Silverjet 2 - The Phoenix?
 

KINGPLACE CONFIRMS OFFER TO BEGBIES TRAYNOR FOR RELAUNCH OF SILVERJET.

4th June 2008, Kingplace Ltd. announces that it has made an offer to Begbies Traynor, administrator, and Lawrence Hunt, CEO of Silverjet, to relaunch the British exclusively business class airline.

Kingplace is registered in Ireland and managed by Heritage Cie S.A., a Geneva trust and management company. The offer by Kingplace is being made on behalf of private clients.

Ian Ilsley, Chairman of Heritage and a Director of Kingplace comments:

"Kingplace can confirm that it has made an offer to Begbies Traynor and Lawrence Hunt, CEO Silverjet, with a view to purchasing Silverjet. We are excited at the prospect of acquiring Silverjet and resuming operations as quickly as possible with the existing staff and in particular, Silverjet’s highly regarded crews. We will be investing in the future development and success of the brand. We will make a further announcement in due course".

Lawrence Hunt, Chief Executive of Silverjet comments:

“I am delighted to confirm that Kingplace is in conversation with Begbies Traynor about Silverjet resuming operations in the near future. As CEO of Silverjet my aim is to see Silverjet up and flying as quickly as possible, working with our incredible team of staff and delivering our very sivilised travel experience. We hope to make an announcement in the near future about when we will be able to resume operations.”

Silverjet 2
 

Me thinks that there is more to this topic and the previous thread has been closed RIP. There are now 2 offers on the table. All this and no one has bothered to ask befree if this is allowed to happen

35:ooh:

ps. would have called it "Silverjet 2 - The Phoenix" but that would not get past the Mods.

And who will crew the new operation?

Pilots who have gone off to other jobs?

Cabin crew who weren't paid?

I understand all the arguements against this model, but why are some very cleaver and wealthy business people investing in a dead duck.

35:confused:

Slim Shady,

Its been 1 whole week. Crews have not been made redundant. A handful of cabin crew may have resigned but everyone is still waiting to restart. A handful of pilots may have gone for interviews, but just as a back up. Remember they were over crewed as it was -ready for extra aircraft, so no problem with crews.

As for the rest of you-why dont you just manage your own lives instead of trying to be self proclaimed armchair philosophers.

Hope it works, but then I supoose you lot will still find something to moan and bitch about.

And if it did restart, where will the passengers come from? Many thousands were left stranded and had to fork out extra money to get elsewhere, plus claiming on insurance etc. The trust will have gone and it would take a hell of a long time to get them passengers back.

Whilst Silverjet have an excellent product to sell, the finance will need a lot more than just promises and hot air to begin again.

I see, people can`t make comments now? And seen as bitching etc...

The point is pprune is a discussion forum hence you will get a point of view which you may like, dislike, agree or disagree.
I have made discussion points regarding Silverjet and I don`t expect others to agree with me.

However, I have been in a situation very similar although not in a world of high oil prices and economic turn down. If Silverjet laid you off you could claim benefits. Presently, making yourself redundant doesn`t help you.
The company has not paid the cabin crew? Right or wrong? You want to work for a company which isn`t going to do that?
Some people have the right idea.. move on...other clutching on to straws.
Oh the other thing...don`t believe what other crew you worked with tell you.. that one where "oh I`m hanging in there, talking of starting up again in xxth mth and all is going to be cool. Naw I`m not applying for airline123, or fly101 etc coz babe they are and they are keeping it close to there chest, first your hear will be end of June "Oh yeah I start BA Sept, Easyjet August etc"

I don`t dislike Silverjet, idea seems great, and location of work place fab for me, fly to good places.. but wrong product for today, and I saw as not safe enough to leave my current employer for.

Perhaps it will mainly be a purchase of the name or perhaps they will restart but not using Luton as a base. Perhaps Dubai?.

The name? The name is tarnished. The AOC might be worth something.

The business model isn't bad, it is just that EOS, Maxjet and Silverjet didn;t have the cash flow to keep them going while they bulit themselves up to a position to make money.
There is still a market for all business carriers, either those supported by majors with a ready made customer base, ie Openskies and the planned London City - New York route, or a backer with a huge amount of money to keep it going until it can make money.

And as has been said I think the brand is damaged now, especially if they want to attract more business travellers.

from The Observer website today..

www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/jun/06/theairlineindustry


plenty of You Tube links. So look back with fond memories :ok:. Clutch at straws:\

30% chance
 

I think silverjet has about a 30% chance of going again. The cost base will be lower if it can do a deal to lease the 767s cheaper and it will not have to repay all the loans. It would need to get all the bits of the package on the cheap and not lose money on expansions that never happen. A lot of what went wrong with Silverjet 1 was things done to con the shareholders. Off the stockmarket things can be more honest.

This will be very dependant on the oil price over the next two weeks. With AA going from stansted having about 1/3rd stands seating may help.

In the Sunday times today it says that the CAA will require Silverjet, if it restarts, to have enough money in the bank to cover 6 months operations before they will let it fly again.

Befree, thats generous of you. Anything to back your estimate up with or was that just a figure that sprung up.

30% is just a guess. It could happen but its slightly more likely that it will not.
4 Airlines have pulled newyork to Stansead or luton flights. That must leave a small niche. may need some echonomy to make it work.

If they do get it for pennies on the dollar, dont expect the original management to be retained!

I was one of the so called stranded, i flew to Newark and was told during my trip, which just happened to be my wedding/honeymoon that operations had ceased. Was i disapointed yes, was i angry no, Would i use Silverjet again, yes i would, a top class service, fantastic staff from start to finish.

I wish all involved a speedy return to a job, more than well done, a crying shame we couldn't return in the style we arrived, but these things happen. And i at least knew i had a job to return too.

The negative comment's posted by some from the very start regarding SJ, imho cant have done buisiness any good yet alone staff moral, but take it from me they were worth every penny.

Good luck and get back in the air again.

ArabJet Offers to Purchase Silverjet, Emirates Business Reports
By Shaji Mathew


June 10 (Bloomberg) --

ArabJet, a Dubai-based aviation company that plans to start operations in 2009, has offered to buy Silverjet PLC for an undisclosed sum, Emirates Business 24/7 reported, citing a person it didn't identify.

ArabJet is awaiting clarifications from the airline's administrator regarding potential legal and financial liabilities, according to the Dubai-based newspaper.

Silverjet, which sold business-class only tickets to New York and Dubai, never made a profit in 16 months. The airline grounded planes on May 30 after running out of cash. Silverjet had its shares suspended last month after it failed to secure $5 million in emergency funding from United Arab Emirates-based Viceroy Holdings LLC.

To contact the reporter on this story: Shaji Mathew in Dubai at [email protected]
Last Updated: June 10, 2008 01:11 EDT

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...U2ENw&refer=uk

Silverjet sold

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/to...cle4106938.ece

I dont see Silverjet being able to reduce costs much, especially if they plan to continue to expand - therefore they need to raise fares / yields - which is actually now possible, with them being the only biz only airline until BA start at LCY! Silverjet should actually work this time round due to lack of competition!

Really great news!

I hope they make a real success of it this time round.

SilverJet Rescued!
 

Taken from Daily Telegraph Website:-

Silverjet, the business-class only airline, is to fly again after being bought out of administration for an undisclosed sum by a Geneva-backed company.

The carrier, which flies to New York and Dubai from Luton airport, has been sold to Kingplace, a shelf-company registered in Ireland and managed by Heritage Cie SA, a Geneva trust and management company.
The offer by Kingplace is being made on behalf of private clients.

It's not clear what role Silverjet chief executive Lawrence hunt will have
Terms of a deal were agreed with Silverjet administrator Begbies Traynor this afternoon. Silverjet's chief executive Lawrence Hunt was involved in the negotiations, though his long-term involvement with the airline is currently unclear.

Silverjet grounded its fleet 10 days ago and collapsed into administration. It owed creditors £40m, £17m of which is secured against its three aircraft.

Of the remaining £23m, £10m is owed to property entrepreneurs Simon and David Reuben. The rest is due to trade creditors. Shareholders have lost everything and creditors are expected to receive only a few pence in the pound - at best.

Industry sources believe Kingplace will need to pump in £20m-£30m of fresh cash to have any realistic chance of reviving the business.
advertisement Aim-listed Silverjet began services on January 25 last year with a daily flight from Luton to New York. It upped that to twice daily and added a service to Dubai.

Mr Hunt refused to blame the soaring oil price for the company's problems, instead pointing the finger at bearish City analysts, who he claimed deterred people from booking.

Analysts had expressed doubts whether Silverjet could survive following the collapse of rivals Eos and MAXjet.

Cool those jets...
 

Silverjet or what its successor might be called, if indeed there is to be one, should not be allowed to leave the ground until ALL debts have been cleared and ALL shareholders bought out.

And I'm neither a creditor nor a shareholder. :)

Enderby, that is the whole point of "administration" creditors get zero, shareholders get zero. Totally legit and acceptable, in the eyes of the law.

From Enderby's post looks as though there are some vested interests.

I have no such connections so hope that Silverjet will be airborne again soon"!

As with any gamble, the higher the reward, the higher the risk. And investing in a start-up airline is a huge risk.

We'd all like to invest in low-risk, high-gain ventures but there's no such thing. If the share price goes through the floor, the company goes t!ts up, and you're an unsecured creditor, them's the blues - surely?

I could speculate - but I won't - that those buying it now were the same that were interested in buying it before.. only now they have it without the debts.

I trust that staff will not be out of pocket on this one.. it's bad enough stitching up the creditors in such a (totally legal!) way.

I think an important question is how does silverjet capture back its bussiness after suddenly stranding 100's of people? Are passengers going to trust this airline again after they suddenly stranded everyone in the cold?

Quote:

---

"I could speculate - but I won't - that those buying it now were the same that were interested in buying it before.. only now they have it without the debts.

I trust that staff will not be out of pocket on this one.. it's bad enough stitching up the creditors in such a (totally legal!) way."

---

Oversteer, in such circumstances, wages and salaries rank no 2 after inland revenue (and customs), then secured creditors, then unsecured creditors and finally shareholders.

Pretty logical really: tough on shareholders maybe but that's the foundation of the system - risk and reward.

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/to...cle4108253.ece

LONDON (Thomson Financial) - UK all-business-class airline Silverjet Plc. has moved closer to being rescued after reaching a preliminary agreement with Kingplace, an Irish registered company, managed by Swiss investment group Heritage, according to the Financial Times.

The troubled airline, that went into administration May 30, said Kingplace is set "to acquire and relaunch Silverjet".

Contracts are expected to be signed on Friday, the FT said.

To those who think that the Silver Jet business model won't/doesn't work, ask yourselves why is it that Big Airways are launching a business only London-New York service in the near future?
Because there is money to be made in it, might be the answer.

Maybe rumours were spread to the city from undisclosed sources? Competition drowned at birth to enable the big brother to thrive? Remember Laker and Virgin, both attacked, one survived. Conspiracy theories rule!

Good luck to them if they do get going again.

Good luck to all concerned.

Enderby...the whole point is that a buyer takes on Silverjet as a going concern and the sale proceeds are used to settle some or all of the debts. However it certainly won't be all of them.

Goodwill is something that can't be bought and may be tougher to claw back

r101
 

Economies of scale?

I guess that formally ends the complaints about the US bankruptcy laws.

looks like you can not pay your bill in the EU as well and still have an airline.

Cheers
Wino

With ONLY 3 aircraft and its shaky track record, I will think twice before I buy a ticket on SJ!!!:suspect:

VA survived only because SRB had a big asset to borrow against: Virgin Records. If Virgin Records hadn't been there, his airline would've been shut down a LOT earlier. He says as much in his autobiography. He was forced to sell the label (ironically to the company VR had tried to buy before) to satisfy his bank, who gave him the choice of keeping either VR or VA.

Hence him starting V2 Music so he could go back into the record label business.

S.

I wish them the best of luck, however their biggest problem is now going to be one of confidence. Once a business has stopped trading in this fashion it has effectively exposed its underlying weakness to the world. The customers it has let down, the potential customers many of whom would be reluctant to risk being in the same position. The suppliers who may want cash up-front, or hefty security bonds. The credit card companies (without whom the business could not realistically operate) who may demand very high levels of security before they expose themselves to credit risk.

These are very credit risk averse times for banks and institutional lenders, and if they perceive a potential client has already burned someone fingers, even if it wasn't theirs, many of them will not want to know. Confidence is a major issue and you only have to look whats going on generally in the marketplace to realise that times are not good for those companies that cannot provide that confidence in spades.

Give them until mid winter.