Killarney Brewing company and Revenue in dispute over appointment of liquidator
A decision on the case has been postponed until Monday by Justice Michael Quinn amid a dispute between the company and the
Revenue Commissioners
around who should be appointed as the liquidator.
The distillery's staff were told that operations would cease on Thursday ahead of the hearing. The business was has been under examinership since mid-April but did not secure the investment necessary to keep the business afloat in time.
Representing the company, Barrister Declan Murphy petitioned the court to appoint the existing examiner, Deloitte's James Anderson, as the liquidator over the company.
READ MORE
He told the court that Killarney Brewing and Distilling and its seven constituent entities had 'no alternative' other than liquidation and that the directors believed the time had come to bring the life of the business 'to an end'.
Mr Murphy said it was a 'sad day' for the investors, directors, workers and the broader community in Killarney, Coounty Kerry, and that the company was 'very grateful' to the examiner for the services thus far.
The court heard that the examiner, Mr Anderson was willing to be appointed as liquidator over the company.
[
Killarney Brewing and Distilling staff told operations to cease
Opens in new window
]
Barrister Sally O'Neill, for the Revenue Commissioners, said she represented the largest unsecured creditor once discounting inter-party debts. She said Revenue was owed, across the seven petitioning companies, 'more than €1 million".
She disputed the appointment of the existing examiner, petitioning the court to appoint Myles Kirby of Kirby Healy Chartered Accountants as the examiner instead.
Ms O'Neill argued that Revenue should be heard in the decision as to who would be appointed as the liquidator, pointing to precedent set during the liquidation of Star Elm Frames Ltd.
David McWilliams on how 'big incentives' to build could save Dublin city
Listen |
36:51
Mr Murphy said he was 'taken by surprise' by the stance of the Revenue Commissioners over the appointment. The court heard that Revenue only held a small part of the overall debts in the group of companies. .
Mr Murphy said he did not believe 'this particular tail should wag the dog' and said Revenue's interpretation of the Star Elm case was a 'misconception' of the case and was 'wrongfully applied'.
Ms O'Neill argued that once accounting for inter-party loans and the secured debtors, Revenue accounted for a significant portion of the companies' debts. She said the petitioners were putting the views of the creditors secondary to the views of the company.
[
'Asset rich' Killarney Brewing seeks court protection from creditors
Opens in new window
]
Justice Quinn said that Revenue held a large portion of the debts in two of the companies - which were involved in construction. He said he had anticipated making a decision on the matter during the hearing but, after hearing the arguments would delay a decision to Monday,
The court protection over the company has been extended until Monday when Justice Quinn is expected to rule on the case.
Should the examinership be unsuccessful, it is understood that Bailmo Limited, the sole secured lender which holds debts in excess of €3 million, will place a receiver over its security, the Killarney Brewing and Distilling property in Fossa. Bailmo was neutral on who would be appointed as liquidator.
Founded by local businessmen Tim O'Donoghue and Paul Sheahan in 2013, the parent company of the group has not filed accounts since 2023.
In its more recent filings with the Companies Registration Office, the company reported a turnover of more than €2 million for 2022. The business lost €1.61 million in 2022 and had accumulated losses of €4.15 million.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
15 minutes ago
- Irish Times
William Fry hires partners from rival law firm
Leading Irish law firm William Fry has hired four senior partners from rival Eversheds Sutherland as the fallout from a failed merger of the two firms continues. Merger talks between the two firms collapsed in May, but it subsequently emerged that William Fry was bidding to recruit several senior partners from Eversheds. Sources confirmed over the bank holiday weekend that William Fry has succeeded in hiring Gerard Ryan (the head of corporate mergers and acquisitions in Eversheds Sutherland), together with Gavin O'Flaherty, Enda Newton, and Maria O'Brien. All four are senior partners in Eversheds' corporate unit and are likely to bring members of their departments with them. READ MORE In all, 10 to 15 lawyers could move to William Fry as a result, it is understood. Eversheds did not comment when contacted by The Irish Times. Sources say its corporate lawyers had strongly supported the proposed merger with William Fry. The weekend's move means that the firm has gained many of the likely benefits of the merger, but at a fraction of the cost and risk normally associated with such deals. It leaves William Fry with one of the country's biggest corporate and mergers and acquisitions practices. It also means that five of the firm's senior partners are ranked 'leading partners' by Legal 500 EMEA 2025, an international directory that grades lawyers according to jurisdiction and specialisation. So far this year, William Fry's corporate team has advised on two of the three biggest deals in the Republic in the six months to the end of June. The firm advised Irish-listed company DCC on the €1.22 billion sale of its healthcare division to HealthCo Investment Limited, a subsidiary of funds managed by Investindustrial Advisors Limited. It also worked for the Department of Finance on the completion of a €1.2 billion share buyback with AIB, which was bailed out by the State post the 2008 financial crash. Did the EU have its hands tied before striking a trade deal with the US? Listen | 23:32 William Fry is one of the State's biggest law firms and employs 500 people, including 350 legal and tax professionals. The firm was founded in 1847 and is led by managing partner Stephen Keogh. According to recent reports, nine Eversheds Sutherland partners are likely to join a new practice that Eversheds Sutherland will establish in the Republic, while about 150 of the firm's existing 290 staff were destined to do the same. London-based Eversheds Sutherland (International) put the existing Irish practice on notice that it was taking back the Eversheds name after news of the merger talks broke late last year.
Irish Times
15 minutes ago
- Irish Times
Has Ireland become too pricey for tourists? An economist and a tourism industry representative debate
David W Higgins: Ireland's hotel and restaurants prices are almost 30% higher than EU average When tourists travel there are a mix of costs. This can include flights, car rental, souvenirs and guided tours. High on the list is the cost of restaurants and hotels . It's basic. Tourists need somewhere to stay at night and eat throughout the day. The prices set for these items can decide if their trip happens or not. It's therefore disappointing to continually find that Ireland compares poorly across Europe when measuring these costs. Eurostat recently compared countries for the mix of prices on hotels and restaurants in 2024. It found that Ireland was 29.3 per cent higher than the EU average. The only country higher than us was Denmark on 47.6 per cent. There's a silver lining in being second because it means the Danes can feel rich travelling here. I once met a Dane who said coffee in Dublin was really affordable. You can imagine the raised eyebrows and blank stares from anyone who heard this. With a population of just six million, Denmark won't be enough to keep Ireland a vibrant tourist destination going forward. The years emerging from the Covid pandemic saw countries around the world rattled by supply chain disruption and an emergence of meaningful price jumps for the first time in decades. Consumer prices in Ireland are up 25 per cent across the board since 2016. READ MORE As wages have also risen here and elsewhere, we can assume this first 25 per cent move isn't an issue. It's price growth above these levels that should worry us. That's where restaurants and hotels continue to sound alarm. Prices linked to restaurants and hotels are up 39 per cent on 2016, according to Eurostat. What's worse is that this masks the underlying mix of the two parts. Inflation data is compiled with the Irish consumer in mind. In a given year, many of us spend sizeable amounts with local cafes, pubs and restaurants. Our spend on hotels is a much smaller fraction. Inflation among accommodation providers is up a seismic 77 per cent. It's manageable for locals and sometimes unnoticed because domestic travel is less frequent than our visits to restaurants. Now put yourself into the shoes of international travellers. Their mix of spending is heaviest on accommodation. It's the main plank of their trip. [ Alarm bells are sounding over falling visitor numbers. But is tourism really in crisis? Opens in new window ] The hospitality sector has admittedly faced rising input costs. All sectors have. We can give further allowance to policy changes such as higher minimum wage levels. This has notched up wages across hospitality at a pace higher than in other sectors. You can understand how restaurants, cafes and pubs have had to pass on higher costs. It's just hard to feel sympathy for hotels. But how is this possible? Surely a competitive market will attract new hotels, B&Bs and other sources of supply? The opposite has taken place. The surge in migration sent the Government scrambling for beds. Hotels were offered safe contracts which guaranteed income, instead of the precarious fluctuations they normally face from tourism. Even with International Protection Accommodation Services numbers falling, the latest data shows 7 per cent of hotel rooms are still used for this purpose. Releasing these rooms would mean a welcome easing to price pressures. It's all the more essential given the clouds that now hang over the tourism sector. The latest CSO data on international arrivals showed a 10 per cent decline in May, compared with the same month last year. Travellers from continental Europe are down 21 per cent. You might have expected travellers from America to be down, given the moves in the dollar this year. Numbers are actually up 11 per cent. But this is only cause for more alarm. As the tariff story unfolds, we may also see a turn. Americans are on course for a big inflation development of their own. Something's gotta give somewhere, because international tourists will only keep giving so much. David W Higgins is an economist Eoghan O'Mara Walsh: Nearly two-thirds of all holidaymakers rate us as 'very good' or 'good' value Now that we are in the peak summer tourism season, a question often asked is if Ireland is still a value-for-money destination? In my opinion, the answer is yes – and crucially it is not my opinion that counts. Fáilte Ireland, the State agency for tourism, carries out annual surveys with tourists as they are holidaying here. One of the key responses that is closely monitored by industry leaders is the value-for-money question. The latest available research shows Irish tourism is doing pretty well: 63 per cent of all holidaymakers report Ireland as being 'very good' or 'good' value, with a further 32 per cent rating us as 'fair' value and only 5 per cent rating us as 'poor' value. US visitors, buoyed by a relatively strong dollar were most positive; cash-strapped British and price-conscious Europeans a little less enthusiastic. The truth is that Liveline anecdotes about how expensive Ireland is as a holiday destination are often more of a domestic concern, whereas the international visitor tends to be a little more insouciant. The three primary reasons visitors come to Ireland after all are low-cost to no-cost: the friendliness of the people, the stunning scenery, and our culture and heritage. That's not to say Ireland isn't a northern European destination in terms of costs and prices. Last month, as noted above, Eurostat ranked Ireland as the second most expensive country in the EU, with prices 38 per cent higher than the average. That is bound to find its way into the pub, restaurant and hotel bills that consumers pay. There is a huge onus on tourism and hospitality businesses to continue delivering a compelling experience for visitors. If the quality of the Irish tourism product drops then we certainly will have a problem. [ Is Ireland really suffering a tourism collapse? Opens in new window ] How Irish tourism is faring this summer depends on who you talk to. National Central Statistics Office numbers indicate a double-digit tourism decline for the first half of the year, whereas industry data is less alarmist, pointing to a flat year. Consistent feedback, though, from all quarters is that escalating costs of business continue to squeeze already tight profit margins. Many of these business costs are of course State-induced and tourism chiefs are rightly pressuring Government to row back on some of these impositions. That is why industry leaders are pushing for Government to deliver on its commitment to restore the 9 per cent VAT rate for hospitality on budget day. My economics lectures may have been some time ago but even I remember that adding supply to meet demand helps moderate prices. So as well as curbing costs of business, the Government should be working to attract additional capacity into the market. Instead it seems to be doing the opposite. Tourism chiefs are mystified with the proposed draconian clampdown on short-term rental tourism properties. There is widespread agreement urban centres need more long-term rentals but the blunt way the legislation is currently designed means there is a real risk that rural and coastal Ireland will be denuded of holiday homes and self-catering properties, a staple of Irish tourism for decades. Taking so much stock out of the market is going to do nothing to support our value proposition. And why hasn't the passenger cap at Dublin Airport been lifted by this stage? It has been debated ad nauseam. More air access into the island's main gateway would lead to greater competition and better value for visitors coming to our shores. [ The Irish Times view on the Dublin airport cap: will politicians or the courts finally decide? Opens in new window ] Tourism and hospitality is the country's largest indigenous industry and biggest regional employer. There are more than a quarter of a million people employed in the sector across 20,000 businesses. Put simply, tourism matters. Minister for Tourism Peter Burke is set to unveil a new national tourism policy this autumn. Hopefully it will match the ambitions of the industry. But sustainable growth can only be enabled by pro-tourism and pro-enterprise policies. Competitiveness is all-important. Let's curb additional business costs and facilitate extra supply into the market. That will be a win for the visitor, for industry, for the exchequer and for the communities across swathes of regional Ireland where tourism is the only show in town. Eoghan O'Mara Walsh is chief executive of the Irish Tourism Industry Confederation
Irish Times
41 minutes ago
- Irish Times
Dublin's planned MetroLink will be obsolete because of artificial intelligence, says Dermot Desmond
Artificial intelligence (AI) will make Dublin's planned MetroLink obsolete and the Government should abandon the €10 billion project, according to businessman Dermot Desmond . Instead, Mr Desmond has urged the Government to concentrate on the coming advantages of AI , where autonomously-driven vehicles (AVs) will cut car ownership dramatically in the decades ahead. If approved, construction of the 18.8 km mostly-underground MetroLink should begin between 2028 and 2031, with services between Swords, Dublin Airport, Dublin city centre, and on to Charlemont in south Dublin city opening in early 2035. Equipped with driverless trains running every 3 minutes during peak hours, the MetroLink is proposed to carry 20,000 passengers each hour, each way when it opens. READ MORE Dermot Desmond has said he believes MetroLink will be out of date in 10 or 15 years' time. Photograph: Cyril Byrne However, Mr Desmond is scathing of the plan, believing that public and private transportation is on the cusp globally of the biggest changes for a century or more on the back of the growth of AI. The billionaire said he had believed that the Department of Finance should veto the MetroLink. 'I think it will be useless, out of date in 10 or 15 years' time. This is something that is not going to be required, it shouldn't be planned.' AI and autonomous vehicles will cut the numbers of vehicles on the roads dramatically, he predicted: 'I think you need to look at what's going to happen in the future and then plan backwards.' The billionaire investor has become increasingly interested in the subject of AI, sponsoring a conference in Belfast last month with Queen's University, which heard from major speakers from the United States and elsewhere. 'Where the change that's going to make a big difference to everybody in the world, not alone Ireland. I think that change is going to come out of transport,' Mr Desmond declared then. 'Within 15 to 25 years, I think it will be mandated that there will be autonomous vehicles. People will not be allowed to drive anything,' he said, adding that AI is already cutting travel times and saving energy. 'Public transport systems in the future will become much more efficient. Buses will know what and where the demand is and will organise themselves accordingly,' said Mr Desmond, who urged the Government to plan for wide-scale AV bus services. The changes to come will overturn every conception held today about transport in cities, with faster journeys, less pollution and far less demand for parking because there will be fewer private vehicles, replaced by robotaxis. Most cars today lie idle for 80 per cent of their lives. 'The most optimistic case for Dublin is a reduction of 98% in vehicle numbers,' he said, though he put most realistic reduction between 20% and 60%. 'AV cars will require less space on roads as they will be better able to travel efficiently if the margin for human error is removed,' he said, 'We already live in a world where our phones anticipate when we will leave for work and tell us how long it will take. '
