Bank of Scotland enforces guarantee against Kingfisher’s parent company

Bank of Scotland plc (BOS), now part of Lloyds, obtained a judgment for $21.6 million against United Breweries Holdings Limited (UBH) under a guarantee given by UBH for the debts of its subsidiary company, the well-known Indian airline, Kingfisher Airlines. BOS is a trustee for a group of syndicated lenders who lent money to enable Kingfisher Airlines to lease a fleet of 10 turbo-prop aircraft. Kingfisher had failed to pay the sums due under the leases and accordingly BOS enforced the guarantee against UBH and successfully obtained summary judgment. The summary judgment procedure was used in order to obtain a judgment on the merits which could be enforced in India.

Bajul Shah acted for Bank of Scotland; Daniel Warents acted for UBH. A copy of the judgment is now available.