Court protection for First Equity extended

THE HIGH Court has extended court protection for asset management firm First Equity after being told its examiner needs more time to formulate survival proposals.

Mr Justice Peter Kelly was told yesterday by Alison Keirse, for examiner Kieran Wallace, that her client is in continuing discussions with potential investors and had also made good progress with bank creditors on refinancing existing loans.

The judge said he was satisfied on the evidence to grant more time to Mr Wallace to finalise his report.

He noted considerable progress had been made and, if the situation changed, the examiner would have to notify the court in that regard. He extended time for presentation of the report, and court protection, to April 1st next.

The Supreme Court had last month agreed to grant court protection for the firm which is insolvent but has development projects said to be worth €1 billion.

First Equity is the business name of Gallium Ltd. Its main activity is introducing property and other investment opportunities to high net worth individuals and institutions. It has 400 such clients, most of whom are based here with others in Britain and the US.

First Equity was established in 1995 as a corporate finance and investment vehicle by Tom Dowling, who retains 65 per cent of the firm. It is managed by businessman Alan Barry who has a 35 per cent stake.

In a separate case, Mr Justice Kelly warned he would end court protection on Monday next for a company operating a Londis supermarket and Blackwater Lodge hotel in Blackwater, Co Wexford, on which 55 jobs depend, unless promised investment monies are speedily lodged with the examiner’s solicitor.

The judge said he was granting the final extension of protection to Corrigan Entertainments Ltd only because the Revenue and ADM Londis plc, the company’s principal creditor, were consenting and because he did not want to add to the “ever lengthening queues of the unemployed”.

The judge noted the level of promised investment had reduced a number of times from some €700,000 to the present sum of €540,000.

While cheques for that sum were to have been lodged by yesterday, that had not occurred and he was now being told they were to be lodged imminently.