There have been “encouraging noises” that the Government is engaging over the future of Belfast shipyard Harland and Wolff, DUP leader Gavin Robinson has said.
The East Belfast MP said the “mood music is good” surrounding interest in the operations of the historic firm following the announcement that its holding company is to be placed into administration.
The firm said between 50-60 immediate redundancies are expected but that staff employed at its four shipyards are not affected.
Harland and Wolff, which famously built the Titanic, has four shipyards – one in Belfast, two in Scotland (Methil on the Firth of Forth and Arnish on the Isle of Lewis) and one in England (Appledore in north Devon).
It is the second time the business has been placed in administration in five years.
The administration process will be confined to the holding company, Harland & Wolff Group Holdings PLC, and the operational companies which run the yards are expected to continue trading.
Mr Robinson told the BBC’s Good Morning Ulster programme: “I heard some more encouraging noises yesterday to say that Government is keeping a close eye on this, that they are engaging with the company.
“But I think I would have been, and the unions would have liked to have been reassured by a greater interest over the last number of months.
“But the mood music is good about the interest in Harland and Wolff.
“The whole of the company is not in administration, though the London office is. The Belfast yard is pivotal to the future.”
He added: “The Belfast yard and the achievement in securing, as we did, an MoD contract worth £1.6 billion to build fleet support ships is the asset, is the thing which is creating the interest in the sales process.”
Insolvency practitioners Teneo will act as administrators and shares will be delisted.
The company is part of a consortium that landed a major contract to build new fleet solid support ships for the Royal Navy.
It had applied for a £200 million loan guarantee from the Government as part of efforts to restructure its finances.
However, the Government decided in August not to act as a guarantor on the lending – while also ruling out direct funding to maintain the company’s liquidity.
In terms of finding a new owner for the Belfast operation, Mr Robinson said Spain’s state-owned shipbuilder Navantia was the “most obvious” candidate.
He said: “I met with Navantia at the time that Harland and Wolff and Navantia got into a consortium.
“I have had discussions as they advance to achieve the order and clearly they have a unique financial interest in Belfast particularly given the contract that is there and the knowledge to proceed with that contract.”
Some yards may be owned by one owner with other yards owned by another, so we’ll just have to see where the process gets to
Russell Downs
Meanwhile, Harland and Wolff interim executive chairman Russell Downs has said there is a strong case for keeping the company’s four shipyards under a single owner.
He told the BBC’s Today programme that keeping the yards together was “sensible from an operating perspective”.
He added: “Some yards may be owned by one owner with other yards owned by another, so we’ll just have to see where the process gets to.”