Harland & Wolff has agreed a new $25m (£19.5m) loan which it says will support the “ongoing stabilisation” of the business.
Just last week, the Belfast-based shipbuilding and ship repair group had an application for a £200m government loan guarantee rejected after ministers decided it posed too much of a risk for taxpayers’ money.
Harland & Wolff employs about 1,500 people in the UK. Its largest site is in Belfast but it also has ship repair yards at Appledore in Devon and at Methil and Arnish in Scotland.
It has been heavily loss making and its shares are currently suspended after it failed to file audited accounts on time. Whilst the new loan will be a major boost, the company’s future remains in the balance.
But it remains part of a consortium which won a major contract to build three new Royal Navy support ships.
Former Chief Executive John Wood took leave of absence recently but this week the firm said it had “terminated his employment” and the business is now being run by its new executive chairman, the restructuring expert Russell Downs.