The former owners of XL Leisure Group have warned they believe it is increasingly likely they will have to meet an obligation to loan the company €207 million.

Transport and logistics firm Eimskipafelag Islands (Eimskip), formerly known as Avion Group, made the guarantee to XL’s owners when it sold the company in 2006.

It issued a statement today under the headline “XL Leisure Group refinancing not ensured”. In it, Eimskip said it was not making any assumptions about the process of refinancing.

But it added: “Given the information about the operation of XL, the likelihood that the loan guarantee will fall on Eimskip has increased.”

The statement said that if it were required to meet the loan obligation it had secured a group of investors who would assume the obligation and “delay its payment”.

It was also expected that the loan would be “subordinate” to other claims on Eimskip and the impact on its operation would be limited.

Eimskip chief executive Gylfi Sigfusson said: “A successful refinancing of XL is an important goal in our aim of removing the potential impact of previously-made loan guarantees against Eimskip’s balance sheet and we hope, of course, that the XL refinancing will be completed successfully.

“However, at the same time we also want to point out that as with any such transaction there is no certainty and it may prove to be more difficult than expected.

“Even in such circumstances there is now a mechanism in place for significant, well-respected investors to then assume the loan obligation, which the board of Eimskip believes is very positive.”