SILVERJET, the business class only airline, is set to take to the skies again after being rescued out of administration by a Geneva-based company.
The airline, which flies from Luton to New York and Dubai, has been bought for an undisclosed sum by Kingplace, an Ireland registered company controlled by Heritage Cie, an investment group based in Switzerland.
A statement from Begbies Traynor, the administrator handling the sale, said the offer by Kingplace is being made on behalf of unnamed private clients.
Lawrence Hunt, chief executive at
Silverjet, said: “I am personally delighted that we now have the necessary backing from a long term investor to relaunch Silverjet. We have received fantastic support from our staff, customers and partners in helping us put this deal together.”
Mr Hunt said Silverjet’s New York and Dubai services would be relaunched as quickly as possible and an announcement would be made in due course.
Ian Ilsley, chairman of Heritage and a director of Kingplace, said the group intends to take on all of the existing staff, to honour Silverjet’s existing customers’ tickets. He said Silverjet could return to the skies “in a matter of weeks”.
Silverjet was placed in administration at the end of last month after failing to secure a $US5 million ($5.3 million) cash injection from Viceroy Holdings, a Middle Eastern investment group.
The company has been hit by soaring fuel costs, with oil rising to a record $US139 a barrel last week, as well as an economic downturn on both sides of the Atlantic.
