THE difficulties of locating investment broker Mr Tony Taylor or his wife Ms Shirley Taylor were described in the High Court yesterday by lawyers acting for the liquidator of a Taylor company.
Mr John O'Donnell, counsel for Mr Patrick McSwiney, official liquidator toe Taylor and Associated Finance Services Ltd (TAFS) said that since August last year the whereabouts of Mr Taylor were unknown.
Mr O'Donnell was applying to the court for an order to notify Mr Taylor that TAFS has been wound up. He said Ms Taylor was represented by legal advisers.
Mr O'Donnell said the liquidator was also seeking the court's directions on how to inform Mr Taylor of court proceedings in relation to alleged breaches of the Companies Act (Section 204).
These proceedings concerned not only TAFS but a number of related Taylor companies - Taylor Assets Managers Ltd, Taylor Investment Group Ltd and Rolyat Ltd.
Mr Justice Shanley directed that service of the winding up order in relation to TAFS should be on Mr and Ms Taylor through her solicitor. He also directed that Ms Taylor's solicitors notify the couple of the other court proceedings.
Mr McSwiney in an affidavit said he believed Ms Taylor instructed lawyers in relation to an application concerning the family home. Such information as was available indicated the Taylors were likely to be either in the UK or the US.
In his report on TAFS, Mr McSwiney said the company had previously managed investments on behalf of 1,400 clients totalling about £30 million. TAFS ceased trading in December 1994 and transferred the management of investment portfolios to Taylor Asset Managers Ltd (TAM) also in liquidation.
To date a total of 16 claimants had arisen under various headings and the extent of their loss or the amount of missing funds had been clearly established in all but two cases. It appeared about £1.7 million was unaccounted for.
As a result of his investigations, Mr McSwiney said it became clearsome of the investors funds were misappropriated across a number of different Taylor companies. Misappropriation also took place during the time that TAFS acted as an investment intermediary. Mr McSwiney said he also understood the Garda Fraud Squad were actively pursuing several complaints against Mr Taylor.
Mr O'Donnell told Mr Justice Shanley that in relation to the Taylors, documents were served at the companies registered offices at Pembroke Road, Dublin, but were returned.
Ms Isolde McKenna, counsel for Ms Taylor, said her client made contact with her solicitor by telephone. The difficulty was that if service of an order was to be made on Mr Taylor through his wife's solicitor there was no way of knowing if it had been received by Mr Taylor.
Mr O'Donnell said the liquidator would also be making an application under Section 150 of the 1990 Companies Act that the Taylors should not for a period of five years be appointed or act in anyway as directors of any company.
He wanted the Section 204 and Section 150 proceedings brought before the court as soon as possible. He adjourned the matter for four weeks.
Other companies in the Taylor group which have already been liquidated include Taylor Asset Managers, Taylor Integrated Planning Services Ltd, Taylor Investment Group Ltd and Rolyat Ltd.
