Collapsed businesses within the Ocean Sky group of companies had a total debt of £75.5 million ($120 million) according to documents filed at the UK's Companies House.
The charter and aircraft management group put the four subsidiaries - Ocean Sky Aircraft Management, Ocean Sky Aviation, Ocean Sky Aircraft Charter and Ocean Sky (UK) - into liquidation on 7 September, when staff at insolvency firm Duff & Phelps were appointed to wind up the businesses.
Ocean Sky's engineering and fixed-base operations were sold to privately owned Cypriot company RSS Enterprises in September and have been rebranded under the RSS banner.
A creditors' report issued by Duff & Phelps into Ocean Sky (UK) blames its demise on mounting losses. The company had not been profitable since at least 2009, with cumulative losses rising from £1.94 million to £7.66 million at the time of the liquidators' appointment.
The majority of the debts at the operation are in the form of inter-company loans or trading, totalling £19 million. However Duff & Phelps has deemed these as "irrecoverable" as the sister firms are also in liquidation.
Although the liquidators are yet to issue a creditors report for the other three group businesses in liquidation, preliminary statements of affairs indicate the vast majority of debts across the group resulted from trading or loans with other Ocean Sky businesses. OSAM, for example, was owed £10.6 million from work carried out for its sister companies, plus £2.56 million in irrecoverable loans.
Source: Flight International
