An interim examiner has been appointed by the High Court to a Dublin company which is involved in manufacturing and installing architectural cladding and structural glass walling for the construction industry in Britain.
On the application of Mr Bill Shipsey SC, for the directors of the company, Mr Justice McCracken yesterday appointed chartered accountant Mr Jason Sheehy as interim examiner to Harty Holdings Ltd, with a registered office at Crossbeg Industrial Estate, Ballymount Road Upper, Dublin 24.
The judge was told the company directly employed 75 people, while 55 people were employed through sub-contractors. It had a turnover of £10.4 million (€13.2 million) in the year to December 1998 and projected turnover for the year to the end of December last is £13 million. The petition seeking the interim examinership was in the names of its directors - Mr James R Hurley, Bray Road, Shankill, Co Wicklow; Mr John P Meaney, Seafield Road, Clontarf, Dublin; Mr Richard O'Toole, Colbinstown, Co Kildare; and Mr Gerard C. McKeown, Letchworth, Hertfordshire, England.
While the company had existing cash flow difficulties, the directors said it was their belief that, with the benefit of the protection period afforded by the court, a whole or substantial part of its undertaking could be saved as a going concern.
They believed the company would be in a position to pay its ongoing trading liabilities throughout the period of the examination and did not envisage having to borrow further funds.
It was also intended to redefine the company's core business. An offer from an investor group within the company had been received and the directors believed the future prospects were very positive. The company was currently working on projects with a value to the company of £6 million.
The group's difficulties were blamed on trouble securing full payment on two British contracts. A short-term resolution was unlikely.
