Electrical firm wants €41k payment dealt with outside Supple rescue plan

AN electrical firm sought to have a sum of €41,000 dealt with separately in the High Court in a case where a construction firm is offering some of its creditors 75 cents in the €1.

Creditors to whom the scheme is proposed to apply are owed €14.4 million.

Gary McCarthy counsel for MJ McGrath Electrical of Dublin Hill, Cork, told the High Court yesterday that they were owed more than €200,000 from John F Supple Ltd, but wanted €41,000 which had been paid to Supple by Irish Rail “ringfenced” in favour of his client. Mr McCarthy said his client maintains the money is held in trust for them and should be dealt with outside the proposed scheme.

Mr Justice Roderick Murphy gave counsel permission to raise the issue at a full hearing of the High Court on November 3 next.

Last month, Mr Justice Peter Charleton approved an application by John F Supple to have a meeting of more than 260 of its creditors called so they can consider a compromise where they will be offered up to 75 cents in the €1.

John F Supple was established by Barry Supple in 1987 and is one of Munster’s largest construction firms. However, the company say it got into difficulties due to the current economic downturn that has hit the construction industry particularly hard.

The judge said he was satisfied to make the order approving the holding of the meeting as he believed it was “good and appropriate” in this case.

The court was told there were 263 creditors to whom the scheme applied and they were owed €14.4m.

It is proposed to offer unsecured creditors who are owed more than €10,000 up to 75 cents in the €1.

The court heard that the proposed scheme will allow the company continue to trade and to complete a number of projects it is involved in.

In the future it is hoped that the company will return to profitability.

The company has been involved in a number of large projects and has a €16m contract to refurbish the Great Southern Hotel in Killarney.

According to accounts for the year to end of December 2006, the company increased its turnover to about €100m from €67m the previous year.