Harland and Wolff: Belfast shipyard denies funding rejection

The company has had to invest in its premises and increase its staffing ahead of that work which contributed to a £70m loss in 2022.

It currently has borrowings of around £80m from a specialist lender which involves paying a relatively high interest rate.

It wants to borrow up to £200m from conventional banks at a lower interest rate with the government acting as a guarantor for those loans.

It has applied to the government’s Export Development Guarantee scheme, external which normally covers up to 80% of the risk to lenders on loans of up to £500m. Harland and Wolff is, unusually, seeking a 100% guarantee.

A government spokesperson also said no decision has been made.

“We continue to engage with Harland & Wolff on the export development guarantee,” they said.

“Due to commercial sensitivities, it would not be appropriate to comment further until the outcome of the process is confirmed.”