THE provisional liquidator appointed to the troubled Taylor group, Mr Patrick McSwiney of BDO Simpson Xavier, is a very experienced and highly respected in a solvency practitioner.
Mr McSwiney has worked on many high profile examinerships and liquidations including the examinership of Don Bluth Entertainment and the receivership of the 7-Eleven retail supermarket chain. He also worked on the Kentz examinership, where he advised the Clonmel engineering firm's shareholders.
In his mid-40s and married with a family, he has worked with BDO Simpson Xavier for about 10 years, where he is a partner.
BDO is the seventh largest accountancy firm in Ireland, employing 200 people in Dublin and Limerick, and is part of the international BDO Binder group, which is the world's seventh largest accountancy group.
He previously worked with Mr Laurence Crowley as a director of insolvency when he was at Stokes Kennedy Crowley, now KPMG.
More recently, Mr McSwiney was liquidator to the family hardware firm, Dodds of Mary Street.
He is described by colleagues as being very thorough and tenacious at his job, but not a man who seeks a profile in the accountancy world.
A formal hearing of the High Court is due to take place on August 28th. At this stage, Mr McSwiney will be presenting his outline of what he has found at Taylor Asset Managers.
Mr McSwiney now takes over from the Department of Enterprise and Employment team which has already prepared a report on what it has discovered.
Sources say the liquidation could be a very complex process and it may take years to complete. Various bank accounts, including some abroad, will have to be traced and examined.
For now, his first task will be to secure the assets of the company. "What is an asset is sometimes a moot point," remarked one accountant last night. "It may include Mr Taylor's house."
The house, in a fashionable suburb of Dublin 4, is said to have cost around £200,000, and colleagues say Mr Taylor spent a further £100,000 adding extensions to it. However, it is not clear if Mr Taylor actually owns it now.
