Silverjet, the business-class-only airline, is to return to the skies after being rescued from administration by a Geneva-based company.

A formal offer for the airline, which flies from Luton to New York and Dubai, was made by Kingplace, a company registered in the Irish Republic that is controlled by Heritage, an investment group based in Switzerland.

A statement from Begbies Traynor, the administrator handling the sale, said that the offer by Kingplace was being made on behalf of unnamed private clients.

Lawrence Hunt, the chief executive of Silverjet, said: “I am personally delighted that we now have the necessary backing from a long-term investor to relaunch Silverjet. We have received fantastic support from our staff, customers and partners in helping us put this deal together.”

Mr Hunt said that Silverjet’s New York and Dubai services would be relaunched as quickly as possible.

Ian Ilsley, chairman of Heritage and a director of Kingplace, said that the group intended to take on all existing staff and to honour Silverjet’s existing customers’ tickets. He said that Silverjet could return to the skies “in a matter of weeks”.

Silverjet, a business-class, low-fare operator, was admitted to the Alternative Investment Market in May 2006, but ran into difficulty because of the soaring price of oil and a loss of confidence, which led to a sharp decrease in bookings.

Its shares were suspended on May 23 and a week later it suspended all its operations and was put into administration. The airline owed creditors £40 million, of which £17 million is secured against its three aircraft. Simon and David Reuben, the property and metals tycoons, are the largest single creditors. They are owed about £10 million.

Mark Fry, a senior partner in Begbies Traynor and joint administrator for Silverjet, said: “We are pleased to have agreed principal terms with Kingplace to relaunch the airline. This agreement is excellent news for the company’s suppliers, staff and loyal customers.”

The deal is likely to be completed this week.

The carrier, along with Maxjet and Eos, its rivals, was founded to try to attract the rapidly growing business travel market. However, the new start-up carriers struggled to match the frequency of flights offered by larger rivals and other perks, such as air miles. Both Eos and Maxjet filed for bankruptcy protection this year.

Silverjet was thought to be losing about £1 million a month last year and this was thought to have doubled before it entered administration.

Turbulent journey

2004: Created by Lawrence Hunt

May 2006 Lists on the Alternative Investment Market

August 2006 Its website begins to book passengers for flights, for a standard business-class-only transatlantic fare of £999

October 2006 Secures two Boeing 767-200 aircraft to commence operations

January 2007: Inaugural flight takes off

May 2008: Ceases operations; administrators appointed

June 2008: Sold by administrators to a Swiss-based trust

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