Collapsed business airline Silverjet is to re-launch in a matter of weeks after administrators agreed a deal with Ireland-based investment company Kingplace.
Following a flurry of last-minute bids, including Dubai-based ArabJet, Kingplace launched a formal offer to rescue Silverjet from administration and said it intends to retain all staff and honour existing customers' tickets. A statement from Begbies Traynor, the administrator handling the sale, said the offer was being made on behalf of unnamed private clients.
Kingplace is registered in the Irish Republic but controlled by Heritage, an investment group in Switzerland.
Ian Ilsley, chairman of Heritage and a director of Kingplace, said: "If negotiations are successful, we expect to take on all of the existing staff, to honour Silverjet's existing customers' tickets and see Silverjet return to the skies in a matter of weeks."
London-based Silverjet, the most high-profile victim of the oil squeeze in the British airline industry, in total owes creditors $78.6 million (Dh289m), of which $33.5m is secured against three aircraft.
The airline's CEO Lawrence Hunt said the Dubai and New York service would resume as quickly as possible. "I am delighted that we now have the necessary backing from a long-term investor to re-launch Silverjet. We have received fantastic support from our staff, customers and partners in helping us put this deal together," Hunt added.
Kingplace's takeover follows a series of attempted bids in recent weeks.
ArabJet, a Dubai-based business-class airline, this week said it had "allocated sufficient funds to purchase" Silverjet, with Chief Executive Officer Mohammed El Shanti admitting his company was interested in the carrier's survival.
ArabJet "had discussions with Silverjet administrators… and we remain interested in Silverjet's survival", he said in an e-mail.
"We have great belief in the viability of Silverjet's business model, confirmed by its positive customer satisfaction," El Shanti added.
Billionaire brothers David and Simon Reuben were also said to be eyeing a rescue bid after reportedly becoming the airline's largest creditor.
The property developers – who are worth an estimated $8.5 billion – invested in Silverjet in November 2007 and are owed approximately $19.6m following the collapse, according to the Daily Telegraph newspaper.
Kingplace's re-launch of the airline service is now subject to regulatory approval.
Nigel Atkinson and Mark Fry of Begbies Traynor, joint administrators for Silverjet, said principal terms had been agreed with the Ireland-based company, subject to contractual completion, which is expected by 13 June.
Silverjet operated three carriers between London, New York and Dubai. It buckled last month as record fuel prices continue to eat away at the airline industry's profit margins.
The luxury airline, which flew 88,000 passengers in just over a year, said it had not been able to get its hands on a hoped-for $5m loan from Abu Dhabi-based investor Viceroy Holdings that had been initially agreed. It became the third business-class-only airline flying between London and New York to collapse, following rivals Eos and MAXJet.
The International Air Transport Association said recently that the international airline industry is set to report losses this year, possibly as high as $6.1bn, on the back of record high oil prices that are eating into profits.