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12 May 2025
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Sudden change at the top for Harland & Wolff
One of the UK’s main shipbuilders had a sudden change in leadership after it secured US$25M in finance and ordered the sale of a fast ferry service
Harland & Wolff Group Holdings has secured US$25M of finance and engaged Rothschild & Co as financial adviser to assess strategic options after it headed towards administration.
The Belfast, Northern Ireland-headquartered shipbuilder also announced the immediate departure of chief executive and board member John Wood and introduced new board members Russell Downs and Alan Fort.
In a restructuring, Harland & Wolff also announced it will sell a fast ferry it had acquired to provide passenger and cargo services from Penzance, Cornwall and the Scilly Isles in the Atlantic.
Harland & Wolff now has a financial facility of US$140M to stabilise its liquidity position as it continues to construct barges and repairs ships at its four shipyards around the UK.
“The company remains focused on growing the business in its four key delivery centres (Belfast, Appledore, Methil and Arnish) and will be winding down business lines that are deemed to be non-core for the company,” Harland & Wolff said in a statement.
Harland & Wolff chairman Malcolm Groat confirmed fast ferry service Scilly Ferries will stop operating and discussions are ongoing to dispose of the fast ferry.
He said the funding commitment would “support Harland & Wolff’s ongoing stabilisation and long-term strategy” objectives.
“We also look forward to working with the very experienced team from Rothschild & Co to help us achieve that objective,” he said. “It is regrettable we have taken the tough decision to terminate the fast ferry, but we need to focus our energies and resources in continuing to grow the core business across our four delivery centres,” Mr Groat continued.
“This decision aligns with and brings us back to our fundamental five markets and six service strategy. Our ferry service team will be working closely with passengers and other counterparties to ensure a smooth transition out of this business.”
Harland & Wolff is building 33 barges for Cory’s operations on the Thames River, with eight already delivered in Belfast and six at Methil, and the first completed at the Arnish site in June 2024. Its Appledore site completed a cable-handling barge in July for KBS Maritime and supporting Royal Navy’s vessels in Portsmouth, UK.
The shipbuilder operates its own fleet of tugboats to support operations at these shipyards and provide services in ports.
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