Court puts building firm in liquidation

A provisional liquidator was appointed by the High Court yesterday to building contractors Terence Harvey Contracts Services which employs more than 200 people and has up to 1,000 sub-contractors.

The company is engaged as a building contractor on seven sites in the greater Dublin area on the construction or refurbishment of local authority buildings and sites.

Mr Terence Harvey, the company's managing director, of Gainstown, Navan, Co Meath, said in an affidavit that the firm's application to be wound up was because of its inability to pay debts as they fell due. On Thursday, the company passed a resolution directing a winding-up petition be presented to the court.

Although the firm had been very busy in the recent building boom, it was currently experiencing a crippling cash flow crisis because of non-payment by debtors, and more particularly because debts due to it had been "attached" by the Revenue Commissioners.

The company's liabilities were around £7.6 million (€9.65 million), whereas the realisable value of its assets, if broken up, was approximately £1.82 million.

The financial crisis had now reached a critical stage, with the firm having no funds left to pay wages, due for payment on Thursday last - nor to pay for its insurances or in any other way continue its business.

Over recent weeks, the company had come under increasing pressure from particular creditors. In particular, the Revenue had recently served attachment notices on the company's customers, effectively ensuring that monies due to the company from customs were now payable to the Revenue.

Mr Harvey said that in the summer, the Independent Insurance Co was placed in provisional liquidation and it was necessary for the company to source alternative insurance cover. The company entered an agreement with brokers that the alternative insurance cover found would be paid in three instalment payments.

The first was due on Wednesday last and the company had not made the payment.

Accordingly, there was a significant possibility that the company, its assets, employees and third parties were not insured at present.

Mr Justice McCracken appointed accountant William O'Riordan of PricewaterhouseCoopers as provisional liquidator.