The redevelopment of Shoreham Airport has been thrown into turmoil after its owner said it may collapse under a mountain of debt.

Erinaceous, which owes £168 million, has removed founder Neil Bellis from the chief executive role and parted company with finance director Michael Pearson.

Day-to-day management of the group has been handed to chairman Nigel Turnbull who has started a strategic review of the business - likely to lead to its break up.

Earlier this week Shoreham Airport manager John Haffenden said it was "business as normal" at the airport but today it was unclear how long that would remain the case.

A company statement said there was "uncertainty which may cast significant doubt as to the group's ability to continue as a going concern and therefore it may be unable to realise its assets and discharge its liabilities in the normal course of business".

Erinaceous, which bought the airport from Brighton and Hove City Council and Worthing Borough Council for £8 million last year, is planning a multi-million pound redevelopment of the historic airport, the oldest licensed airfield in Britain.

Its plans, which includes building hangars, offices, a fire station and control tower, and an overhaul of the Art Deco terminal building, are expected to create about 200 jobs.

But the project has run into trouble from the start. The company was given an August deadline to address Highway Agency concerns about access from the A27 but that has been pushed back until November.

A further snag arose when a hangar dating back to the Second World War, which had been earmarked for demolition, was given listed status at the 11th hour.

Meanwhile the company's plans to build flats at the airport were scrapped following objections from English Heritage.

Now the whole project looks in serious jeopardy after Erinaceous issued half-year results showing hefty losses and spiralling debts. The company made pre-tax losses of £3.1 million for the six months to the end of June, compared with profits of £12 million last time. Net debts more than doubled to £168.1 million.

Last week Erinaceous admitted that it had breached its loan covenants.

Erinaceous has renegotiated its loans but will have to repay its borrowings with nearly ten per cent interest. Its lenders, HBOS, HSBC and Lloyds TSB increased the repayment cost from 1.25 per cent to 3.25 per cent.

Shares in Erinaceous have slumped to around 58p, giving it a market value of just £57 million. Earlier this year, when the company was in takeover talks, the shares traded at more than 400p, giving it a value of more than £400 million.

Do you use or work at Shoreham Airport? Are their mutterings of discontent among workers? Tell us about it below.