The company previously known as Stobart Group is in the "final stages" of agreeing a deal to raise £120m from the sale of a stake in London Southend Airport.
Esken, the aviation and energy infrastructure group, has confirmed it is close to agreeing the documentation with Carlyle Global Infrastructure Opportunity Fund over a "long-term strategic funding transaction" relating to the development of LSA.
Under the proposed terms of the partnership, Carlyle would provide £120m of funding net of Carlyle costs via a loan (convertible at Carlyle's option into an equity stake of 29.99% in LSA), which would release £100m of liquidity into the rest of the group.
The news comes after almost 500 jobs were lost after a deal which would have seen Esken sell Stobart Air and Carlisle Lake District Airport to an Isle of Man start-up collapsed.
Esken had signed a deal with Ettyl Ltd in April and had been expected to complete in May.
Esken said at the time that the deal would allow its management to focus on the core operations of Stobart Energy and London Southend Airport, along with the aviation services business.
Backed by private investors, Ettyl is an Isle of Man-based company, is registered in London and was incorporated in May last year.
However Esken, in a statement issued to the London Stock Exchange at the end of May, the company first raised doubts about whether the deal would be completed.
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In a new statement issued this morning, the business added: "On 28 May 2021 and as reported to the market, Ettyl advised that its original funding package to support the transaction was no longer available and that it was in discussions on alternative funding options.
"It is now clear that Ettyl is unable to conclude the transactions on the original terms or to obtain an alternative funding package within the required timescale.
"Esken has therefore exercised its right to terminate the contracts for the transactions with immediate effect. In the absence of any alternative purchasers or sources of funding for the SA business within the timescales required, Esken has advised the board of SA that it will not continue to provide financial support to the business going forward.
"As a result of this the board of SA has terminated its franchise agreement with Aer Lingus, will cease trading and is taking steps to appoint a liquidator.
"The board of Esken has undertaken certain contingency planning measures and has agreed in response to these developments that it will continue to fund the lease obligations on the eight ATR aircraft through to termination of the leases in April 2023 under the terms of its pre-existing guarantee.
"Esken confirms that it will take immediate steps to seek sublease arrangements for the aircraft with alternative operators to mitigate the impact on the group."
The company added: "Since April 2020 Esken has taken all steps to minimise the cash requirement of SA while seeking to find a purchaser recognising the importance of the airline to connectivity between the 海角视频 & Ireland, the 480 jobs involved and the fact that a sale would be a better outcome for shareholders.
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"Esken has been successful in reducing the impact of its pre-existing obligations and in agreeing terms under which it has control of residual obligations through to expiry.
"However, the continuing impact of the pandemic which has resulted in almost no flying since April 2020 and the decision taken by Aer Lingus to award preferred bidder status to another party for the franchise agreement beyond its expiry in December 2022 significantly hampered the exhaustive steps taken to secure a future for the business and its staff.
"Esken will retain the ownership of CLDA rather than it being sold for £15m but will actively explore strategic options for the use of this asset in discussion with stakeholders including potential alternative commercial opportunities for the airport."
Executive chairman David Shearer said: "It is disappointing for all stakeholders that we have been unable to conclude the sale of Stobart Air as a going concern despite the tireless efforts of my executive colleagues, the management team of the airline and the team of advisors who have supported them.
"I am acutely aware of the impact this will have on the staff, customers and the businesses associated with the airline but the continuing impact of the pandemic in terms of lockdown and limited travel has prevented us from achieving a better outcome."
"Our focus now is to secure the position for the rest of the group and ensure that we have the necessary resources to support the recovery plans for our two core businesses as we anticipate the return to normal activity levels in a post-Covid world.
"The discussions on future financing including the strategic partnership for LSA are continuing and I fully expect to bring these to a positive conclusion when we announce our year end results by the end of June."