Xavier Rossinyol kam im April 2015 zu gategroup und führte das Unternehmen durch eine Phase starken Wachstums mit jährlichen Rekordzahlen. Zudem steuerte er das Unternehmen erfolgreich durch die komplexe COVID-19-Pandemie.

Zwischen 2015 und 2019 steigerte gategroup den Umsatz von CHF 3 Mrd. auf CHF 5 Mrd., vergrößerte den Kundenstamm auf über 300 globale Kunden und erweiterte ihre Präsenz auf über 200 Standorte in mehr als 60 Ländern. Im Zuge dieser Expansion hat gategroup 2017 Servair und 2020 die LSG Europa übernommen und somit die strategische Zusammenarbeit mit Air France und Lufthansa weiterentwickelt.

Nach dem nahezu vollständigen Erliegen des weltweiten Flugverkehrs im Jahr 2020 hat gategroup schnell und entschieden Maßnahmen zum Schutz seiner Mitarbeitenden, Kunden und anderer Interessengruppen ergriffen. Mit Unterstützung ihrer Aktionäre, Kreditgeber und Anleihegläubiger schloss gategroup im Jahr 2021 eine umfassende Refinanzierung der Gruppe ab und beschleunigte gleichzeitig die Expansion in angrenzende Geschäftsfelder ausserhalb der Aviatik, jeweils auf der Basis und unter Nutzung ihrer Kernkompetenzen.

„Unter der Führung von Xavier hat sich gategroup zu einem globalen Kulinarik-Unternehmen und dem weltweit führenden Bord-Caterer entwickelt, der für seine innovativen Konzepte im Bereich Kulinarik und Einzelhandel bekannt ist, welche individuell und konsequent auf die Kundenbedürfnisse in den einzelnen Märkten zugeschnitten sind. gategroup ist heute hervorragend positioniert, um an der erwarteten Erholung des Reiseverkehrs zu partizipieren und auch Kundenwünsche über die Luftfahrt hinaus zu befriedigen“, sagte Timo Vättö, Chairman Verwaltungsrat gategroup.

Christoph Schmitz ist seit Januar 2015 als Chief Financial Officer und Mitglied der Konzernleitung der gategroup tätig und verfügt über mehr als 20 Jahre Erfahrung als Finanzvorstand in internationalen Konzernen. In seiner Funktion als Group CFO war er an allen strategischen Projekten der Gruppe beteiligt. Er führte das Going Private der gategroup im Jahr 2016, die Akquisitionen von Servair und LSG Europa, die Eigentümerwechsel in den Jahren 2018 und 2019 und die Refinanzierung im Jahr 2021, was zu einer Verbesserung der Liquidität und Finanzlage führte und darüber hinaus das Unternehmen weiter diversifizierte, um es so besser auf die Zukunft auszurichten. Im Weiteren hat Christoph Schmitz auch die IT-Systemlandschaft des Unternehmens weitgehend konsolidiert und so wesentliche Effizienzsteigerungen erzielt.

„Christophs Beitrag war entscheidend, um die Marktkonsolidierungsstrategie voranzutreiben und die Finanzierung sicherzustellen, damit gategroup die Krise überstehen kann. Der

Verwaltungsrat ist sich sicher, dass das gategroup-Team unter der Führung von Christoph seinen Wachstumskurs fortsetzen und beschleunigen wird“, sagte Timo Vättö.

„Ich möchte Christoph zu seiner Ernennung zum CEO der gategroup gratulieren. Mit seinem Talent, seiner Führungsstärke, seinem strategischen Denken, seinem Engagement und seinem teamorientierten Ansatz war er ein wesentlicher Treiber der Erfolge der Gruppe in den letzten 7 Jahren. Ich danke auch vielmals unseren Kunden, Partnern, Lieferanten und Banken für ihre Unterstützung. Besonderer Dank gilt den Aktionären und dem Verwaltungsrat. Und ein herzliches Dankeschön auch an das Führungsteam und an alle Mitarbeitenden! Alles, was wir erreicht haben, ist ihnen und unserem Team zu verdanken – dies verdient meinen persönlichen und professionellen Respekt. Ich bin überzeugt, dass gategroup unter der starken Führung von Christoph am Anfang einer neue Erfolgsära steht“, so Xavier Rossinyol.

Xavier Rossinyol wird noch bis Januar 2022 in Diensten der gategroup stehen, um den Führungswechsel zu unterstützen.

Zukunftsgerichtete Aussagen

Diese Publikation enthält zukunftsgerichtete Aussagen und andere Aussagen, die keine historischen Fakten darstellen. Die Wörter "glauben", "antizipieren", "planen", "erwarten", "projizieren", "schätzen", "vorhersagen", "beabsichtigen", "anstreben", "annehmen", "können", "werden", "könnten" und ähnliche Ausdrücke dienen dazu, solche zukunftsgerichteten Aussagen zu identifizieren. Solche Aussagen beruhen auf Annahmen und Erwartungen, die wir zum Zeitpunkt dieser Veröffentlichung für angemessen halten. Sie können sich jedoch als falsch erweisen und unterliegen einer Reihe erheblicher Unwägbarkeiten, die dazu führen können, dass die tatsächlichen Ergebnisse erheblich von den in den zukunftsgerichteten Aussagen genannten abweichen. Zu diesen Faktoren gehören u. a. Veränderungen der allgemeinen Wirtschaftslage, Veränderungen der Nachfrage nach unseren Produkten, Veränderungen der Nachfrage nach Öl oder des Ölpreises, Risiken durch Terrorismus, Krieg, geopolitische oder andere exogene Schocks im Luftfahrtsektor, Risiken durch verschärften Wettbewerb, Produktions- und Produktentwicklungsrisiken, Verlust von Schlüsselkunden, Veränderungen staatliche Vorschriften, politische und gesetzgeberische Risiken im In- und Ausland, Risiken im Zusammenhang mit Auslandsgeschäften und Wechselkursen und -kontrollen, Streiks, Embargos, wetterbedingte Risiken und andere Risiken und Unsicherheiten. Wir warnen daher Investoren und potenzielle Investoren davor, sich auf diese zukunftsgerichteten Aussagen zu verlassen. Wir übernehmen keine Verpflichtung, zukunftsgerichtete Aussagen zu aktualisieren oder die Gründe zu aktualisieren, aus denen die tatsächlichen Ergebnisse wesentlich von den in solchen zukunftsgerichteten Aussagen erwarteten abweichen könnten, es sei denn, dies ist gesetzlich vorgeschrieben.

Hinweis: Im Falle von Unstimmigkeiten oder Widersprüchen zwischen den übersetzten Versionen dieser Veröffentlichung ist die englische Vers
 

Xavier Rossinyol joined gategroup in April 2015 and led the company through a strong growth phase with record year-on-year financial results; and navigated the complex COVID-19 pandemic.

Between 2015 and 2019, gategroup grew its revenues from CHF3bn to 5bn, enlarging its customer base to 300+ global customers and expanding its footprint to 200+ locations and its presence to 60+ countries. In the course of this expansion, the group incorporated Servair in 2017 and LSG Europe in 2020 developing strategic partnerships with Air France and Lufthansa.

From a near-global air travel shutdown in 2020, gategroup took decisive action to protect its employees, customers, and other stakeholders. With the support from the shareholders, lenders and bondholders, it completed a comprehensive financial restructuring of the group in 2021 and accelerated the expansion into adjacent, non-aviation markets, drawing on its core competencies.

“Under Xavier’s leadership, gategroup has truly become a global food-focused company and the world leading inflight caterer, being recognized for providing the most innovative culinary and retail offering tailored to individual customer needs in any market they operate, consistently and efficiently. gategroup is uniquely positioned today for the return of travel and to serve new customers beyond aviation”, said Timo Vättö, Chairman of the Board of gategroup.

Christoph Schmitz joined gategroup as Chief Financial Officer and member of the Executive Management Board in January 2015 with over 20 years of experience as a CFO at multinational companies. In his capacity as Group CFO, Christoph has been involved in all key strategic projects of the group. He led the public-to-private ownership transition in 2016, the acquisitions of Servair and LSG Europe, the changes of ownership in 2018 and 2019, and the restructuring initiatives in 2021 to secure the group’s financial position and build a stronger, more diversified portfolio for the future. In addition, Christoph has led a significant consolidation of the group’s IT infrastructure and applications landscape achieving material efficiency gains.

“Christoph’s contribution has been instrumental to drive the market consolidation strategy and secure the financing to enable gategroup weathering the crisis. The Board is confident that under Christoph’s leadership, the gategroup team will resume and accelerate on its growth path”, said Timo Vättö.

“I would like to congratulate Christoph to his appointment as gategroup’s CEO. He has been a key driver of the group’s achievements over the last 7 years with his talent, leadership, strategic thinking, commitment, and team focused approach. I want to thank our customers, partners, suppliers and banks for their support all along. Special thanks to the Shareholders and the Board of Directors. And a forever thanks to the leadership team and to all employees. All what we have achieved is thanks to them and our teamwork – my most personal and professional respect. I am convinced that a new era of success starts for gategroup under the strong leadership of Christoph”, said Xavier Rossinyol.

Xavier Rossinyol will remain with gategroup through January 2022, supporting the transition.

Forward-Looking Statements
This publication contains forward-looking statements and other statements that are not historical facts. The words “believe”, “anticipate”, “plan”, “expect”, “project”, “estimate”, “predict”, “intend”, “target”, “assume”, “may”, “will” “could” and similar expression are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Such statements are made on the basis of assumptions and expectations that we believe to be reasonable as of the date of this publication but may prove to be erroneous and are subject to a variety of significant uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in forward looking statements.
Among these factors are changes in overall economic conditions, changes in demand for our products, changes in the demand for, or price of, oil, risk of terrorism, war, geopolitical or other exogenous shocks to the airline sector, risks of increased competition, manufacturing and product development risks, loss of key customers, changes in government regulations, foreign and domestic political and legislative risks, risks associated with foreign operations and foreign currency exchange rates and controls, strikes, embargoes, weather-related risks and other risks and uncertainties. We therefore caution investors and prospective investors against relying on any of these forward-looking statements. We assume no obligation to update forward-looking statements or to update the reasons for which the actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements, except as required by law.
Note: In the event of any discrepancy or inconsistency between any translated versions of this publication, the English version shall prevail.

• Revenues were reduced to CHF 1.55 billion in 2020 (vs. CHF 4.96 billion in 2019) due to the near-global air travel shutdown.
• EBITDA was a loss of CHF 256.7 million in 2020 (vs. a profit of CHF 440.3 million in 2019).
• Cash flow from operating activities was CHF (308.0) million (vs. CHF 188.1 million in 2019).

The audited 2020 Financial Statements and the 2020 Annual Report of gategroup are available here.

Forward-Looking Statements    
This publication contains forward-looking statements and other statements that are not historical facts. The words “believe”, “anticipate”, “plan”, “expect”, “project”, “estimate”, “predict”, “intend”, “target”, “assume”, “may”, “will” “could” and similar expression are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Such statements are made on the basis of assumptions and expectations that we believe to be reasonable as of the date of this publication but may prove to be erroneous and are subject to a variety of significant uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in forward looking statements. Among these factors are changes in overall economic conditions, changes in demand for our products, changes in the demand for, or price of, oil, risk of terrorism, war, geopolitical or other exogenous shocks to the airline sector, risks of increased competition, manufacturing and product development risks, loss of key customers, changes in government regulations, foreign and domestic political and legislative risks, risks associated with foreign operations and foreign currency exchange rates and controls, strikes, embargoes, weather-related risks and other risks and uncertainties. We therefore caution investors and prospective investors against relying on any of these forward-looking statements. We assume no obligation to update forward-looking statements or to update the reasons for which actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements, except as required by law.

This is the latest in a series of collaborations between gategroup, airlines, and well-known high-street brands. “Collaborations between popular local brands and airlines have become increasingly trendy in the past few years,” said Federico Germani, Chief Commercial and Operating Officer at gategroup. “They bring brand recognition and satisfaction to passengers who might otherwise be feeling isolated from their familiar comforts.”

Preparing food for flight is an involved process that requires specialized knowledge and equipment. As leaders in the field, gategroup’s experts optimize the food production, including the weight and shape of its packaging, and ensure it is produced and delivered to SWISS’ exacting standards.

“At gategroup, we use our expertise in aviation food service and menu optimization to ensure that the products are packaged, stored and delivered correctly and that each passenger receives the gastronomic experience that they expect – regardless of the altitude,” emphasizes Federico Germani.

“We are very grateful that we can rely on the expertise and experience of our trusted long-term partner gategroup when launching our new SWISS Saveurs culinary menu with the Confiserie Sprüngli,” says Caroline Drischel, Head of SWISS Brand Experience. “Thanks to the collaboration with gategroup and Confiserie Sprüngli we will be able to offer our Economy Class customers on European flights an entire new level of culinary excellency with fresh and top quality meals and snacks.”
 

Background

As announced on 26 November 2020, the Group, its shareholders, RRJ Capital and Temasek (together, the "Shareholders") and all of the Group’s bank lenders under the senior facilities agreement dated 30 November 2018 (the "Senior Lenders" and the "SFA", respectively) have agreed to the key terms and conditions of a recapitalisation of the Company and amendment of the terms of the Group’s financial indebtedness (the “Transaction”).

On 11 December 2020, the Company and gategroup Finance (Luxembourg) S.A., as issuer of the CHF 350,000,000 3% bonds due 2022 (the "Bonds"), announced that, in order to implement certain aspects of the Transaction, gategroup Guarantee Limited (the "Plan Company"), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, had issued a practice statement letter to holders of the Bonds (the "Bondholders") and the Senior Lenders, formally notifying them of the Plan Company’s intention to launch an English restructuring plan under Part 26A of the United Kingdom’s Companies Act 2006 (the "Plan") which will, amongst other things, amend certain terms of the Bonds and the SFA.

On 19 March 2021:

• 99.98% by value of the Bondholders present and voting at the Bondholder meeting voted in favour of the Plan; and
• 100% by value of the Senior Lenders present and voting at the Senior Lender meeting voted in favour of the Plan,

being in excess of the requisite statutory majority in each case, a key milestone in the financial restructuring.

The English Court has approved the Plan  

The Company is pleased to announce that the English Court approved the Plan at a hearing on 26 March 2021. The Plan will become effective when the English Court’s order approving the Plan is delivered to the UK Companies Registry, which is expected to occur on or around 29 March 2021.

The Transaction is expected to complete in April 2021 upon the implementation of the final restructuring steps. From the completion date, the SFA and the Bonds will be amended as set out in the Plan and the new funding to be provided by the Shareholders will be made available to the Company. The Company will announce the completion of the Transaction in due course.

Forward-Looking Statements    
This publication contains forward-looking statements and other statements that are not historical facts. The words “believe”, “anticipate”, “plan”, “expect”, “project”, “estimate”, “predict”, “intend”, “target”, “assume”, “may”, “will” “could” and similar expression are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Such statements are made on the basis of assumptions and expectations that we believe to be reasonable as of the date of this publication but may prove to be erroneous and are subject to a variety of significant uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in forward looking statements. Among these factors are changes in overall economic conditions, changes in demand for our products, changes in the demand for, or price of, oil, risk of terrorism, war, geopolitical or other exogenous shocks to the airline sector, risks of increased competition, manufacturing and product development risks, loss of key customers, changes in government regulations, foreign and domestic political and legislative risks, risks associated with foreign operations and foreign currency exchange rates and controls, strikes, embargoes, weather-related risks and other risks and uncertainties. We therefore caution investors and prospective investors against relying on any of these forward-looking statements. We assume no obligation to update forward-looking statements or to update the reasons for which actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements, except as required by law.
 

• Servair works with the European Space Agency to deliver menus for Astronauts
• Adamski’s team look to honor French cuisine in their cosmic creations
• Many technical challenges overcome to deliver to the gastronauts

Servair, the French and African leader in airline catering and a member of gategroup, has been asked by the European Space Agency, to develop a gourmet menu for astronauts on the upcoming Alpha space mission to the ISS (International Space Station) which will take off on April 22, 2021.

France’s Thomas Pesquet will be part of the SpaceX crew in April when he will be embarking on a six month stay on the ISS. Each “gastronaut” on the space mission can take with him celebratory meals that he can share with other members of the expedition.  "I’ve been a fan of Servair since the beginning of my career as a pilot with Air France in 2005, so it was an obvious choice for me to call on their culinary and technical know-how to develop this menu," explains Pesquet.

Throughout the development process, Servair’s Corporate Chef, François Adamski (Bocuse d’or, MOF and twice starred) and the French astronaut worked hand in hand to build a menu that honors the country’s cuisine while echoing childhood memories and Thomas Pesquet’s favorite dishes.

From the ten dishes proposed by the Chef, the astronaut chose:

• Crunchy and creamy small spelt, melting celery and Périgord truffle
• Beef bourguignon, smoked farm breast, mushrooms and small glazed onions
• Crepes flambéed with Grand Marnier and orange zest, Suzette style

To ensure the preservation of taste qualities while guaranteeing their duration through a very long shelf life at room temperature, Servair’s engineers, worked in collaboration with the CTCPA (Technical Center for the Conservation of Agricultural Products) and chose a cutting-edge technology: sterilization in flexible bags to deliver the finished meals.

The real challenge was to develop a ‚gourmet‘ product with the constraints of heat treatment but also with reduced sodium and alcohol content, all while delivering a ‚dense‘ texture suitable for consumption in weightlessness. Unlike traditional canning, the flexible pouch technique can provide the original flavors with a very long shelf life.

To help Thomas Pesquet choose the recipes he will take with him into space in space, Servair organized a comparative tasting of the dishes prepared in the sterilized, flexible bags a few weeks before.

"For me, it was essential to preserve the flavors of the dishes, whether they were fresh or in sterilized bags." François Adamski, Servair’s Corporate Chef, said "We work diligently to adjust the seasonings every time until we obtained a product that was very close in taste to its non-space version”.

The results were very much appreciated by Thomas who is now looking forward to sharing his culinary world with the other astronauts.

Forward-Looking Statements    

This publication contains forward-looking statements and other statements that are not historical facts. The words “believe”, “anticipate”, “plan”, “expect”, “project”, “estimate”, “predict”, “intend”, “target”, “assume”, “may”, “will” “could” and similar expression are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Such statements are made on the basis of assumptions and expectations that we believe to be reasonable as of the date of this publication but may prove to be erroneous and are subject to a variety of significant uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in forward looking statements. Among these factors are changes in overall economic conditions, changes in demand for our products, changes in the demand for, or price of, oil, risk of terrorism, war, geopolitical or other exogenous shocks to the airline sector, risks of increased competition, manufacturing and product development risks, loss of key customers, changes in government regulations, foreign and domestic political and legislative risks, risks associated with foreign operations and foreign currency exchange rates and controls, strikes, embargoes, weather-related risks and other risks and uncertainties. We therefore caution investors and prospective investors against relying on any of these forward-looking statements. We assume no obligation to update forward-looking statements or to update the reasons for which actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements, except as required by law.
 

• 99.98% by value of the Bondholders present and voting at the Bondholder meeting voted in favour of the Plan; and
   
• 100% by value of the Senior Lenders present and voting at the Senior Lender meeting voted in favour of the Plan.

Next Steps
 
The Plan Company will now seek the sanction (approval) of the Plan by the English Court at a hearing scheduled to take place on 26 March 2021 ("Sanction Hearing").
 
Should the English Court approve the Plan at the Sanction Hearing, it is expected that the Plan will become effective by the end of March 2021 and that the Transaction will complete in April 2021.
 
Xavier Rossinyol, Chief Executive Officer:
 
“We are delighted that the Bondholders and the Senior Lenders have given their support by voting to approve the Restructuring Plan at today’s creditor meetings. Once implemented, the financial restructuring will be another key step to strengthen the Group for the immediate and long term future. The new financial structure will benefit all the Group’s stakeholders: Bondholders, Senior Lenders, shareholders, our customers and our employees and their families. I want to express my gratitude to the Senior Lenders, Bondholders and shareholders for their critical support. Our customers for their continuous trust over all these difficult months, our partnerships are stronger than ever. Our Board of Directors for their guidance and a very special thanks to our employees for fighting day to day to emerge even stronger after this crisis.”

Forward-Looking Statements    

This publication contains forward-looking statements and other statements that are not historical facts. The words “believe”, “anticipate”, “plan”, “expect”, “project”, “estimate”, “predict”, “intend”, “target”, “assume”, “may”, “will” “could” and similar expression are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Such statements are made on the basis of assumptions and expectations that we believe to be reasonable as of the date of this publication but may prove to be erroneous and are subject to a variety of significant uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in forward looking statements. Among these factors are changes in overall economic conditions, changes in demand for our products, changes in the demand for, or price of, oil, risk of terrorism, war, geopolitical or other exogenous shocks to the airline sector, risks of increased competition, manufacturing and product development risks, loss of key customers, changes in government regulations, foreign and domestic political and legislative risks, risks associated with foreign operations and foreign currency exchange rates and controls, strikes, embargoes, weather-related risks and other risks and uncertainties. We therefore caution investors and prospective investors against relying on any of these forward-looking statements. We assume no obligation to update forward-looking statements or to update the reasons for which actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements, except as required by law.

1. a meeting of the Bondholders, commencing at 11.00 a.m. (CET) (the "Bondholders‘ Plan Meeting"); and 
2. a meeting of the Senior Lenders, commencing at 12.00 a.m. (CET) (or as soon as reasonably practicable after the conclusion of the Bondholders‘ Plan Meeting) (the "Senior Lenders‘ Plan Meeting").

Bondholders are encouraged to vote at their Plan Meeting.   
 
Next Steps
 
The Explanatory Statement, together with (i) a notice of the Plan Meetings, and (ii) a copy of the proxy forms for voting at the Plan Meetings, are available via the Plan Portal which can be accessed by Bondholders at https://glas-agency.appiancloud.com/suite/sites/gategroup (Bondholders having first registered on the Plan Website at https://glas.agency/investor_reporting/gategroup-en/). Alternatively, Bondholders may contact the Information Agent, GLAS Specialist Services Limited, using the details below:
 
GLAS Specialist Services Limited
45 Ludgate Hill
London
EC4M 7JU
Email: LM@glas.agency
Telephone: +44 (0)20 3597 2940

Forward-Looking Statements    
This publication contains forward-looking statements and other statements that are not historical facts. The words “believe”, “anticipate”, “plan”, “expect”, “project”, “estimate”, “predict”, “intend”, “target”, “assume”, “may”, “will” “could” and similar expression are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Such statements are made on the basis of assumptions and expectations that we believe to be reasonable as of the date of this publication but may prove to be erroneous and are subject to a variety of significant uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in forward looking statements. Among these factors are changes in overall economic conditions, changes in demand for our products, changes in the demand for, or price of, oil, risk of terrorism, war, geopolitical or other exogenous shocks to the airline sector, risks of increased competition, manufacturing and product development risks, loss of key customers, changes in government regulations, foreign and domestic political and legislative risks, risks associated with foreign operations and foreign currency exchange rates and controls, strikes, embargoes, weather-related risks and other risks and uncertainties. We therefore caution investors and prospective investors against relying on any of these forward-looking statements. We assume no obligation to update forward-looking statements or to update the reasons for which actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements, except as required by law.

Background

As announced on 26 November 2020, gategroup Holding AG (“gategroup”, the “Company” and together with its subsidiaries, the “Group”), the Group, its shareholders, RRJ Capital and Temasek (the "Shareholders") and all of the Group’s bank lenders under the senior facilities agreement dated 30 November 2018 (the "Senior Lenders" and the "SFA", respectively) have agreed to the key terms and conditions of a recapitalisation of the Company and amendment of the terms of the Group’s financial indebtedness (the “Transaction”) to position the Group for a post-COVID future.  In order to provide the Group with liquidity to implement the Transaction, a CHF 200 million senior secured interim liquidity facility (the "Interim Facility") was entered into with affiliates of the Shareholders on 25 November 2020.  The Interim Facility matures in May 2021.

On 11 December 2020, the Company and gategroup Finance (Luxembourg) S.A., as issuer of the CHF 350,000,000 3% bonds due 2022 (the "Bonds"), announced that, in order to implement certain aspects of the Transaction, gategroup Guarantee Limited (the "Plan Company"), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, would propose a restructuring plan under Part 26A of the United Kingdom’s Companies Act 2006 (the "Plan") for the purposes of amending certain terms of the Bonds and the SFA.  On the same day, the Plan Company issued a practice statement letter to holders of the Bonds (the "Bondholders") and the Senior Lenders (together with the Bondholders, the "Plan Creditors") setting out information on the Transaction including details of the process for implementation of the Plan.  That process involved a hearing before the High Court of England and Wales (the "Court") for the purposes of seeking permission to convene a meeting of the Plan Creditors (the "Plan Meeting") for the purposes of voting on and, if thought fit, approving the Plan (the "Convening Hearing").

Update on Timetable

The Convening Hearing was, as previously announced, held on 3 and 4 February 2021. The Court will issue its judgment on whether or not to grant the order to convene the Plan Meeting in due course.

If the Court grants permission to convene the Plan Meeting, the Group will provide a further update with a revised timetable of key dates, including the date and time of the Plan Meeting, as well as the date on which the Plan Company expects to circulate meeting materials (including the explanatory statement) to Plan Creditors.

Forward-Looking Statements    
This publication contains forward-looking statements and other statements that are not historical facts. The words “believe”, “anticipate”, “plan”, “expect”, “project”, “estimate”, “predict”, “intend”, “target”, “assume”, “may”, “will” “could” and similar expression are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Such statements are made on the basis of assumptions and expectations that we believe to be reasonable as of the date of this publication but may prove to be erroneous and are subject to a variety of significant uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in forward looking statements. Among these factors are changes in overall economic conditions, changes in demand for our products, changes in the demand for, or price of, oil, risk of terrorism, war, geopolitical or other exogenous shocks to the airline sector, risks of increased competition, manufacturing and product development risks, loss of key customers, changes in government regulations, foreign and domestic political and legislative risks, risks associated with foreign operations and foreign currency exchange rates and controls, strikes, embargoes, weather-related risks and other risks and uncertainties. We therefore caution investors and prospective investors against relying on any of these forward-looking statements. We assume no obligation to update forward-looking statements or to update the reasons for which actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements, except as required by law.