Zenith Aviation Limited has entered administration and grounded its entire aircraft fleet, wiping out 41 jobs at the London Biggin Hill-based private jet charter operator.

Paul Hargreaves of Nexus Corporate Solutions Limited was appointed administrator by the company’s director on May 15, and said the business was insolvent because of cashflow issues, debtors not paying and historic ownership and management issues.

Hargreaves said he was assessing the company’s assets, helping former employees claim statutory redundancy entitlements and looking at whether the operation could be rescued or sold to a buyer. The move brings a sudden halt to a business that had been providing executive jet hire, aircraft management and engineering services across Britain and Europe.

Zenith’s collapse comes after a period of ownership churn that appears to have weakened the company before it fell into insolvency. At the beginning of 2025, Opul Jets acquired Zenith Aviation in a deal that included the UK-issued Air Operator Certificate, its managed aircraft fleet and its accredited maintenance facility, but records later showed Opul Jets had relinquished control by December 2025.

That sequence matters because aviation businesses rely on steady cash, active aircraft and uninterrupted regulatory control. Once the fleet was grounded and the administration process began, the company’s role in the market ended immediately, leaving the administrator to decide whether any part of the business can still be salvaged for a buyer.

For the 41 workers who lost their jobs, the only near-term path is through the redundancy claims process. For Zenith Aviation, the question now is not whether the company can keep flying, but whether any value remains in the assets that are left.