Aberystwyth marina company could be facing administration after the owner confirmed the group will be voluntarily filing for bankruptcies for other subsidiaries after Port Dinorwic met the same fate last week.
Pressure is mounting on Marine and Property Group Limited after the subsidiary that runs Port Dinorwic marina in Gwynedd received a petition to wind up from HMRC on 25 May – while one of the firm’s sister companies went into administration around the same time.
The company’s sole director, Switzerland-based Chris Odling-Smee, this week confirmed more insolvencies are on the horizon.
He said: “We will voluntarily put further subsidiaries in administration in order to protect the business, employees, creditors and the capital financing deal.”
Last week, he failed to guarantee the subsidiary, Aberystwyth Marina Ltd, would not soon meet the same fate as Port Dinorwic Marina Ltd.
The Cambrian News emailed and called the usually forthcoming Mr Odling-Smee but did not receive a response.
On Port Dinorwic’s petition to wind up, he said: “All of this is adjourned based on our capital funding deal. HMRC has sight of the deal details.”
The failure to complete the long-awaited deal has been held up as the reason staff have been going without pay and why subsidiaries have been suffering financially.
Across the firm’s marinas, it has failed to pay staff salaries and pensions, berth holders have threatened not to pay mooring fees, equipment has been impounded by bailiffs and it has been embroiled in legal disputes with contractors.
The firm last month sent out a statement to its berth holders at the Y Lanfa site, as well as those across its four other marinas in Cardiff, Burry Port, Watchet and Port Dinorwic, informing them its holding company had gone into administration.
Now it has been joined by its sister firm Bayscape Limited, which oversees the management of a block of luxury apartments next to Cardiff marina, which has been listed as insolvent as of May 16 on the Companies House directory – after which an administrator was appointed to it.
Bayscape Limited also owes significant sums of money to the marina subsidiaries in the group, including £109,000 to Aberystwyth and £1.5million to Burry Port marina. The firm, established in 2008, has been listed for compulsory strike off four times since 2018.
To make matters worse, one of the firm’s subsidiary companies also narrowly escaped being wound up by HMRC over unpaid taxes and has until Wednesday (14 June) to pay any money owed. Mr Odling-Smee says everything is in hand to settle debts.