High Court rejects examinership application for Ina’s Kitchen Desserts
Application brought by Barry Broderick has been dismissed, with the company claiming it is “on-track to have its best-ever year in terms of sales despite the global pandemic”
Print1 December 2020
An application to appoint an examiner to the Ina’s Kitchen Desserts business has been dismissed by the High Court.
Director and shareholder Barry Broderick had applied for examinership, and was supported in doing so by the business’ other family shareholders, his brother Bernard and parents Michael Bernard and Ina.
The Brodericks believed the business needed the court protection of examinership, as they said it was insolvent and had accumulated debt of €9 million.
The court heard that the business has been forced to postpone payments to Ulster Bank, a secured creditor owed €2.6 million and neutral on the petition, and Revenue were owed some €407,000. It was also claimed that in 2018, the business was forced to extend its facilities from Ulster Bank in order to pay wages to its employees at Christmas. Earlier this year, the business needed to avail of the TWSS Covid-19 pandemic payment for employees, the court was also told.
Between them, the Broderick family own 25% of the shareholding while a special purpose vehicle company called Starkane Ltd, which is funded by the BDO Development Capital Fund, owns 75%.
The ruling has been welcomed by Starkane and BDO Development Capital.
In a press statement, the company stated: “On behalf of the staff and management at Ina’s Kitchen Desserts trading as Broderick’s, we are happy that the court has recognised the inherent strength of the company in its decision to rule against the petition for examinership by Mr Barry Broderick.
“The company values the support of its key suppliers and customers, is trading profitably and on-track to have its best-ever year in terms of sales (c.29% growth 2019/20 vs 2018) despite the global pandemic.
“Together,” the statement continued, “we look forward to continuing to deliver on our growth strategy through a combination of a €1.8m investment, through our majority shareholder Starkane/BDO Development Capital & Enterprise Ireland, and a continuing focus on providing customers with a best-in-class product range and service. We are excited by the company’s potential to continue to grow through excellence in quality, innovation and service in all aspects of the business.”
The directors of Starkane and BDO Development Capital also claimed that sales have grown by over 60% since partnering with the BDO Development Capital Fund in 2017, while “further significant growth is projected”.
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