Further Keys’ questioning of EuroManx ‘collapse’ on Tuesday

Liberal Vannin party leader, Peter Karran and Michael MHK, David Cannan are due to ask further questions to the Chief Minister and treasury Minister, respectively, on Tuesday (27^th May 2008).

The airline went in to liquidation on the 9^th May 2008 having failed to reach a deal with Aer Arran, Flybe or the government to enable them to remain in business.

The Manx Herald understands that EuroManx packed up owing between £3m-£4m, to as many as 40,000 creditors; many of whom are unsecured as they are customers who purchased tickets for flights in advance. It is believed that EuroManx was still selling tickets for flights, for as far away as March next year, right up to the moment they ceased trading.

EuroManx was formerly a part of Corporate Jet Services, latterly Corporate Jet Realisations, which went into Administrative Receivership in September 2007 owing £113m to the Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS).

A ‘management’ buyout took place a very short time later, even though it is believed the business had historically been loss-making. It is currently unknown, by the Manx Herald, how this buyout was funded.

The Manx Herald has been contacted by a Cambridgeshire couple, the Turners, who have been tracking the fortunes of businesses lent money by the HBOS; many of who also employed the services of the bank’s consultants, Quayside Corporate Services.

Readers of the Manx Herald may recall that in 2007 we ran a story about a ‘rogue banker’ at HBOS and a possible link to an airline operating in the Isle of Man.

The airline suspected to be involved was of course EuroManx.

The ‘rogue banker’ was Lynden Scourfield, who worked at the HBOS ‘High Risk’ division in Reading, and ‘left’ the bank in mysterious circumstances in 2007.

The Turners believe the questionable activities of Scourfield and Quayside has cost the HBOS at least £400m as a result of businesses, they have been involved with, going into administration, liquidation, dissolved or to be struck off. This figure of course does not include the millions of pounds suspected to be left owing to unsecured creditors; such as EuroManx’s creditors.

The Turners have written to Mr Cummings, the CEO of HBOS’s corporate division, asking why the bank still refuses to acknowledge anything is amiss and accuse the bank of a “cover-up”.

The Manx Herald will continue to follow this story, and the fortunes of Flight Support, who announced 19 job redundancies last week.