Harland & Wolff boss resigns as company seeks emergency funding

John Wood, who led £6m rescue of shipyard in 2019, announced his sudden departure on Thursday night

The boss of Harland & Wolff, the owner of the stricken Belfast shipyard that built the Titanic, has resigned as the company casts around for emergency funding to avoid collapsing into administration for the second time in five years.

John Wood was already widely expected to leave the company under conditions laid down by financiers as part of the terms of a potential £20m loan to secure the immediate future of the shipbuilder, which employs 1,600 people.