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(Sharecast News) - Low-cost airline easyJet has reportedly engaged a firm of crisis experts as it attempts to refinance more than £1.4bn of debt owed to taxpayers and lenders.
The company has called in AlixPartners to assist with cash flow forecasting amid talks with government officials and banks, the Telegraph newspaper reported, citing unnamed sources.
EasyJet had its finances red-flagged by auditors earlier this month as it slipped into the red for the first time with a £1.3bn pre-tax loss.
The budget carrier must repay a £600m loan under the terms of the government's Covid Corporate Financing Facility, while more than £800m must be repaid to banks in February 2022.
City sources reportedly said that easyJet was looking to combine new funding from the UK taxpayer alongside fresh bank loans.
Investment bank Rothschild is monitoring the finances of easyJet and other airlines on behalf of ministers, the report stated. The airline has raised more than £700m in the last two months through the sale and leaseback of aircraft.
EasyJet said AlixPartners had been providing advice since May, the newspaper reported.
14 Aug 2023 18:06
Mount Etna eruption closes Sicily's troubled Catania airport
CATANIA, Sicily, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Flights serving the eastern Sicilian city of Catania were halted on Monday after an eruption from nearby Mount Etna, local authorities said, bringing fresh travel woe to the crisis-plagued Italian airport.
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