said on Monday it plans to appoint administrators in the coming days as the company known for building the Titanic struggles with a debt crisis. The Belfast-based shipbuilder, which survived closure once in 2019, said it would cut jobs in its non-core and certain central support areas, without specifying the number of roles affected. It will also either dispose of or wind down its non-core assets. Harland & Wolff's non-core operations include its Marine Services business, the Scilly Ferries business, and its U.S. and Australian units. In July the company said the UK government had rejected Harland & Wolff's request for a 200 million pound ($263.94 million) credit facility and the shipbuilder appointed Rothschild & Co to explore strategic options for the group. A number of parties have expressed interest in buying some or all of the group's units which hold the shipyard sites, it said, adding that a first-round bid deadline is due shortly. Still, the company said contingency planning for the making of an administration order and appointment of administrators from Teneo is underway for the company. The shipyard added that its core operations which include four shipyards and interest in the Islandmagee Gas Storage project will be unaffected by the potential administration process.

"Should administrators be formally appointed then the company's shares would not resume trading on AIM, the 2023 accounts would not be finalised and admission of the company's shares to trading on AIM would be cancelled in due course," it said in a statement. The firm sent its CEO on immediate leave in July. Its finance chief also stepped down last week. Trading of the company's shares was suspended since July, pending finalisation of its 2023 accounts on a going concern basis.

($1 = 0.7577 pounds)

(Reporting by Prerna Bedi and Yadarisa Shabong in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli and Susan Fenton)