A Swiss investment company has made an offer for collapsed business-class airline Silverjet, administrators of the firm have confirmed.
Kingplace, which is registered in Ireland and managed by Swiss management company Heritage, has tabled an offer to buy and relaunch the airline, administrator Begbies Traynor said.
Luton-based Silverjet was placed in administration at the end of last month after failing to secure funding. The company has been hit by soaring fuel costs as well as an economic downturn on both sides of the Atlantic.
A Begbies Traynor spokesman added that the administrators were also in talks with "several parties" over a rescue deal.
Kingplace was unavailable for comment but director Ian Ilsely told Reuters yesterday that he was "excited" at the prospect of acquiring Silverjet and resuming operations as quickly as possible.
Silverjet, which flew to New York and Dubai from London Luton, went into administration at the end of last month after failing to secure an urgent £2.5 million cash injection from Middle Eastern investment group Viceroy Holdings.
It was the third business-class only airline to run into problems in recent times, with Eos and MAXjet - which both flew to the US - also hit by a combination of steep rises in aviation fuel costs and weaker economic conditions.
Thousands of air passengers had their travel plans wrecked when Silverjet stopped flights. Around 7,000 UK and 2,500 non-UK customers were affected.
