EXCEL Aviation is to receive proceeds from the sale of
Golden Sun Holidays’ £4.5 million London offices to
repay a £2 million loan.
In July this year the aviation group laid claim to the failed
tour operator’s Kentish Town and Kingsbury offices, valued up
to £4.5 million, after Golden Sun said it would not be able to
pay back a £2 million loan which helped it through 2003/04
winter trading.
Last month, the Civil Aviation Authority pulled Golden Sun
Holidays’ 200,000-passenger £9.8 million bond after
Excel informed it the operator was unable to pay for aircraft seats
in advance.
The Bank of Cyprus then jumped to the front of the queue after
seizing Golden Sun’s assets in a bid to regain debts of more
than £1 million. Parent company Golden Sun Leisure is believed
to owe up to £16 million.
Excel Aviation managing director Steven Tomlinson confirmed the
group will receive money from the sale of the offices after lending
Golden Sun money last year, although he refused to reveal the
amount.
“The offices are security for the loan, as we never planned to
call it in. But when the company said it could not pay us for
flights we went to the CAA, as we are not in a position to continue
to loan money.”
He added: “This has cost us a lot of money.”
Golden Sun’s receivers Ernst and Young confirmed the two
office buildings are up for sale. Any outstanding money raised
– above the figure owed to the Bank of Cyprus and Excel
– will be put into the general creditors’ pot.
Meanwhile, the Cyprus Stock Exchange regulator, the Securities
and Exchange Commission, is investigating the timing of the
operator’s collapse. It is questioning the company’s
version of events and wants to know when it was informed of the
problems which led to its failure.