Building company wound up by High Court

The High Court has made orders winding up development company Manor Park Homebuilders Ltd on the application of a bank which is owed some €135m by the firm.

Bank of Scotland petitioned the High Court to have the company wound up and a liquidator appointed to the firm which is owed €135m by the company after it had failed to satisfy its demands to repay €135m it had advanced to Manor Park in late 2007.

Today Ms Justice Mary Laffoy made orders winding up the company with a registered address at, Simmonscourt House, Simmonscourt Road Dublin 4, and appointed Mr Michael McAteer of Grant Thornton as official liquidator.

Moving the petition Bernard Dunleavy Bl for Bank of Scotland told the court the firm was "hopelessly insolvent", and it was no longer in a position to repay any of the debts due to BOS.

Counsel said the bank made a demand of €135m on the company in October of last year. It sought repayment in respect of the money which was loaned to Manor Park under a credit agreement with the bank in December 2007.

As no repayments had been made Counsel said that an order to wind up Manor Park was equitable and just.

The bank, counsel added, appointed Mr Tom Kavanagh as receiver, also in October 2011, after the firm's directors informed Bank of Scotland it was not in a position to discharge all the liabilities it owed BOS.

Counsel said that to date the receiver had sold a number of Manor Park's assets and reduced the debt outstanding by €651,000.

Counsel also said that that after Mr Kavanagh conducted a valuation of the firm's remaining secured assets it is estimated that there will be a shortfall of €60m between the debt due to the bank and the value of the remaining assets.

The Judge, who said that she was satisfied the company was insolvent and unable to pay it debts also ordered that the company's directors Patrick Joseph Moran, John Moran, Adrienne Moran, Cara Ryan (nee Moran and Jean Moran file a a statement of means within 21 days. The matter was adjourned to the Examiners list in June.

Manor Park was established 1979, and its shareholders are Patrick Joseph Moran and Morvest Ltd. It initially concentrated mainly in the Dublin area, but expanded out into counties Meath and Louth.

It made the headlines eight years ago when it bought former Taoiseach Charles Haughey’s estate in Kinsealy, Co Dublin, for €45m.

It has not built on the estate. It intended to use the site, which is close to Malahide in north Co Dublin, for residential development.