High Court appoints interim examiner to Sasha

An interim examiner has been appointed by the High Court to the Sasha chain of ladies clothing stores, which has 42 outlets nationwide on which more than 500 jobs depend.

The court was told the company is believed to have a reasonable prospect of survival provided certain conditions are met.

On the petition of the company directors William Wallace and Angela Cahill, Mr Justice Brian McGovern today appointed David Carson of Deloitte as interim examiner to Denholme, an unlimited company trading as Sasha, namely William Walsh and Angela Cahill.

The judge heard the company is currently unable or likely to be unable to pay its debts, totalling some €10 million. It employs 380 people directly while 120 additional jobs are indirectly dependent on it.

The company's creditors include Bank of Ireland, which is owed more than €2.4 million and the Revenue Commissioners, who are owed €2.18 million.

The directors met on Thursday last and decided to apply for the appointment of an examiner to finalise a scheme of arrangement for the survival of the company. The company began trading in 1982 but has experienced trading difficulties as a result of
increased competion, industry wide deflation and unseasonal weather patterns, the court heard.

The company also suffered as a result of a long lead time involved in design and manufacture of garments sold to outlets which meant it did not have the flexibility of its international competitors in relation to changing market demands.

The judge heard an independent accountant believed the company had a reasonable prospect of survival, provided certain conditions are met, including the finalising of a scheme of arrangement, and the securing of additional investment.

There had been an expression of interest from a potential investort and the company had also in the past two years negotiated a deal involving the international retailer Quiz trading on a concession basis in Sasha outlets which deal was proving successful, the court was told.

The company had also laid off some persons involved in buying and warehousing stock and the directors believed a new business model will ensure a viable business.