13 June 2023
Scottish businessman Tony Banks, owner of Tayside Aviation which closed earlier this year owing thousands of pounds to students, is taking legal action against the former owners of the Dundee-based flight school.
Banks’ company, ARB Aviation Ltd, has issued formal notice of claims against James and Kathleen Watt, former owners of Tayside Aviation, over concerns about the safe and legal maintenance of aircraft and the company’s financial compliance.
ARB Aviation issued a statement claiming the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is investigating a number of engineers for allegedly falsifying maintenance records over a period prior to the sale to ARB Aviation in December 2021.
ARB also alleges that the business was significantly misrepresented and overvalued at the time it was sold. It highlights the impact this had on stakeholders in the business including the 22 staff, self-employed instructors and Dundee Airport.
A spokesman for ARB Aviation said: “Taking court action is the last thing we want to do but aircraft safety and maintenance is a serious issue and so is the accounting of money.
“The purchase of Tayside Aviation has been an incredibly frustrating process. All the plans to invest in the business and to grow it have been thwarted at every turn as we have uncovered issues with the maintenance of the planes and the way the money given by students was accounted for.
“We’re investigating all avenues to recover funds and would advise that others suffering a financial loss should also seek legal advice on the best recourse against the previous owners.”
A meeting of the creditors is due to take place tomorrow, Wednesday 14 June, 2023. More info here
