P&O ferries’ Dubai owner slams government for ‘slow’ reaction to its demands for £150m taxpayer bailout to save ‘thousands’ of jobs and protect ‘vital’ supply routes amid coronavirus lockdown
- P&O owner has applied for a £150million bailout from the UK government
- Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem is yet to hear back and accused them of being ‘slow’
- So far the company have furloughed 1,400 staff and taken seven ships out
- Last year DP World, who own P&O, made massive profits of more than £1bn
- Here’s how to help people impacted by Covid-19
The owner of P&O ferries has blasted the government for their ‘slow’ reaction to the crisis facing key supply routes during the coronavirus pandemic.
P&O, a 180-year-old company, have applied for a bailout given the enormous effects of the coronavirus pandemic on trade and the firm account for 15 per cent of good imported and exported to and from Britain.
In order to avoid collapse, owner Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem says they need £257million and have asked the government for £150m towards that figure despite the fact that DP shareholders are expecting a dividend of £270m this week.
The head of Dubai-based DP World who own P&O ferries, Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem (above), blasted the government for their ‘slow’ response to the company’s demand for £150million
P&O have already taken seven ships out of their line-up as they cut costs during the coronavirus crisis and they have also furloughed 1,400 members of staff
If the company does go under, then 4,000 jobs would be lost.
It remains to be seen whether the UK Treasury will grant the funds, particularly after the hard line taken against Sir Richard Branson-owned Virgin Atlantic, who claim they could go under without £500m from the government.
The head of Dubai-based DP World, Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, has not received a response to his application so far.
He told the BBC: ‘We have applied to the UK to support the company, so we can save the jobs of people. The government have been slow, but at the same time as a company we need to be able to survive, so we have basically taken seven of our ships out.
‘So far we have furloughed 1,400 people to avoid the company collapsing.’
‘P&O plays a vital role in the UK and thousands of jobs depend on this company. We have to be sure that when this is over we can bounce back and save these jobs.
Bin Sulayem is one of a number of company owners who have applied for a huge bailout
‘We have applied to the UK government to support the company to save the jobs of these people. The government has been slow. We need to safeguard these jobs – a lot of people’s lives depends on this company.’
The coronavirus crisis has seen P&O furlough 1,400 workers and the government will be covering 80 per cent of their wages.
A total of seven ships have been taken out of service as current travel restrictions means leisure passengers are not able to book.
Last year DP World, who own P&O, made staggering profits of more than £1bn and revenues were above £6bn.
Mr bin Sulayem defended P&O’s application financial help despite the £270m due to be paid out to DP World shareholders: ‘DP World has never taken a penny out of P&O.
Mr bin Sulayem insisted all the money made from P&O was put back into the company rather than paid out to shareholders as a dividend
‘Any profits we have made we have reinvested in new vessels. DP World owns many businesses around the world. You cannot just take money out of them to put into a company in another place – it doesn’t make sense.’
The ferry business makes most of its money from its cross-channel services, which have seen a collapse in passenger numbers since the unprecedented lockdown in Britain and Europe.
Many ships on its busiest route between Dover and Calais have been deserted over the past month.
P&O is still running services but all drivers and foot passengers must fill out a form to prove to the French government that their travel is ‘essential’.