A HIGH Court judge has agreed to further extend court protection for the companies operating the Cork-Swansea ferry service to allow for finalisation of a survival scheme.
The scheme requires an investor but the necessary investment agreement has yet to be secured, the court heard yesterday. If the investment is not forthcoming, there was little prospect of a successful conclusion to the examinership, said Mr Justice Peter Kelly.
The judge said the examiner, Michael McAteer, had arranged for the court to receive emails concerning possible investment, and while one of those gave “some comfort”, another provided no information apart from stating the writer was aware of the examinership process and understood the timelines involved.
Due to the delay in finalising investment, the examinership was running behind schedule with creditors meetings intended to be held on December 16th yet to take place, the judge noted.
The judge told James Doherty, for the examiner, he was prepared to grant his application to extend the period of examinership to the maximum 100 days allowed.
That extension would allow for creditors’ meetings to be held on February 3rd, when a survival scheme may be presented for approval, with the matter back in court on February 8th. If the investment is not forthcoming, the judge asked the examiner to mention the matter to the court.
Fastnet Line Ship Holdings Ltd (owned by the West Cork Tourism Co-operative Society Ltd) and related companies operating the ferry service based at Ferry Terminal, Ringaskiddy, Co Cork, secured court protection in November. A new business model is expected to achieve profitability from next year onwards, the companies said.
