Airwaves silent as debt pressure mounts

Wednesday 17 October 2018

A start-up air taxi service that went into liquidation last month has gone silent amid mounting debts – including landing fees owed to Guernsey Airport and the Ports of Jersey.

Branding itself as a Channel Islands-based ‘Uber of the sky’, crowdfunded service Waves launched last year.

However, following an air licence court dispute and troubles securing the seed money of £510,000 they’d crowdfunded after failing due diligence checks, Waves failed to take off and the parent company entered voluntary liquidation in September.

At the time of their liquidation, the company owed just under £20,000 in Guernsey income tax. The company were originally given two weeks to pay, but CEO Nick Magliochetti told Guernsey’s Royal Court that it would have already been paid if the company could afford it. 

He added that investor confidence in Waves was poor and he was currently in the process of raising funds.

Pictured: Waves CEO Nick Magliochetti.

Now it's emerged the company is facing even more debt: an undisclosed amount of unpaid fees owed to Guernsey Airport currently subject to legal proceedings, and £9,139.06 to Ports of Jersey, which was ordered to be paid in Guernsey’s Petty Debts Court last week.

A spokesman for Guernsey Airport said they could confirm "the States of Guernsey is in the process of recovering money owed from WO1 Limited operating as Waves."

A Ports of Jersey spokesperson told Express the debt owed to them related to landing and security fees, and that the money had not yet been received.

Entering liquidation, the company claimed that they hoped to confirm a trade sale within a “few weeks” something that could potentially resolve their financial woes.

Pictured: An online advertisement for Waves' plane found by Express.

However, Mr Magliochetti and Guernsey-based liquidators Carter Backer Winter have declined to respond to repeated requests from Express for an update on the status of the sale and what portion of their debts, if any, has now been paid off.

Meanwhile, company email addresses from other key officials now appear to have been disabled, including that of the head of communications and the company’s ‘Founding Investor’.

Waves’ former office in St Peter Port, Guernsey, is no longer in use and bears the sign: “Waves are no longer at this address. Please do not deliver post.”

Pictured: A sign on the door of Waves' former office in Guernsey. 

However, no alternative address is given.

Waves’ website remains in place, however, with no reference to the liquidation process.