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The Supreme Court has granted court protection to several companies in developer Liam Carroll’s troubled Zoe building group pending the outcome of their appeal next week against the High Court’s refusal to appoint an examiner to them.

Michael Cush SC, for the companies, argued Mr Justice Peter Kelly made a number of errors when refusing examinership, including setting out his own views on the state of the property market and rejecting as “fanciful” claims the companies, who have bank borrowings of some €1.1 billion, could achieve a surplus of some €300 million in three years.