A LIQUIDATOR has been appointed by the High Court to two of five companies in the McInerney construction group – McInerney Construction (Holdings) Ltd and McInerney Contracting Dublin Ltd.
The appointment came after counsel for William O’Riordan, examiner to five McInerney companies, told Mr Justice Peter Kelly yesterday that survival proposals for the group will now only apply to two companies, McInerney Homes Ltd (MIHL) and McInerney Contracting Ltd (MICL), which are largely involved in house building.
Court protection for the fifth company, McInerney Holdings plc, was lifted yesterday but the court was told there was no need for a winding up order as this company’s circumstances had changed and it was now able to pay it debts.
The examiner had last Sunday finalised an investment plan for MIHL and MICL which will be presented to a meeting of creditors tomorrow, Eoin McCullough SC, for the examiner, said. McInerney Construction (Holdings) Ltd (MICHL), and McInerney Contracting Dublin Ltd (MICDL), are not being included and court protection for them could be lifted, he said. These two companies were mainly involved in contracting out work and managing investments in subsidiaries, the court heard.
Mr Justice Kelly appointed Mr O’Riordan as liquidator to those companies and ordered their directors, Enda Cunningham, Mark Shakespeare and John Crowley to file a statement of their affairs within 21 days to the court.
John Hennessy SC, for the companies, said protection could also be lifted for the fifth company, McInerney Holdings plc (MIHP), but there was no need for a winding up order as its circumstances had changed, it was now able to pay its debts and had significant assets over liabilities. The lifting of court protection would mean it could continue on in business as before, counsel said. MIHP was essentially a company that managed borrowings, he said.
He said one of MIHP’s principal assets is an investment in Spain. The company was in the process of disposing of this which would result in a significant inflow of funds. Even if the disposal did not happen, the investment itself allowed the company to avail of a significant cash flow and it would be able to pay its debts, counsel said. Rossa Fanning, for a syndicate of three creditor banks which have consistently opposed the examinership, said this was day 91 of the examinership process and the latest information, an affidavit from director Mr Shakespeare, did not explain why the position of the company had changed. Counsel said his clients, Anglo Irish Bank, KBC and Bank of Ireland, which are owed €116 million by the group, were opposed to the examinership. It appeared the new solvency of the plc had been “engineered” in what, Mr Fanning said, was a situation without precedent given the company had been under court protection for 91 days.
Mr Hennessy rejected as unfounded the claim that the solvency of the plc was “engineered”.
Mr Justice Kelly said, given the examiner’s statement that it was not possible to find an investor for MICHL and MICDL, the court had little option but to appoint a liquidator to them.
