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Irish vinyl record producer making Taylor Swift albums has provisional liquidators appointed

Judge said he was satisfied to appoint joint provisional liquidators to company trading as Dublin Vinyl, as it was clearly insolvent

Pressing Matters Ltd, which was founded in 2016, has contracts for major record companies, but sustained significant losses in 2022 and 2023. Photograph: iStock

Aodhan O'Faolain
Mon Mar 4 2024 - 17:50

The High Court has appointed joint provisional liquidators to Ireland’s only manufacturer of vinyl records.

The appointments were made in relation to Pressing Matters Ltd, trading as Dublin Vinyl, which the court heard has 22 full-time employees and four full-time contractor workers.

The company, which was founded in 2016, has contracts for major record companies. However, it sustained significant losses in 2022 and 2023 due to factors including the Covid-19 pandemic, Brexit, the war in Ukraine, the loss of a major contract and the failure of record-pressing machines it had ordered to arrive on time.

As a result, the company decided to petition the court for the appointment of Ken Fennell and Eamonn Richardson of Interpath Advisory as joint provisional liquidators.

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The Dublin 4-registered company believed an orderly winding up was in the best interests of all parties, including the employees and the company’s creditors.

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At the High Court on Monday, Mr Justice Oisin Quinn said he was satisfied to appoint the joint provisional liquidators, as the company was clearly insolvent.

The judge made the appointments after Peter Shanley BL, for the company, said it was in the process of completing contracts worth €500,000.

The appointment of the liquidators would allow them to take control of the company and allow it to retain staff to finish that work.

Counsel said the company was currently making records for several labels for artists including “Taylor Swift, whose fans we would not want to disappoint”.

Counsel said that arising out of its difficulties, the company had looked at other options, including examinership, but believed the best option was to liquidate the company.

Pressing Matters Ltd, which has rented units in Dublin, had of late come under pressure from its creditors including its energy supplier, which had threatened to cut off its electricity over unpaid bills, the court was told.

It was hoped that the liquidators could seek to sell the business as a going concern. Counsel said the company currently has liabilities over assets of €1.9 million.

The judge adjourned the matter to a date in April.

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