LDC’s multi-million pound bail out of Airline Services

Manchester-based Airline Services, which faced ruin following the collapse of Monarch Airlines, has received millions of pounds from  LDC, the private equity company owned by Lloyds Banking Group.

The company specialises in cleaning and de-icing planes at airports across the UK and feared revenue would plummet in the aftermath of the appointment of administrators at Monarch, putting at risk the jobs of more than 1,000 people it employs. The company made pre-tax losses of nearly £15m in 2016.

It is believed to be heavily dependent on the revenue it received from Monarch, but it also designs and fits seats for British Airways.

Other customers are easyJet and Virgin Atlantic, operating at airports including Gatwick and Heathrow, as well as Manchester.

Sky News reported at the weekend that LDC, which has backed the business since 2012, had agreed to inject the additional capital ahead of a potential attempt to sell it.

Professional services firms Deloitte and PwC have been engaged to assist LDC’s efforts to restructure and offload Airline Services, insiders said.

The deal was said to have been backed by Shawbrook, Airline Services’ main lender.

Almost 2,000 of Monarch’s staff have already been made redundant by KPMG, the airline’s administrator. The Civil Aviation Authority’s effort to repatriate more than 100,000 customers stranded overseas is ongoing.

KPMG expects to realise tens of millions of pounds for creditors in the coming weeks by auctioning Monarch’s take-off and landing slots, although that process could be the subject of legal challenges.

There is also understood to be controversy surrounding the fate of the airline’s legacy pension scheme, said Sky.

TheBusinessDesk has contacted LDC for comment.