6 days ago
- Business
- Irish Independent
Revenue seeks to wind up Dublin Beer Factory
A petition has been filed in the High Court by the Revenue's collector general, Joseph Howley, to have Dublin Beer Factory Holdings wound up.
The firm has invested millions to build a microbrewery and visitor centre on Dublin's Parnell Street, which as of last year was still under construction.
Efforts to contact the firm were unsuccessful. It is controlled by Dutch nationals Erald Holtrust and Willem David Theodorus Rietbergen. Mr Holtrust is the chief executive of Utrecht-based United Soft Drinks, which bills itself as the biggest privately-owned soft drinks company in Benelux.
Other backers include Geoff Waddell.
United Soft Drinks holds security over the property on Parnell Street and over other tangible fixed assets.
Dublin Beer Factory Holdings had pledged last year that the visitor centre would be opening shortly and that it was near completion. Brands it intended to brew at the site included Dublin Blue lager.
The latest set of publicly available accounts for Dublin Beer Factory Holdings show that as of the end of 2021, its assets under construction amounted to just under €9m.
Its creditors at that time amounted to €13.1m. That included €10.2m owed to related parties and €1.7m in other investor loans.
'It is anticipated that funding of €1.4m will be required to bring the micro-brewery to a commission phase,' noted the accounts. 'An additional €2.2m will be required to complete the fit out of the visitor centre.
'Following delays caused by the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021, construction work on the brewery restarted in 2022 and it is now substantially complete and on track for commissioning before the end of 2022, with full commercial production expected to commence in early 2023,' the accounts added. 'The director also expects the visitor centre to open in 2023.'
The winding-up petition against Dublin Beer Factory Holdings is due to be held on July 28.
A number of firms have encountered difficulties in Ireland's crowded craft beer market. In April, an examiner was appointed to the company behind Killarney Brewing & Distilling Company, one of the country's largest independent breweries, just months after it successfully raised €3.5m from dozens of mostly Irish-American investors.
