bankruptcy

Monarch collapse causes chaos

A brief “sorry” message on a bland website spells the end for an airline which has flown millions of Britons to exotic locations.

The UK’s fifth biggest airline was placed into administration on 2 October, stranding more than 100,000 holiday makers and forcing UK authorities to carry out the largest peacetime repatriation in history. Another 750,000 passengers had their bookings cancelled.

Tough times have taken its toll on Zacky Farms, the poultry producer owned by the eponymous family, which has filed for bankruptcy, while Greece’s Folli Follie is selling a majority stake in its travel retail operations.

Folli Follie, controlled by the Koutsolioutsos family, is selling 51% of its duty-free shopping division to Switzerland’s Dufry – a travel retailer operating in 44 countries.

Sean Quinn, who was once Ireland’s richest man, has applied for bankruptcy seven months after he lost control of his family business Quinn Group.

Quinn, who developed a business empire from a gravel pit and expanded it to include cement, hotels, pubs and insurance, reportedly lost more than €1 billion after investing in Anglo Irish Bank.

Freedom Communications Inc, the US media company majority owned by the Hoiles family, is expected to file for chapter 11 bankruptcy this week according to US media reports.
 
The business has reached agreements with its lenders for debt restructuring and will continue to operate under bankruptcy protection. "We are continuing to work with our lenders to address our balance sheet," a Freedom spokesman told the Wall Street Journal.