A buyer for UK general-purpose aircraft specialist Britten-Norman (B-N) is expected to be announced within the next few days.
Receivers for the company, manufacturer of the Islander and Trislander utility aircraft, say the deal will keep B-N intact, and retain its manufacturing base at Bembridge on the Isle of Wight. The manufacturer entered receivership earlier this month (Flight International, 11-17 April).
"I am close to agreeing a sale transaction for the business as a whole as a going concern," says receiver Chris Laughton of Levy Gee. "I would expect the Britten-Norman business to continue, and continue manufacturing on the Isle of Wight," he adds. He confirms a deal should be sealed "in days".
Laughton says he will not identify the likely buyer, "because I'm continuing to talk to more than one party". He says interested companies are distributed internationally, and says: "Everybody I've been talking to seriously has interests in the industry in some form."
Source: Flight International