Can we sell a building, KFA asks lenders

Debt-laden Kingfisher Airlines (KFA) is mulling asset sales to part-pay its debt. The Vijay Mallya-owned airline has approached bankers to dispose off Kingfisher House in Mumbai, which has been lying vacant since staff moved to a new office. HT reports.

Debt-laden Kingfisher Airlines (KFA) is mulling asset sales to part-pay its debt. The Vijay Mallya-owned airline has approached bankers to dispose off Kingfisher House in Mumbai, which has been lying vacant since staff moved to a new office.

The airline, which had a debt of Rs 7,057 crore as on March 31, 2011, denied reports that its lenders have started recovery proceedings after a crucial meeting with its consortium of bankers on Thursday.

The lenders have given the airline a 15-day deadline to come up with a concrete action plan on how it will infuse at least 50% of its capital requirement of Rs 200 crore.

“Kingfisher House has been lying vacant after the staff moved to our new offices at The Qube in Mumbai, and at that time itself, on our own accord, we approached the banks with a proposal to liquidate this unutilised asset and at today’s meeting we raised the issue of this pending approval,” the airline said in a statement.

The airline said “it is patently wrong to claim that banks have started recovery proceedings after a meeting of the consortium of bankers today. The meeting was scheduled as an update meeting and there was no discussion on commencement of recovery proceedings.”