A HIGH COURT judge has appointed a liquidator to the holding company in the Tuskar property group, which has liabilities of some €50 million, but will next week hear proposals aimed at securing the survival of the only group company which remains under court protection.
Mr Justice Peter Kelly also noted Kevin Hughes, who is now liquidator of five of the six companies in the group, has said he would continue his investigation into serious allegations made about the conduct of some of the group’s directors.
Mr Hughes had said his investigations to date indicated there may be substance in the allegations but he had not yet concluded that investigation, the judge observed.
He was dealing with various applications by Gary McCarthy, for Mr Hughes, in his capacity of examiner to another group company, Tuskar Commercial Investment Property Services Ltd, to fix a date for a hearing to consider proposals for the survival of that company and to extend court protection for TCIPS pending the outcome of that hearing.
Mr McCarthy said a number of existing shareholders and a new shareholder were prepared to make additional investment in TCIPS and the proposed scheme also involved a new class of shareholder and new board of directors for TCIPS.
The court heard a substantial construction company creditor of TCIPS was opposed to the proposed scheme but the Revenue supported it.
The judge said he would deal next Thursday with the proposed scheme and would extend court protection for TCIPS to that date. He ordered the directors of TCIPS – Alan Hynes, John Power, Scott Wallace and Mary Rowney – to draw up a statement of the company’s affairs.
He also appointed Mr Hughes as official liquidator to Tuskar Asset Management plc, the group holding company, with offices at John’s Gate, Wexford, after being told it is insolvent with no prosect of survival and had been in examinership for the purpose of facilitating preparation of the scheme of arrangement for TCIPS.
The other companies in the group that were earlier put into liquidation are East Quay Hotel and Leisure Ltd, which was to buy the Riverbank House Hotel in Wexford; Bodjaca 8135 Ltd, which owns a site in Bulgaria; Tuskar Development Co Ltd, which owns a minority shareholding in a development in Dalkey in which it invested some €6.7 million; and Tuskar Residential Investment Properties Ltd (Trips), which owns the site of the former Iceland store in Dún Laoghaire.
Bank of Scotland Ireland, which is owed some €24.8 million by Trips for loans related to the Iceland site, now valued at some €8 million, has also had a receiver appointed to that company.
The bank holds personal guarantees for several million from 56 Tuskar shareholders who could be called upon to honour those guarantees.
Mr Hughes, of Hughes Blake Chartered Accountants, was appointed interim examiner to the companies last November on the application of one director and two members of the companies, who between them have invested €1.4 million in them.
That application was opposed by a majority of directors. Director Alan Hynes, in an affidavit for a majority of the board, denied claims that the group’s difficulties were primarily due to how it has been managed.
