Wiggins losses take dive to £13m

THE Wiggins airport and property group that was embarrassingly forced to restate its accounts earlier this year, has reported a £13m pre-tax loss for the six months to the end of September.

The firm, under chief executive Oliver Iny, also said it had to prepare its accounts on a 'going concern' basis because of uncertainty about its future funding. A number of its bank facilities fall due on 31 January. It is still in talks about renewing them and hopes to raise funds from the sale of property developments.

The company plans to ask shareholders for permission to borrow beyond its current limit of £40m. Other funding options include further share issues and sales of stakes in its airport developments. However, in a bleak warning to investors, Wiggins emphasised that none of these options could be relied on and that 'continued funding is required to enable the group to meet its liabilities'.

The shares fell 2p, or more than 12%, to 14 1/2p on the announcement. They reached a high this year of 32p in February and traded as high as 46 3/4p in 2000. The company revealed on Budget Day in March that the profits it had declared for the past six years were wrongly stated and that in reality it had been loss-making. There is no dividend.