Von Essen in Administration

[101BOY]

This has just come up on BBC News. Just of interest as in the same fold as Premiair and Battersea.

The holding company of the von Essen hotel chain has appointed accountants Ernst & Young (E&Y) as administrators
The firm owns 28 luxury hotels in the UK and France.
The hotels themselves are not in administration and are operating normally, E&Y said in a statement.

And from Caterersearch.com (don't ask!):

Von Essen Hotels has fallen into administration with debts of more than £250m.
Administrators Ernst & Young are reported to have been appointed by Barclays and Lloyds Banking Group after the five-star hotel group breached a covenant governing the minimum level of underlying earnings and failed to make an interest payment on its debt.
Only the Von Essen Hotels holding company is in administration.

[Savoia]

.
According to financiers in the City, Davis' outgoings via the VEG had been exceeding income for some time and, lacking an alternative capital base to support this, the outcome while sad, is hardly surprising.

They would have culled up to 50% of their assets about two years ago and avoided this but .. few entrepreneurs are willing to step back in this way.

As I often tell my clients, sometimes one has to step back in order to make effective the march forward!

Sav

[JB-123]

Does this mean anything or nothing for Premiair and/or the London Heliport?
£250M of outstanding debt - not exactly loose change

[md 600 driver]

Looks like the writings on the wall there too

[ShyTorque]

Terrible shame, especially bearing in mind how well pilots are treated by the higher management at Battersea these days.

[industry insider]

The article I saw mentioned that it was the Hotels part of Von Essen only and that other parts of the company were unaffected.

[hands_on123]

It's supposedly 'business as usual' at Premiair and they will be unaffected.

Although if I were a pilot there I would be brushing up my CV and casting an eye around in case the company gets sold off.

I think the question is - has Premiair been making money lately? (unlike all the other charter companies in the South East?) or has Von Essen been bank-rolling them. I hope it's the fomer.

[Snarlie]

So why do all their aircraft registrations start at G-VONA through to C-VONJ if they are not part of the Von Essen Group?

[Whirlygig]

Andrew Davis owns Premier Aviation Group Ltd. He also owns Von Essen Aviation Ltd. They are companies under the same common ownership but from a company law point of view, they are not in the same group.

The aircraft are registered to Von Essen Aviation Ltd.

Cheers

Whirls

[md 600 driver]

Whirls
You are normally so correct in these matters but surely he's a shareholder (maybe majority) not a owner

[Whirlygig]

According to Companies House, Andrew Davis is the sole 100% shareholder (i.e. owner) of those companies I mentioned. Thankfully, my own conpany's subscription to this information costs me nowt. :ok:

Cheers

Whirls

[heliski22]

Canny girl...........!!:ok:

[JimBall]

That'll be alright then. Von Essen Aviation won't in any way miss the large amount of cashflow generated by Von Essen Hotels, such CF being used to pay debts for the whole group.

And as for the new Hotel Verta......presumably that building and its environs being in the hands of administrators won't at all affect it?

Banks may appear stupid - but they appoint administrators to get back loans made that weren't being covered. They will use all and every avenue to find the cash.

This may yet be another sad rotary industry story.

[SFIM]

I dont know how the billing works, but if I were a customer I wouldnt want to pay anything up front now either to stay in one of the hotels, or for a helicopter charter. The damage to reputation must carry across to some degree.

[Savoia]

.
As mentioned on another thread where this was initially reported, the writing was on the wall for a number of City financiers familiar with Davies' operations.

By all counts PremiAir's operations are, on the whole, commendable - even admirable, and Heli01's 'face-saving' comments in their support (via the information of his 'contact') are therefore understandable.

To suggest however that the collapse of PremiAir's sister company will have zero impact on their operations either now or in the future is perhaps optimistic. My understanding was that Von Essen hotels part-funded the initial acquisition of PremiAir?

We shall see what transpires.

This would however be a good time for the boys at Sparspeed to focus their efforts in preparedness for 'catching' any business which might emerge from the current uncertainties - that's how the business world survives!

Sav

[starshiptrooper]

Battersea Heliport is owned by Von Essen Hotels (according to their website) so would likely be part of the administration process

[OvertHawk]

However, administrators ain't stupid..... The Heliport generates good revenue, which is more than can be said, i expect, for the hotel. They'll want it to remain a going concern while they try to find a buyer (as will a significant number of wealthy users, as evidenced by the folks who were interested when Westlands put it up for sale).

I think that the Heliport's future is probably secure albeit that there will be some uncertainty and disruption for a while.

Best wishes to all the staff at the Heliport - more new uniforms eh?
OH

[JimBall]

All the links from PremiAir's website to London heliport and the Verta aren't working.....something is going on.
London Heliport (http://www.premiair.co.uk/london-heliport.html)

[Helinut]

They worked for me.

[Earpiece]

The links worked for me too.

Jim Ball, having read a lot of your previous posts, you obviously suffer from the "English Disease" because you appear to revel in other people's misfortunes. I think you might be wrong with this one - well at least I hope you are!

"Listening out"

Earpiece

[ShyTorque]

The Heliport website has been changed from the last time I looked, which was a couple of weeks ago, when I needed to confirm the weekend opening times.

The homepage now has the PremiAir logo at the top.

[Whirlygig]

you obviously suffer from the "English Disease" because you appear to revel in other people's misfortunesWhich oddly has a German name ... Schadenfreude ...

Cheers

Whirls

[JimBall]

Earpiece: it's called "opinion" and it's what a forum is all about - point and counter-point. Sorry if I don't fit your ideas - but I don't have to.

Far from reveling in this or any other bad news in the rotary industry, I actually care for the people with whom I do business. As a very happy PremiAir customer who charters many flights a year, I am concerned for the well-being and futures of their astute and helpful employees.

When it all comes down to it, it's the people that matter. Not the parts.

And that includes the people who pay the company. Would you pay upfront for a PremiAir flight whilst this scenario unfolds?

[LGW Vulture]

Hmmm, I thought the Heliport was a money spinner? Von Essen Group to slim a little further it appears.

The sale of London Heliport starts - Corporate Jet Investor (http://corpjetfin.live.subhub.com/articles/london-heliport-for-sale-520)

[Pandalet]

My favourite bit:
Mohammed Al Fayed, the former owner of Harrods, is rumoured to be believed to be competingI heard that someone, who might have been rumoured to be believed to be thought to possibly be the queen, might, maybe, possibly, perhaps, just maybe considering a bid too.

[helisniper]

Even better is the final paragraph which tells us of who isn't interested! If all the articles in Corporate Jet Investor are like this I'm glad I've never bothered to read it.

Yes there's a story to be told, but CJI clearly doesn't have a clue!