Beleaguered maritime hub confident over €15 million bond repayment
Mediterranean Maritime Hub projects sufficient cash flows to repay bond in October
A maritime services company is projecting adequate cash flows to meet a €15 million bond repayment in October.
In a financial analysis summary published last week, the Mediterranean Maritime Hub Finance PLC (MMH) projected it will be able to meet the repayment deadline.
The projection is however based on a cash injection that will see third-party investors buy a 49% stake in the business.
MMH said the investment proceeds are “strategically earmarked” to prioritise the full repayment of the €15 million bond and accrued interest.
The transaction remains subject to standard due diligence and regulatory approvals and is expected to be completed by the end of April.
According to the financial analysis, MMH failed to hit its forecast profit of €205,000 in 2024. Instead, the company registered a loss of €168,000.
Prior to the planned introduction of third-party investors, serious doubts were being raised about MMH’s ability to repay the bond.
MMH was given a government concession in 2015 to operate the former shipbuilding site in Marsa as a services hub for the oil and gas industry.
Trading in its bond was suspended in May 2025 after the company failed to publish its latest audited accounts. The accounts were eventually published in December.
The company has acknowledged that the site handed to them by the government 10 years ago “remains a project in development,” and has yet to be used to its full potential.
It said additional investment is needed to unlock this potential.
Last year, backbench Labour MP Edward Zammit Lewis called on the government to tightly control land concessions given to private developers to prevent abuse.
Zammit Lewis, a former justice minister, urged the government to implement stronger structures and allocate proper resources to ensure that companies and developers are granted concessions that comply with the conditions, and that if they don’t, the land is reclaimed.
The government is currently negotiating the surrender of a separate concession given to Midi to develop Manoel Island into luxury apartments.
Prime Minister Robert Abela has pledged to turn the island into a national park.
Midi is on the hook for a €50 million bond repayment in July that was linked to the Manoel Island project.
The company and government are negotiating a compensation package for Midi’s surrender of the project, that will seek to protect its bondholders.