High Court dismisses director's examinership application for chocolate snack firm

The court heard Ina’s Kitchen Desserts owes €2.6m to Ulster Bank and some €407,000 to Revenue.

Mr Justice Michael Quinn said he would give his reasons for dismissing the application in a reserved judgment next week.

An application to appoint an examiner to the Ina's Kitchen Desserts business has been dismissed by the High Court.

The application was made by Barry Broderick, a director and shareholder in the Whitestown, Tallaght, Dublin-based producer of mainly chocolate food products.

It employs 107 and operates under the registered business names of Ina’s Kitchen Desserts, Broderick’s, Ina’s Handmade Foods and Broderick’s Handmade.

Mr Broderick was supported in his application by other family shareholders, his brother Bernard and parents Michael Bernard and Ina in whose kitchen the business was started 26 years ago.

The Broderick family between them owns 25% of the shareholding while a special purpose vehicle company called Starkane Ltd, funded by the BDO Development Capital Fund, owns 75%.

Despite investment and additional loans, Ina's Kitchens has had financial problems for a number of years and the Brodericks believed it needed the court protection of examinership because it was insolvent with an accumulated debt of €9m. It would need to be restructured to trade out of its difficulties, it was claimed.

The court heard it has been forced to postpone payments to Ulster Bank, a secured creditor owed €2.6m and neutral on the petition, and to Revenue, owed some €407,000.

In 2018, it had to get an extension of its facilities from Ulster Bank so as to be able to pay wages to its employees at Christmas.

This year, the company found itself obliged this year to avail of the Covid-19 pandemic payment for employees, the Temporary Wages Subsidy Scheme.

Starkane strongly opposed the application saying, amongst other things, the Brodericks wanted to use examinership to wrestle back control of the firm, that it had a plentiful supply of finance to meet its requirements and that no one was refusing to trade with it.

Following a hearing last week, Mr Justice Michael Quinn said today he was going to dismiss the application. He said he would give his reasons in a reserved judgment next week.

Lawyers for Mr Broderick, Stakane and the Revenue said they would await the written judgment.