High Court appoints examiner to Tweedy pub and nightclub business

A PUB and nightclub business which employs more than 160 people has gone into examinership.

The Tweedy Group, which has its offices in Waterford city, is one of the largest pub and nightclub businesses in the country outside Dublin.

An application for examinership has been granted by the High Court and the company has 100 days of court protection, during which time the examiner will try to restructure its finances.

It is believed the company has debts totalling more than €10 million. Owner Bob Tweedy said the economic downturn and the lack of credit from banks to finance projects were major factors leading to the examinership.

The company’s portfolio includes Muldoons, Rubys Oxygen nightclubs, the Woodman bar, Masons and Oscars in Waterford. All of the group’s bars and nightclubs are to remain open during the examinership process.

The most recent set of accounts for the company filed in the Companies Office are for the year to December 2007. The accounts were only approved in March 2009.

They show that while the group valued its investments at €5.6 million, the net assets of the group were only €15,804.

Two of the group’s subsidiaries, Woodman Inns and Eylewood Ltd were trading profitably at that stage, making €402,682 and €351,350 respectively.

Woodman operates The Woodman and Ruby’s Bar and nightclub, while Eylewood operates Muldoons, Oxygen and Peigs bar in Waterford.

Two other subsidiaries, Ulysses Taverns, which operates Ten nightclub, and Cherryfox Taverns, which operates Masons in Waterford, made losses of €256,402 and €9,876 respectively.

The 2007 accounts are abridged and do not disclose a profit or loss figure for the overall group for the year. The accumulated loss figure on the group balance sheet was unchanged at €9,794, indicating that the group simply broke even that year.

The group’s debts stood at €7.49 million at the end of 2007. The owners of the group are Bob Tweedy and Anne Tweedy, who both own 100 of the 200 shares in issue.

The matter is due back in the High Court next Thursday.