The move comes ahead of the first anniversary of Monarch’s failure on October 2, 2017, which left more than 100,000 passengers stranded overseas as the company and its subsidiaries, including Avro and Monarch Holidays, went into administration.
Monarch’s administrator, KPMG, has been given approval by the High Court to extend the administration beyond its statutory one-year time period until October 1, 2020. This is common in complex administrations.
The joint administrators said the extension was necessary to “maximise the realisation of assets”, as well as dealing with corporation tax affairs.
Monarch collapsed with unsecured creditors being owed £756.6 million, including more than 500 mainly trade creditors facing a total deficit of £335.6 million. KPMG has confirmed these creditors will receive no payout.
In documents to support its High Court application, KPMG says it has recovered nearly £2 million from travel agents in “pipeline” money paid by clients before Monarch’s collapse.
Around £1.3 million of this total was from bookings made with Monarch Holidays and another £600,000 from sales through the Somewhere2Stay bed bank.
The administrators and the CAA are also “continuing to pursue” outstanding debts which could result in the recovery of another €1 million.
KPMG said it was also “seeking to finalise the recharge of certain costs” relating to the repatriation of Monarch customers organised by the CAA.
The administrators raised £54 million by selling Monarch’s former slots at Gatwick to British Airways owner International Airlines Group for £50 million, plus former slots at Luton to Wizz Air for £4 million. Another £420,000 was raised from the sale of Monarch’s intellectual property.
Most of the money raised through the administration so far has been paid to secured and preferential creditors, including £50 million to Monarch’s offshore “controlling party”, Petrol Jersey Limited.
