REG - Esken Limited - Update on the future of the Company

EskenAnnouncement

06/03/2024 07:00

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RNS Number : 7850F  Esken Limited  06 March 2024

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of article 7 of
the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) 596/2014 as it forms part of domestic law by
virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018.

6 March 2024

ESKEN LIMITED

("Esken" or the "Company")

Update on the future of the Company

Further to the announcement issued on 19 February 2024, Esken, the aviation
group, announces that the board of the Company has negotiated and agreed the
launch of a restructuring plan (pursuant to part 26A of the Companies Act
2006) with Cyrus Capital Partners ("Cyrus") (the majority holder of the
exchangeable bond of £53.1 million which matures on 8 May 2024) following the
recapitalisation proposal entered into between its wholly owned subsidiary
London Southend Airport ("LSA"), Carlyle Global Infrastructure Fund ("CGI")
and Cyrus on 16 February 2024.

As a result, the Company has agreed to accede to that recapitalisation
proposal in relation to LSA. This will therefore proceed on a consensual
basis, rather than through a contested court process, which could be
potentially destructive for all stakeholders. The terms of the
recapitalisation proposal for LSA involves a conversion of the convertible
loan of £193.75 million due to CGI into an 82.5% stake in LSA and a similar
conversion of the £24.3 million debt due by LSA to Esken Aviation Limited
("EAL"), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, into a 17.5% stake. Funding
of the proposal agreed with the board of LSA includes an initial £5 million
of short-term unsecured bridge funding to the airport through to the
conclusion of the process as part of a commitment of £32 million of new
funding to secure the future growth of the airport.

The terms of the proposed restructuring plan for Esken, which will require a
court process and is expected to complete after the LSA recapitalisation
process, would involve amongst other things an equitisation of the
exchangeable bond, and certain other creditors within the Group, and a
delisting of the shares on the London Stock Exchange. The expectation is that
any return for shareholders at the end of the process is likely to be
negligible. Cyrus will provide liquidity to the Esken group to meet its
working capital needs during this process and to allow an orderly wind down of
the remaining group.

While the board had previously announced its intention to (i) dispose of
certain non-core assets for a consideration of £8.5 million (ii) conclude a
new £20 million funding facility from certain of Esken's larger shareholders
into EAL and (iii) amend and extend the exchangeable bond with the intention
of providing liquidity for a period of two years to allow a recovery of the
airport to a point when it could be sold to repay CGI, the exchangeable bond
and return any excess value to shareholders, all progress was stopped in light
of recent events, as set out in our previous announcements. As a consequence,
while there could have been the opportunity to pursue other sources of finance
given more time, Esken did not have access to the financial resources to
sustain it through what would have involved a protracted court battle. The
board has a responsibility to its creditors to ensure that it follows the
appropriate course of action in these circumstances.

The court process for the Esken restructuring plan is likely to take several
months to conclude but, in the meantime, the future funding of LSA is secure
and the board will progress the orderly wind down of the remaining group. Once
the documents for the restructuring plan are finalised a further update will
be provided when the process and timings will be set out fully.

Enquiries:

Esken Limited c/o Teneo

 

Teneo

Olivia Peters

+44 7902 771008

esken@teneo.com

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