Bang cafe owners face proceedings of disqualification

RESTAURATEURS SIMON and Christian Stokes face proceedings to disqualify them from involvement in the management of any company on the grounds of unfitness.

The liquidator of the company which operated the Bang Cafe in Dublin – wound up with debts of €2.4 million – is proceeding with his bid for orders under Section 160 of the Companies Act against the two men.

Both brothers consented last March to less onerous orders under Section 150 of the Companies Act restricting them from acting as company directors for five years unless the companies met minimal capital requirements.

Yesterday, Bernard Dunleavy, for liquidator Tom Murray, said his client intended to proceed with the Section 160 application.

Counsel said he was concerned that while the court had been told the brothers wanted discovery of certain documents for any Section 160 hearing, no reply to the liquidator’s affidavit of last December had been received to identify the issues in dispute and no motion for discovery had been brought.

Mr Murray believed the documents referred to in letters to him were neither relevant nor necessary for the purpose of deciding the Section 160 matter, counsel said.

Mr Murray was also concerned the matter might not be dealt with before the end of the legal year on July 31st.

Counsel for the brothers said they intended to proceed with a motion for discovery and were informed only on April 11th last that the Section 160 matter was proceeding.

Ms Justice Mary Finlay Geoghegan said April 11th was some time ago.

While the brothers should not be shut out from being allowed inspect documents in circumstances where there was a challenge to what they did, a reply to the liquidator’s affidavit must be provided by June 11th and any motion for discovery must be issued and made returnable to June 27th next, she said.

Mayfair Properties Ltd, which operated Bang Cafe in Dublin’s Merrion Row until it was wound up last year, was incorporated in 1997 and began trading in 1999.

In an affidavit, Mr Murray previously outlined concerns about the operation of Mayfair, including outstanding payments of €477,996 to the Revenue; a history of underdeclaring Revenue returns and personal use of company credit cards.

Mr Murray said he believed the directors improperly used monies owing to the Revenue as a means of financing the business.

He believed the company from January 2007 to June 2009 paid €127,275 for Ulster Bank business credit cards, and from June 2008 to June 2009, paid €19,851 in Bank of Ireland business credit cards.

Significant personal use of the cards by the directors accounted for the vast majority of the monies spent, he said.

Mr Murray also said the company should have been liquidated earlier as, from 2005, the shareholders (directors) did not financially support the company and in fact drew directors’ loans from it.