Shoreham Airport - Who owns it...really?
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Shoreham Airport - Who owns it...really?
Shoreham have announced reduced opening hours from April, closure of 2 runways, withdrawal of airport security and significant redundancies. Even the local schools haven't been told!
Can anyone actually name who owns the airport and who is responsible for this?
Can anyone actually name who owns the airport and who is responsible for this?
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No mention of anything like that on their website. And they do appear to have 4 runways so loosing 2 is probably not as bad as it sounds.
Shoreham Airport
Shoreham Airport
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Here's a link to their ownership history.
Brighton & Hove Business Forum: Shoreham Airport closes, changes hands and opens again in 24 hours. Shoreham Airport, Erinaceous Group plc, Air,
As it is property companies involved, I'd say there are probably plans afoot to develop the airport at some time. But whether as an airport or a housing estate, who knows.
On the beach
Brighton & Hove Business Forum: Shoreham Airport closes, changes hands and opens again in 24 hours. Shoreham Airport, Erinaceous Group plc, Air,
As it is property companies involved, I'd say there are probably plans afoot to develop the airport at some time. But whether as an airport or a housing estate, who knows.
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I haven't seen it. I understand 02/20 (tarmac) and 25/07 (grass) will remain open and it's the smaller runways that are being closed, understandable, to save money for this moment in time.
When I had been flying there over the last year, the number of movements had decreased some what I was told by the refuellers, during general chat.
How are they planning to alter the opening times?
When I had been flying there over the last year, the number of movements had decreased some what I was told by the refuellers, during general chat.
How are they planning to alter the opening times?
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I thought Shoreham opened 0830 already (engine start 0830); 0800 with PPR the previous day.
Early closing has always been an issue but it is THE major issue with nearly all GA airfields in Europe. The USA deals with this using pilot controlled lights but they don't work here because the electrons rotate the wrong way.
Early closing has always been an issue but it is THE major issue with nearly all GA airfields in Europe. The USA deals with this using pilot controlled lights but they don't work here because the electrons rotate the wrong way.
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Back to the original question. I think you will find it is owned by a company called Albemarle Shoreham Airport Ltd, who bought it from the administrators of Erinaceous Group PLC when they went bust. There has been a well documented history of unusual transactions in respect of ownership of the airport and surrounding buildings.
I do not propose to say much more here so as not to fall foul of the moderators but it will be no surprise to learn that there are some threads between the old and new owners. If you do a google search on "Albemarle", "Erinaceous Group SFO" or "Erinaceous Group Judge" you will be in a better position to draw your own conclusions.
Also, as a matter of fact, Websters dictionary defines Erinaceous as meaning 'hedgehog-like'. Its definition of a hedgehog begins with the words "Relatively large rodents".
I do not propose to say much more here so as not to fall foul of the moderators but it will be no surprise to learn that there are some threads between the old and new owners. If you do a google search on "Albemarle", "Erinaceous Group SFO" or "Erinaceous Group Judge" you will be in a better position to draw your own conclusions.
Also, as a matter of fact, Websters dictionary defines Erinaceous as meaning 'hedgehog-like'. Its definition of a hedgehog begins with the words "Relatively large rodents".
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Shoreham Airport - Who owns it...really?
https://www.landregistry.gov.uk/wps/...roperty_Search (after the weekend)
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If googling Erinaceous doesn't give enough information.
Also try 'Longmint' as that was yet another 'spin off' company created by the same people.
Its easy to find, but the same company also owns Fast (who operate at Shoreham), perhaps the MD there will have more info
Also try 'Longmint' as that was yet another 'spin off' company created by the same people.
Its easy to find, but the same company also owns Fast (who operate at Shoreham), perhaps the MD there will have more info
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There is no connection between Albemarle and Longmint Group. Longmint Group and its subsidiary at Shoreham, Fast Helicopters, do not have any involvement in the ownership or management of the airport. Fast are as concerned as other operators at the recent changes.
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Slightly off the original question
I've no idea who owns which bit but try looking at Fairoaks where Erinaceaous and Longmint were all involved in the airfield/flying club/property At one time I don't think even the staff knew who owned what. It may all have settled down by now?
I've no idea who owns which bit but try looking at Fairoaks where Erinaceaous and Longmint were all involved in the airfield/flying club/property At one time I don't think even the staff knew who owned what. It may all have settled down by now?
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Mike Echo. I think you have hit the nail on the head. The whole point is to make it very very hard for anyone to find out who owns what and who the beneficial owners really are. When Erinaceaous PLC went bust I don't think even the Administrator ever got to the bottom of it all.
I'm not about to name names and get PPRuNe into trouble, but if you Google as per my suggestions above and take note of some of the names that seem to recur quite frequently, I think you'll get the idea....
Longmintflyer. Are you really certain those recuring names above are not still involved in some way in Fast Helicopters? Maybe not as directors.
I'm not about to name names and get PPRuNe into trouble, but if you Google as per my suggestions above and take note of some of the names that seem to recur quite frequently, I think you'll get the idea....
Longmintflyer. Are you really certain those recuring names above are not still involved in some way in Fast Helicopters? Maybe not as directors.
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There is no connection between Albemarle and Longmint Group
From this link the following article
http://www.propertyweek.com/story.as...09726412.10.07
Intrigue over Erinaceous and £1 airport deal …
By David Doyle''', Mike Phillips
Shareholders ask how bosses won control of operating arm of Fairoaks Airport
Two Erinaceous executives have struck an unusual deal to split ownership of an airport company Erinaceous bought with its own private company.
The property holding companies of an airport near Woking were bought by an Erinaceous subsidiary, while some of its operating arms were bought by a company controlled by its founder and former chief executive, Neil Bellis.
It emerged this week that in July Erinaceous subsidiary Albemarle bought part of the Fairoaks Airport group of companies for £42m. After this, Longmint, an aviation and property company owned by Bellis, his wife, Juliet, and her sister and Erinaceous chief operating officer, Lucy Cummings, bought some of the companies in the group for £1.
The deal has raised concerns among shareholders, who are concerned that it will deprive them of value at a time when Erinaceous’s shares have plummeted, which led Bellis to be ousted as chief executive.
The fast-growing property ‘one-stop shop’ has also admitted it is in breach of its loan covenants, and its auditor has warned that there are risks to Erinaceous continuing as a going concern after a first-half loss.
Fairoaks Airport is made up of a group of companies that were formerly owned and controlled by 54-year-old Alan Mann, known as the Alan Mann group of companies.
Erinaceous has bought Fairoaks Holdings and Fairoaks Airport Ltd, which control airport operations and hold some airport property.
Longmint has bought Alan Mann Helicopters and Mann Aviation Group (Engineering) companies that sell and offer aviation-related services at Fairoaks Airport. Their 2006 accounts recorded pretax losses of £70,000 and £219,000, and retained profits of £518,000 and £581,000 respectively.
Erinaceous is thought to have extended a bridging loan to Albemarle of about £15m for the purchase, because it could not raise sufficient funds on its own to complete the deal. Erinaceous stressed there was no conflict of interest in the structure of the deal.
An Erinaceous spokesman told Property Week that all deals with Longmint must be approved by its remuneration committee and that the Fairoaks deals had also gone to the main board.
‘In both cases they were happy with what was being proposed,’ the spokesman said.
Regarding the fact that Longmint has only paid £1 for the companies it purchased, the spokesman said: ‘Erinaceous had the option of buying a loss-making business for a pound, which it declined.
‘Longmint took on that business for what was the market rate.’
In relation to the loan, he said: ‘Any conflict of interest with Albemarle is only a matter of timing. It couldn’t raise the funds to buy the property holding companies without the loan from Erinaceous.’
Erinaceous and Longmint have crossed paths before. In October 2006 Erinaceous bought Shoreham airport in Sussex , where Longmint subsidiary Fast Helicopters is a tenant. Erinaceous submitted redevelopment plans, including a residential scheme at the airport site, but Adur council asked for revisions to the scheme in August.
Read more: Intrigue over Erinaceous and £1 airport deal ? - Property Week
By David Doyle''', Mike Phillips
Shareholders ask how bosses won control of operating arm of Fairoaks Airport
Two Erinaceous executives have struck an unusual deal to split ownership of an airport company Erinaceous bought with its own private company.
The property holding companies of an airport near Woking were bought by an Erinaceous subsidiary, while some of its operating arms were bought by a company controlled by its founder and former chief executive, Neil Bellis.
It emerged this week that in July Erinaceous subsidiary Albemarle bought part of the Fairoaks Airport group of companies for £42m. After this, Longmint, an aviation and property company owned by Bellis, his wife, Juliet, and her sister and Erinaceous chief operating officer, Lucy Cummings, bought some of the companies in the group for £1.
The deal has raised concerns among shareholders, who are concerned that it will deprive them of value at a time when Erinaceous’s shares have plummeted, which led Bellis to be ousted as chief executive.
The fast-growing property ‘one-stop shop’ has also admitted it is in breach of its loan covenants, and its auditor has warned that there are risks to Erinaceous continuing as a going concern after a first-half loss.
Fairoaks Airport is made up of a group of companies that were formerly owned and controlled by 54-year-old Alan Mann, known as the Alan Mann group of companies.
Erinaceous has bought Fairoaks Holdings and Fairoaks Airport Ltd, which control airport operations and hold some airport property.
Longmint has bought Alan Mann Helicopters and Mann Aviation Group (Engineering) companies that sell and offer aviation-related services at Fairoaks Airport. Their 2006 accounts recorded pretax losses of £70,000 and £219,000, and retained profits of £518,000 and £581,000 respectively.
Erinaceous is thought to have extended a bridging loan to Albemarle of about £15m for the purchase, because it could not raise sufficient funds on its own to complete the deal. Erinaceous stressed there was no conflict of interest in the structure of the deal.
An Erinaceous spokesman told Property Week that all deals with Longmint must be approved by its remuneration committee and that the Fairoaks deals had also gone to the main board.
‘In both cases they were happy with what was being proposed,’ the spokesman said.
Regarding the fact that Longmint has only paid £1 for the companies it purchased, the spokesman said: ‘Erinaceous had the option of buying a loss-making business for a pound, which it declined.
‘Longmint took on that business for what was the market rate.’
In relation to the loan, he said: ‘Any conflict of interest with Albemarle is only a matter of timing. It couldn’t raise the funds to buy the property holding companies without the loan from Erinaceous.’
Erinaceous and Longmint have crossed paths before. In October 2006 Erinaceous bought Shoreham airport in Sussex , where Longmint subsidiary Fast Helicopters is a tenant. Erinaceous submitted redevelopment plans, including a residential scheme at the airport site, but Adur council asked for revisions to the scheme in August.
Read more: Intrigue over Erinaceous and £1 airport deal ? - Property Week
Confusion but Shoreham Airport is reopened
10:19am Wednesday 16th April 2008
By Jonathan Stayton »
Shoreham Airport has been sold to a company with strong links to its former owner which hit financial turbulence.
The airport's former owner, Erinaceous Group PLC, went into administration on Monday with debts of more than a quarter of a billion pounds. All flights were grounded.
Yesterday the airport was sold to Albemarle Shoreham Airport Limited which is backed by Geoff Egan, who ran a company owned by Erinaceous.
The new owners of the airport already owned the commercial buildings at the Shoreham site.
A spokesman added: "Albemarle remains committed to the regeneration of the airport in accordance with the vision of the joint owning councils, when the airport was originally sold in June 2006.
"The airport reopens for business immediately and we are delighted this has taken place within one day of it going into administration."
But campaigners were less bullish. Eric Williams, the secretary of Communities Against Runway Expansion (Care), which keeps a watching brief over the airport, said: "Hopefully it's not out of the frying pan and into the fire and one of those deals where nothing really changes hands."
Albemarle Shoreham Airport Limited is itself owned by Albemarle Investment Syndicates, a fund owned by former Erinaceous employee Mr Egan.
An Erinaceous spokes man said the company was not behind the buyout.
He said: "Albemarle Investment Syndicates is an entirely separate investment fund. Its assets are not controlled by Erinaceous.
Its funds are under the control of Egan Lawson which is headed up by Geoff Egan.
His business was owned by Erinaceous but this is not.
"It is not Erinaceous money that has bought this, it's outside investors like you and me."
Neil Parkin, the leader of Adur District Council, the planning authority for the site, said: "It's not really our concern the goings on at big companies. I am just pleased it has been resolved quickly."
The Erinaceous Group appointed KPMG as administrators on Monday and trading on the company's shares on the Stock Exchange was suspended when the price fell to little more than 1p each.
Flights resumed at the airport yesterday afternoon.
Airport manager John Haffenden said he was glad to see aircraft in the air again.
He added: "We believe the uncertain times are all behind us and we are going to move forward with this new group and they have indicated that they are totally committed to the regeneration plan."
About 30 businesses operate from the airport, including SkySouth airline, flight training schools, small private jets and some commercial transport.
10:19am Wednesday 16th April 2008
By Jonathan Stayton »
Shoreham Airport has been sold to a company with strong links to its former owner which hit financial turbulence.
The airport's former owner, Erinaceous Group PLC, went into administration on Monday with debts of more than a quarter of a billion pounds. All flights were grounded.
Yesterday the airport was sold to Albemarle Shoreham Airport Limited which is backed by Geoff Egan, who ran a company owned by Erinaceous.
The new owners of the airport already owned the commercial buildings at the Shoreham site.
A spokesman added: "Albemarle remains committed to the regeneration of the airport in accordance with the vision of the joint owning councils, when the airport was originally sold in June 2006.
"The airport reopens for business immediately and we are delighted this has taken place within one day of it going into administration."
But campaigners were less bullish. Eric Williams, the secretary of Communities Against Runway Expansion (Care), which keeps a watching brief over the airport, said: "Hopefully it's not out of the frying pan and into the fire and one of those deals where nothing really changes hands."
Albemarle Shoreham Airport Limited is itself owned by Albemarle Investment Syndicates, a fund owned by former Erinaceous employee Mr Egan.
An Erinaceous spokes man said the company was not behind the buyout.
He said: "Albemarle Investment Syndicates is an entirely separate investment fund. Its assets are not controlled by Erinaceous.
Its funds are under the control of Egan Lawson which is headed up by Geoff Egan.
His business was owned by Erinaceous but this is not.
"It is not Erinaceous money that has bought this, it's outside investors like you and me."
Neil Parkin, the leader of Adur District Council, the planning authority for the site, said: "It's not really our concern the goings on at big companies. I am just pleased it has been resolved quickly."
The Erinaceous Group appointed KPMG as administrators on Monday and trading on the company's shares on the Stock Exchange was suspended when the price fell to little more than 1p each.
Flights resumed at the airport yesterday afternoon.
Airport manager John Haffenden said he was glad to see aircraft in the air again.
He added: "We believe the uncertain times are all behind us and we are going to move forward with this new group and they have indicated that they are totally committed to the regeneration plan."
About 30 businesses operate from the airport, including SkySouth airline, flight training schools, small private jets and some commercial transport.
FINANCIAL turbulence hit Shoreham Airport – when it went bust and was then resold within a day.
The airfield has been sold to a company with strong links to its former owner Erinaceous Group PLC, which went into administration on Monday, April 14 with debts of more than a quarter of a billion pounds.
On Tuesday, April 15 it was announced that the airport had been sold to Albemarle Shoreham Airport Limited, which is backed by Geoff Egan, who ran a company owned by Erinaceous.
See the full report in the Shoreham Herald on Thursday, April 17.
The airfield has been sold to a company with strong links to its former owner Erinaceous Group PLC, which went into administration on Monday, April 14 with debts of more than a quarter of a billion pounds.
On Tuesday, April 15 it was announced that the airport had been sold to Albemarle Shoreham Airport Limited, which is backed by Geoff Egan, who ran a company owned by Erinaceous.
See the full report in the Shoreham Herald on Thursday, April 17.
Sure seems like more than no connection
Last edited by Sliding Doors; 28th Feb 2010 at 20:59.
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Nipper2 - The "recurring names" I assume you are referring to are the owners of Longmint Group and were the founders of Erinaceous. They ceased having any involvement in Erinaceous from November 2007. They remain owners and directors of Longmint Group and its subsidiaries, including Fast. The key people in Albemarle formerly worked for Erinaceous but have no connection whatsoever, formal or informal, with Longmint or its owners. As said in my original post, Fast are as concerned as other operators at Shoreham at recent developments.
Sliding Doors - It is easy to repost old press cuttings but do not believe everything you read in the press. Some facts stated are true, some out of context and misleading, and some are simply untrue. At some stage the full story of Erinaceous will be told, and it will surprise many people who were not involved but have relied only upon press articles. My statement that there is no connection between Albermarle and Longmint Group is correct.
Sliding Doors - It is easy to repost old press cuttings but do not believe everything you read in the press. Some facts stated are true, some out of context and misleading, and some are simply untrue. At some stage the full story of Erinaceous will be told, and it will surprise many people who were not involved but have relied only upon press articles. My statement that there is no connection between Albermarle and Longmint Group is correct.
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LMF,
You assume that people are relying only upon press reports 
. Perhaps the wider concerns are about the FULL history dating back to Thurston aviation, Filemart and Temple Microsystems. Your username implies an association with Longmint so none of this 'old press reporting' should be news to you. There is a pattern though, isn't there? 
http://www.iaopa.eu/mediaServlet/sto...GA_pp14-15.pdf
I drew my own conclusions some time ago, so will say no more
It is easy to repost old press cuttings but do not believe everything you read in the press. Some facts stated are true, some out of context and misleading, and some are simply untrue. At some stage the full story of Erinaceous will be told, and it will surprise many people who were not involved but have relied only upon press articles
. Perhaps the wider concerns are about the FULL history dating back to Thurston aviation, Filemart and Temple Microsystems. Your username implies an association with Longmint so none of this 'old press reporting' should be news to you. There is a pattern though, isn't there? http://www.iaopa.eu/mediaServlet/sto...GA_pp14-15.pdf
Clouds are gathering over Shoreham andFairoaks airports as efforts continue to rescue their publicly-quoted owner Erinaceous, whose share price has crashed amid intimations of bad management and
unusual inter-company dealings. Erinaceous, an amorphous collection of
companies in the property sector, bought Shoreham in 2006 and Fairoaks earlier this year. Its principals have been put on gardening leave while their resignations are sought, and the company has announced its intention to
repair its balance sheet by selling property assets and development land. What this means for the two airports is unclear. Questions have been raised following deals involving Erinaceous assets which were passed to private companies owned by Erinaceous’s chief executive Neil Bellis and his fellow
director and sister-in-law Lucy Cummings. One company, Fairoaks-based Alan Mann Helicopters, is said to have been sold by the quoted company to the Bellis-Cummings owned Longmint Group for just £1. Another private Bellis-Cummings company, Fast Helicopters, is said to owe Erinaceous £1.2
million. Fast Helicopters were tenants at Shoreham before Erinaceous bought the airfield. The company’s chairman Nigel Turnbull and an interim chief executive, Tim Redburn, are struggling with debts said to be on the order of
£168 million.
The Sunday Times newspaper has repeatedly returned to the Erinaceous story as remarkable new dealings are unearthed. General Aviation has been unable to prise any answers from Erinaceous, and many of the company’s tenants at Shoreham and Fairoaks are unwilling to speak until the situation is
clearer. Bellis and Cummings, who were involved in multiple failed companies in the 1990s, started Erinaceous in 1999. It grew rapidly by
acquisition, taking over 17 property-related companies in its first five years, and its stock market value had topped £400 million.
Erinaceous listed on the Alternative Investment Market in 2003 and the main market the following year. The share price began to sink early in 2006 and crashed when this summer Erinaceous declared it had broken its borrowing limits. The resulting fallout has spread alarm and trepidation through aviation
companies with Shoreham and Fairoaks interests.
Developments
In February this year, Erinaceous, as new owners of Shoreham Airport, submitted expansion plans to Adur District Council. The ambitious scheme was to refurbish the 1930s art deco terminal building and build a new
hangar, offices, control tower and fire station. There was also a suggestion to create on-site apartments. At the time airport manager John Haffenden was reported as saying the development would make Shoreham “unique
among British airports.” The Grade II listed terminal building was to be restored and departure and arrival facilities brought back into the airport’s concourse. The terminal building was also going to house function and
conference facilities and a restaurant. The new ideas received a cool reception from many tenants, who said the proposed development would mean threats to safety and people’s livelihoods. Part of the ‘improvements’
were to slice the main licensed grass runway in half, making it narrower, whilst adding extra aircraft parking space. Other lowlights included turfing flying training organisations (FTOs) in the main terminal out without offering them a firm alternative base . They currently operate from CAA approved premises. The new proposals might not satisfy the CAA; therefore FTOs could lose their approvals. Another suggestion was to build a new control tower and fire station and turn a taxiway into a road between two hangars. The
main hangar was to be demolished, again without offering alternative accommodation to the aircraft housed there, while a new building
one third of its size was built to replace it. The main hangar was to be replaced by shops, flats and offices. Existing maintenance facilities would also be affected, and access to them blocked. In light of subsequent events, these proposals could have been doubly disastrous. It seems that once Erinaceous had bought a business, it lost interest in looking after it. As
the parent company swelled up, its components shrivelled and formerly
prosperous concerns were left to founder. Around the same time as the firm was touting its plans for the all-new Shoreham Airport, it was being investigated by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) for suspected property fraud
against the Cheshire building society.
Erinaceous suspended Ian McGarry, head of valuations for Dunlop Haywards, one of its subsidiaries, and also agreed an out-of-court settlement with another lender, Nationwide in an incident that cost the company £4.2m.
The Erinaceous team
In the early 1990s Bellis and Cummings were directors of Thurston Aviation (Stansted) and a company named Filemart. Thurston was put into administration and dissolved with a debt of £750,000. Filemart wound up owing £2.5m. Bellis was also a director of a company, Temple Microsystems, which closed down in 1992 £500,000 in the red. In 1993 Bellis went into an individual voluntary arrangement (IVA) with creditors who were claiming £4.8m for his business and personal debts. This lasted until 1998.
Today Erinaceous is said to be paying almost 10% interest on its £168 million debts and it is undergoing a strategic review. Its value has plummeted from £400m to less than £25m. The sharks are circling – various private-equity firms and investors have shown an interest in buying it, but look as though
they are biding their time as the share price continues to tumble. As has been
demonstrated frustratingly often in the past asset strippers will look on perfectly good development land that’s being ‘underused’ as an airfield as an asset to be squeezed. James Caan, the new dragon on TV’s Dragons’ Den,
has bought 5.6% of Erinaceous.
Next steps
Many tenants are reluctant to comment whilst Erinaceous is undergoing a strategic review. Most people interviewed for this article declined to be named. Peter Villa, CEO of Apollo Aviation, is one of the Shoreham
tenants whose business would suffer should the development proposals come to fruition. He says: “We have not heard anything yet. Uncertainty causes people unrest, and everyone is sharing that uncertainty. As we have a big investment here, we have a degree of discomfort trying to plan the future. We would like to see the airport continue without any interruption. Development is limited by physical constraints of the airfield. For us the
uncertainty comes with somewhat of a silver lining as it has put the plot development plans on hold.” Over at Fairoaks, where there has been little
time for Erinaceous to put any plans into effect, a spokesman was more bullish, and said that he had seen no changes as yet, but that he felt confident that pressure from locals would mean the airfield would continue to
operate, since residents are vehemently opposed to a new housing estate on the site.
There is little information about the asset distribution following the Fairoaks takeover. Apart from Alan Mann Helicopters, sold for £1 to Longmint, the property assets were said to have been sold for £42 million to an offshore
vehicle controlled by Erinaceous.
unusual inter-company dealings. Erinaceous, an amorphous collection of
companies in the property sector, bought Shoreham in 2006 and Fairoaks earlier this year. Its principals have been put on gardening leave while their resignations are sought, and the company has announced its intention to
repair its balance sheet by selling property assets and development land. What this means for the two airports is unclear. Questions have been raised following deals involving Erinaceous assets which were passed to private companies owned by Erinaceous’s chief executive Neil Bellis and his fellow
director and sister-in-law Lucy Cummings. One company, Fairoaks-based Alan Mann Helicopters, is said to have been sold by the quoted company to the Bellis-Cummings owned Longmint Group for just £1. Another private Bellis-Cummings company, Fast Helicopters, is said to owe Erinaceous £1.2
million. Fast Helicopters were tenants at Shoreham before Erinaceous bought the airfield. The company’s chairman Nigel Turnbull and an interim chief executive, Tim Redburn, are struggling with debts said to be on the order of
£168 million.
The Sunday Times newspaper has repeatedly returned to the Erinaceous story as remarkable new dealings are unearthed. General Aviation has been unable to prise any answers from Erinaceous, and many of the company’s tenants at Shoreham and Fairoaks are unwilling to speak until the situation is
clearer. Bellis and Cummings, who were involved in multiple failed companies in the 1990s, started Erinaceous in 1999. It grew rapidly by
acquisition, taking over 17 property-related companies in its first five years, and its stock market value had topped £400 million.
Erinaceous listed on the Alternative Investment Market in 2003 and the main market the following year. The share price began to sink early in 2006 and crashed when this summer Erinaceous declared it had broken its borrowing limits. The resulting fallout has spread alarm and trepidation through aviation
companies with Shoreham and Fairoaks interests.
Developments
In February this year, Erinaceous, as new owners of Shoreham Airport, submitted expansion plans to Adur District Council. The ambitious scheme was to refurbish the 1930s art deco terminal building and build a new
hangar, offices, control tower and fire station. There was also a suggestion to create on-site apartments. At the time airport manager John Haffenden was reported as saying the development would make Shoreham “unique
among British airports.” The Grade II listed terminal building was to be restored and departure and arrival facilities brought back into the airport’s concourse. The terminal building was also going to house function and
conference facilities and a restaurant. The new ideas received a cool reception from many tenants, who said the proposed development would mean threats to safety and people’s livelihoods. Part of the ‘improvements’
were to slice the main licensed grass runway in half, making it narrower, whilst adding extra aircraft parking space. Other lowlights included turfing flying training organisations (FTOs) in the main terminal out without offering them a firm alternative base . They currently operate from CAA approved premises. The new proposals might not satisfy the CAA; therefore FTOs could lose their approvals. Another suggestion was to build a new control tower and fire station and turn a taxiway into a road between two hangars. The
main hangar was to be demolished, again without offering alternative accommodation to the aircraft housed there, while a new building
one third of its size was built to replace it. The main hangar was to be replaced by shops, flats and offices. Existing maintenance facilities would also be affected, and access to them blocked. In light of subsequent events, these proposals could have been doubly disastrous. It seems that once Erinaceous had bought a business, it lost interest in looking after it. As
the parent company swelled up, its components shrivelled and formerly
prosperous concerns were left to founder. Around the same time as the firm was touting its plans for the all-new Shoreham Airport, it was being investigated by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) for suspected property fraud
against the Cheshire building society.
Erinaceous suspended Ian McGarry, head of valuations for Dunlop Haywards, one of its subsidiaries, and also agreed an out-of-court settlement with another lender, Nationwide in an incident that cost the company £4.2m.
The Erinaceous team
In the early 1990s Bellis and Cummings were directors of Thurston Aviation (Stansted) and a company named Filemart. Thurston was put into administration and dissolved with a debt of £750,000. Filemart wound up owing £2.5m. Bellis was also a director of a company, Temple Microsystems, which closed down in 1992 £500,000 in the red. In 1993 Bellis went into an individual voluntary arrangement (IVA) with creditors who were claiming £4.8m for his business and personal debts. This lasted until 1998.
Today Erinaceous is said to be paying almost 10% interest on its £168 million debts and it is undergoing a strategic review. Its value has plummeted from £400m to less than £25m. The sharks are circling – various private-equity firms and investors have shown an interest in buying it, but look as though
they are biding their time as the share price continues to tumble. As has been
demonstrated frustratingly often in the past asset strippers will look on perfectly good development land that’s being ‘underused’ as an airfield as an asset to be squeezed. James Caan, the new dragon on TV’s Dragons’ Den,
has bought 5.6% of Erinaceous.
Next steps
Many tenants are reluctant to comment whilst Erinaceous is undergoing a strategic review. Most people interviewed for this article declined to be named. Peter Villa, CEO of Apollo Aviation, is one of the Shoreham
tenants whose business would suffer should the development proposals come to fruition. He says: “We have not heard anything yet. Uncertainty causes people unrest, and everyone is sharing that uncertainty. As we have a big investment here, we have a degree of discomfort trying to plan the future. We would like to see the airport continue without any interruption. Development is limited by physical constraints of the airfield. For us the
uncertainty comes with somewhat of a silver lining as it has put the plot development plans on hold.” Over at Fairoaks, where there has been little
time for Erinaceous to put any plans into effect, a spokesman was more bullish, and said that he had seen no changes as yet, but that he felt confident that pressure from locals would mean the airfield would continue to
operate, since residents are vehemently opposed to a new housing estate on the site.
There is little information about the asset distribution following the Fairoaks takeover. Apart from Alan Mann Helicopters, sold for £1 to Longmint, the property assets were said to have been sold for £42 million to an offshore
vehicle controlled by Erinaceous.
Last edited by Sliding Doors; 1st Mar 2010 at 19:23.
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Sliding Doors
You suggest that you are not relying only upon press cuttings to sustain your negative views of the owners of Longmint, but in support of your argument you have posted another press cutting! The article you have posted from the AOPA magazine General Aviation is almost entirely composed of material lifted, sometimes inaccurately, from previous press articles. You have no personal knowledge of the matters raised. Your reference to three companies which failed in the early 1990s recession is taken directly from the press reports. Those reports implied that some skilful investigative reporting was involved in uncovering this supposedly sensitive and secret information. In fact the information is taken from the prospectus published and filed by Erinaceous prior to its AIM flotation in 2003 and again in the prospectus published and filed by Erinaceous prior to its move to the Official List in 2004. It was therefore openly disclosed and public knowledge and correctly regarded as of little or no importance by those involved with Erinaceous. As far as AOPA is concerned it is regretable that they did not contact any of the people named and attacked, particularly since the principal two were individual members of AOPA.
You are correct in your assumption that my username indicates an association with Longmint, and also correct in saying that none of the press reporting is news to me. However, unlike you I have direct knowledge of the relevant facts. You of course, as is your right, rely upon the anonymity available to those who post on PPRuNe.
This is not the right forum for a line by line refutation of inaccurate and misleading press reporting. However, to give an indication of how press reporting quickly becomes fact in the minds of many:
1) There never was an SFO investigation into Erinaceous or any of its subsidiaries - the facts when they are fully reported will bear that out and show the company and its directors in a very positive light in relation to the events referred to. A criminal trial is pending against six solicitors, a surveyor (formerly employed by a subsidiary of Erinaceous) and a property developer. For obvious reasons I am not able to comment further at this stage but in due course it will become clear that press coverage on this was seriously inaccurate.
2) Fast Helicopters has at no stage owed Erinaceous any money whatsoever, contrary to the suggestion of a £1.2 million debt in the press articles to which you attach such weight.
You clearly have an axe to grind here. I posted in response to the suggestion earlier in this threat that the owners of Fast are in some way connected with the owners of Shoreham Airport. You challenged my statement that there is no truth in that suggestion. Will you at least have the courtesy either to state the basis for your challenge, or to accept my statement.
longmintflyer
You suggest that you are not relying only upon press cuttings to sustain your negative views of the owners of Longmint, but in support of your argument you have posted another press cutting! The article you have posted from the AOPA magazine General Aviation is almost entirely composed of material lifted, sometimes inaccurately, from previous press articles. You have no personal knowledge of the matters raised. Your reference to three companies which failed in the early 1990s recession is taken directly from the press reports. Those reports implied that some skilful investigative reporting was involved in uncovering this supposedly sensitive and secret information. In fact the information is taken from the prospectus published and filed by Erinaceous prior to its AIM flotation in 2003 and again in the prospectus published and filed by Erinaceous prior to its move to the Official List in 2004. It was therefore openly disclosed and public knowledge and correctly regarded as of little or no importance by those involved with Erinaceous. As far as AOPA is concerned it is regretable that they did not contact any of the people named and attacked, particularly since the principal two were individual members of AOPA.
You are correct in your assumption that my username indicates an association with Longmint, and also correct in saying that none of the press reporting is news to me. However, unlike you I have direct knowledge of the relevant facts. You of course, as is your right, rely upon the anonymity available to those who post on PPRuNe.
This is not the right forum for a line by line refutation of inaccurate and misleading press reporting. However, to give an indication of how press reporting quickly becomes fact in the minds of many:
1) There never was an SFO investigation into Erinaceous or any of its subsidiaries - the facts when they are fully reported will bear that out and show the company and its directors in a very positive light in relation to the events referred to. A criminal trial is pending against six solicitors, a surveyor (formerly employed by a subsidiary of Erinaceous) and a property developer. For obvious reasons I am not able to comment further at this stage but in due course it will become clear that press coverage on this was seriously inaccurate.
2) Fast Helicopters has at no stage owed Erinaceous any money whatsoever, contrary to the suggestion of a £1.2 million debt in the press articles to which you attach such weight.
You clearly have an axe to grind here. I posted in response to the suggestion earlier in this threat that the owners of Fast are in some way connected with the owners of Shoreham Airport. You challenged my statement that there is no truth in that suggestion. Will you at least have the courtesy either to state the basis for your challenge, or to accept my statement.
longmintflyer