THE company who run the ski-resort and funicular railway on CairnGorm, has been placed in administration.
CairnGorm Mountain Limited, who employ around 70 staff, have had a number of difficulties recently, but administrators says they’ll continue to trade while seeking a potential buyer, and have promised that there “are no immediate plans to make any redundancies.”
The railway has been beset by operational inefficiencies, and design flaws, including difficulties on the track when it snows since it opened.
Blair Milne, Business Recovery Partner with Campbell Dallas, said the administration has been caused by “unsustainable cash flow problems.”
He said: “Due to the extended closure of the Funicular Railway at CairnGorm Mountain, for safety reasons, the business has become unsustainably loss-making. The Directors of the business had been in discussions to try to find suitable solutions, including a managed transfer of the business to another party, however those negotiations did not progress.
“Under mounting cash flow and creditor pressures the Directors were left with no alternative other than to place the business into administration. The joint administrators will be seeking to achieve a sale of the remaining business on a going concern basis as early as possible.”
The CairnGorm Railway and Mountain Snowsports centre are owned by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) but since 2014 has been operated on its behalf under a lease by CairnGorm Mountain Limited.
Charlotte Wright, chief executive of HIE, said they had "anticipated" the administration.
“The directors’ decision to put CairnGorm Mountain Ltd into administration is an outcome that HIE had anticipated, and we are well prepared.
“Our first priority is staff members and their families, as well as other local people who will be affected by this decision.
“We are already in direct contact with the administrator, and confident that Cairngorm will remain open for business.
“Clearly, this is not the outcome that anyone wanted when CML became the operator. However, with local support, we are confident that the situation can be turned around and we will see Cairngorm flourish again as a fantastic asset for this area, its economy and its people.
“£1m worth of snowmaking equipment, paid for by HIE, has arrived and will be set up on site as soon as possible. This will provide reliable snow cover for visitors on the lower slopes, creating good conditions for beginners and families especially.
“It also means that when there is suitable snow on the higher slopes, more experienced skiers can access those levels by tow."
Correction: An earlier version of this story appeared with a headline of "CairnGorm funicular placed into administration". CairnGorm Mountain Limited has entered administration – not Cairngorm funicular.
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