§ Mr. Gryllsasked the Secretary of State for Industry how much public money has been committed altogether by the Government to Marathon Shipbuilding Co. (UK) Ltd. (a) by means of equity participation and (b) by means of loans; and if he will publish the conditions under which these loans were made and the date for their repayment.
§ Mr. Les HuckfieldIn August 1972 a loan of £6 million was made to Marathon Shipbuilding Co. (U.K.) Ltd. to be used towards the costs of acquiring the Clydebank yard, re-equipping it for the construction of oil exploration rigs and for working capital. This was interest free for three years and then at 6 per cent. In December 1974 £2 million of the loan was converted into non-cumulative preference shares. The repayment of the remainder of the original loan and the interest thereon were deferred for a further year. The capital sum is repayable in half-yearly instalments of £400,000 commencing 30th September 1977.