A RECEIVER has been appointed to one of Limerick’s largest property companies, the Fordmount Property Group Ltd, and two of its subsidiaries, which cumulatively have net liabilities in excess of €200 million.

Billy O’Riordan, a partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers in Dublin, was appointed receiver for the company by Anglo Irish Bank.

Dozens of creditors to the Fordmount Property Group and two of its subsidiaries – Fordmount Developments Ltd and Fordmount Developments (Savoy) Ltd – received letters this week informing them of the move.

It is understood Mr O’Riordan is examining the situation and consulting the companies’ stakeholders. The directors of each of the companies are due to present the statement of affairs for all companies in January, but an extension may be granted to allow them get their affairs in order.

Revelations that the companies were suffering severe financial difficulties emerged in June, when director Michael Daly stepped down from the companies he created five years ago.

He resigned from Fordmount Property Group and its four subsidiary companies, which have pioneered a number of developments in the city, including the 13-storey Riverpoint, the Savoy hotel on Henry Street and the redevelopment of Bedford Row.

The latest accounts filed to the Companies Office show that Anglo had been one of the main bankers to Fordmount Developments.

By the end of 2007, the company owed more than €91 million to creditors, €78.5 million of which arose from bank loans and overdrafts.

At that time, the company’s net debt, according to the accounts, which were signed off in May 2008, was €78.5 million.

The net liabilities of Fordmount Property Group also increased by almost €15 million in 2007.

The two other companies under the Fordmount Property Group are Fordmount Investments Ltd and Fordmount Retirement Villages Ltd.

The company once had a net worth in excess of €100 million, and has delivered at least €300 million worth of commercial developments in Limerick.

Adrian Frawley, a managing partner with Dermot G O’Donovan Partners solicitors, took up the position of director of the Fordmount Property Group this summer, according to documents lodged with the Companies Office.

The receiver will attempt to source tenants for some of Fordmount’s vacant premises to offset some of the companies’ liabilities.