§ Mr. Bradfordasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what further Government assistance, in addition to that referred to in his Written Answer of 15th February 1978, is being provided to meet the liabilities of Fonnom Limited.
§ Mr. ConcannonThe Northern Ireland Finance Corporation, in buying over Ben Sherman Limited and its subsidiaries, undertook to give certain guarantees to the owners of premises occupied by these companies under lease. However, the corporation was wound up before giving the guarantees with the result that its successor, the Northern Ireland Development Agency, inherited the undertakings given by the corporation but had no statutory power to honour them. Accordingly, an initial sum of £200,000—of which £71,595 was eventually spent—was provided on an extra-statutory basis to enable the agency to meet part of these liabilities.
The agency's assets and liabilities in respect of Fonnom Limited have now been transferred to the Department of Commerce under the Industries Development (NI) Order 1978. The Department intends to divest itself of the property 525W liabilities as quickly as possible and has accordingly agreed to buy out the lease of premises in Franklin Street, Belfast, for re-sale to an adjacent occupier, and to surrender other premises in Wembley upon payment of a release premium to the property owners. The cost will be provided on an extra-statutory basis as the Department has no powers under the industries development legislation to pay such sums. The total cost of these transactions is approximately £450,000.