Cairngorm Mountain Limited, the company behind the Cairngorm Mountain Funicular Railway, has entered administration
Joint administrators Blair Milne and Derek Forsyth, will continue to trade the business whilst seeking a potential buyer for the business and assets.
The company currently employs around 70 staff and had a turnover of £3.5m to 31 December 2017.
It is understood that the administration has been caused due to the closure of the funicular, which has been closed since last month, and detailed assessment of the structure that supports the tracks.
There are no immediate plans to make any redundancies.
Charlotte Wright, chief executive of Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), said: “The directors’ decision to put CairnGorm Mountain Ltd (CML) into administration is an outcome that HIE had anticipated, and we are well prepared.
“Our first priority is staff members and their families, as well as other local people who will be affected by this decision.
“We are already in direct contact with the administrator, and confident that Cairngorm will remain open for business.
“Clearly, this is not the outcome that anyone wanted when CML became the operator. However, with local support, we are confident that the situation can be turned around and we will see Cairngorm flourish again as a fantastic asset for this area, its economy and its people.
“£1m worth of snowmaking equipment, paid for by HIE, has arrived and will be set up on site as soon as possible. This will provide reliable snow cover for visitors on the lower slopes, creating good conditions for beginners and families especially.
“It also means that when there is suitable snow on the higher slopes, more experienced skiers can access those levels by tow."
HIE owns Cairngorm Estate and was in charge of operations from 2009 until 2014, when CML was appointed as operator for the resort following international procurement.
The funicular takes skiers, snowboarders and walkers two kilometres up Cairn Gorm mountain, with estimates suggesting it carrys around 300,000 people every year.
It opened on Christmas Eve in 2001 following an investment of around £20 million.
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