Up to 1,400 jobs have been saved at BiFab after a financial package was agreed to prevent the engineering firm from going into administration.

A deal has been reached between Seaway Heavy Lifting, SSE and the partners to the Beatrice Offshore Windfarm project, JCE Offshore, to continue BiFab's current contract order on the £2.6 billion Beatrice Offshore Windfarm project.

The agreement will see the company receive payments to alleviate immediate cash flow issues, enabling the threat of administration to be lifted and ensuring the full funding of the Beatrice contract.

In addition, the Scottish Government has also indicated that it will, if necessary, make available a commercial loan facility to BiFab.


First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: "I am pleased that after an extensive series of talks over the last week and two days of intense negotiations we have been able to broker a commercial agreement that lifts the threat of administration from BiFab and allows work on the current contract to continue.

"In particular I welcome the moves made by Seaway Heavy Lifting, SSE and the partners in the Beatrice Project, JCE Offshore and Siemens to resolve this situation and enable BiFab to continue its work on this contract.

"Over the last seven days we have worked to ensure all partners understood the urgency of the position BiFab found themselves in and the part they could play in relieving the financial pressure on the company."

Chief Executive Officer of Seaway Heavy Lifting, Jan Willem van der Graaf, added: "We have worked very hard along with the other stakeholders to find constructive solutions to support BiFab.

"We appreciate the role that the Scottish government has played in reaching a positive solution for all."

(LM)