Hotel gets court protection as investor promises €4m

The five-star Muckross Park Hotel in Killarney, owned by businessman Bill Cullen and his partner Jackie Lavin, was yesterday granted protection by the High Court.

The High Court move comes as an investor has indicated to Mr Cullen and Ms Lavin — who previously presented The Apprentice on TV — he is prepared to plough €4m into the luxury hotel and spa in Killarney National Park.

Ms Lavin told the court the hotel employs 105 people, plus another 50 during the summer months, and she was anxious to protect those jobs and to reassure the many couples who had booked weddings. She and Mr Cullen bought the hotel 20 years ago and extensively refurbished it in 2006.

Mr Justice Peter Charleton yesterday ordered that a receiver, appointed by ACC Bank to the hotel earlier this week, be replaced from 4.30pm yesterday by an interim examiner, Kieran McCarthy of Hughes Blake Chartered Accountants.

Declan Taite, of RSM Farrell Grant Sparks, was appointed receiver and manager to Muckross Park Hotel Ltd, Boisdale Holdings Ltd, Silvermire Properties Ltd and certain assets of Bill Cullen, on Wednesday.

Mr Justice Charleton said he was satisfied from evidence, including the report of an independent accountant, this “fine hotel” in which heavy investment was made in 2006, but which experienced problems after the Irish economy crashed in 2008, has a reasonable prospect of survival provided certain conditions are met.

Those conditions included securing investment and approval of a survival scheme from creditors and the court. Mr Cullen and Ms Lavin had been told by an investor he was prepared to put €4m into the hotel.

The hotel had hired an experienced new manager, implemented cost-saving measures and succeeded in diversifying into a number of areas, including weddings.

The judge’s decision to appoint an interim examiner was also motivated by the fact the hotel has many weddings booked this year and next, including two this weekend. It made €20,000 per wedding and had also reached an arrangement with tour operators related to meals for their clients.

The judge was also told the appointment of the interim examiner would lead to the hotel being able to resume taking credit card payments as the receiver’s appointment had prompted AIB to freeze its accounts and refuse credit card payments, causing difficulties in its daily operations.

The couple, represented by Ross Gorman, went to the court after ACC, owed €4.6m by companies running the hotel and another €4.6m by Mr Cullen, appointed Mr Taite as receiver. ACC’s debts are secured on the hotel companies’ assets, including the hotel and 24 apartments.

Mr Cullen is also owed €9.9m from the hotel but accepts that is “gone”, Ms Lavin said in an affidavit.