THE HIGH Court has appointed a provisional liquidator to two related property development companies in the Dublin area which have fallen victim to the economic downturn and declining property prices.

Mr Justice Peter Charleton yesterday appointed David Hughes of Ernst Young as provisional liquidator to Denis Finn Ltd (DFL), which employs 23 people and has been operating since 1983, and a related company, Keverville Ltd, after being told by John Breslin, for the companies, that they were insolvent and unable to pay their debts.

Houses built by DFL were “simply not selling” in very adverse trading conditions and the company was experiencing serious cash flow problems and had been unable to raise further financing from various banks, counsel said.

Counsel said the companies were anxious that a liquidator be appointed to oversee the completion of existing contracts and to collect and protect their assets, which include machinery on sites worth some €1 million.

Given his clients’ experience of the building industry, they were concerned creditors might engage in a form of “self help” and move to seize such machinery, Mr Breslin added.

The court heard DFL is the holding company for five companies, including Keverville, which acquires sites for development.

The company has a number of sites in the Howth and Sutton areas which essentially are unfinished construction sites, the judge was told. ACC Bank had previously appointed a receiver to Keverville.

Mr Breslin also told the court yesterday that PBS, a subsidiary company of DFL, had sold the Findlater Bar and Restaurant in Howth and is involved in ongoing court proceedings, claiming it is owed €850,000 for the rebuilding of that premises.