ONE IRISH company that isn’t flying high at present is Tailwind Nominees Ltd, a vehicle set up by Aer Lingus pilots in 2006 to buy shares in its employer to help fend off Ryanair’s first bid.
Tailwind made a loss of €8.69 million in the year to the end of September 2008, reflecting the decline in Aer Lingus’ share price over the period, according to abridged accounts just filed.
Tailwind’s liabilities exceeded its assets by €14.6 million on September 30th last. The accounts show Tailwind spent over €25 million buying its shares in Aer Lingus. This stock had a book value of just €12.5 million at the end of last September.
More than 500 pilots (including some from Ryanair) and other Aer Lingus staff are contributing to Tailwind.
The accounts note that Bank of Scotland (Ireland) has a charge of just more than seven million Aer Lingus shares in relation to a €10 million loan provided to Tailwind. These shares are worth about €3.7 million currently.
Tailwind’s creditors include lump-sum contributions from pilots of €15.88 million and quarterly members’ subs of €5.4 million. Tailwind is due to repay €1.3 million in loans this year.
