O'Regan firms to be wound up

The High Court has made an order winding up three companies controlled by hotelier Hugh O’Regan.

Today at the High Court Mr Justice Garrett Sheehan appointed Mr Kieran Wallace of KPMG as liquidator following an application from the companies directors to have the firms, Thomas Read Holdings, Dashaven and Clubko who wound up.

The court heard that between them the three companies owe Irish Nationwide Building Society and Anglo Irish Bank more than €190m.

The firms total liability over assets is estimated at €122m.

Less than two weeks ago Mr Wallace was appointed as interim examiner of the firms which sought the protection of the court in a bid to trade out of their financial difficulties.

Thomas Read Holdings is a holding company for a number of Mr O’Regan’s property companies and owns a property at No 4 Parliament Street in Dublin city centre, which housed Thomas Read Cutlers, at one time the city’s oldest continually run shop but is now vacant.

A subsidiary of TRH operates the Morrison Hotel, on Dublin's Ormond Quay which employ 120 people, under a hotel operating lease.

Clubko owns No 8 St Stephen’s Green in Dublin city centre, which previously housed the Hibernian United Services Club, and Mr O'Regan hopes to redevelop it as a new private member's club.

Dashaven is the company behind the Kilternan hotel redevelopment which is almost complete.

Today Bernard Dunleavy Bl for the companies informed Mr Justice Sheehan that there was now a realisation that the companies could not be saved and the directors were seeking an order to have the firms wound up.