A HIGH Court judge will decide on Monday whether to extend court protection to the parent companies of a firm within the John J Fleming Construction group.

The examiner of Tivway, a subsidiary of the Cork-based Fleming group, has applied to the High Court to have both John J Fleming Construction and JJ Fleming Holdings included as part of the examinership process that would allow the companies to survive.

The group employs 650 people and has debts of some €1 billion. Its difficulties originate in its move from construction to development.

ACCBank, owed €21 million, has opposed the application to extend examinership on grounds that it is a “cram down” of the parent companies’ liabilities, rather than something that would facilitate their ongoing survival.

Last July, George Maloney of Baker Tilly Ryan Glennon was appointed examiner to the firm. Due to the relationship between the companies, the court heard the group’s prospects for survival were remote unless the scheme includes both parent companies. The company has attracted the interest of an investor and there is confidence it can be saved.

Yesterday, in submissions to court, Rossa Fanning for ACC said his clients would be prejudiced by inclusion of the firms in the scheme. For commercial reasons ACC would prefer to take its chances in a liquidation scenario.

The application is being supported by the companies, their employees and some 111 unsecured creditors of the group.

Counsel for Tivway Declan Murphy said ACC could not be prejudiced by the inclusion of the two companies. He said that, after failing to have a receiver appointed to Tivway in July, ACC, by opposing this application, were in their own words “seeking another bite of the cherry”.