Mac Interiors Limited (the Company), a Northern Ireland-incorporated company, has become the first company incorporated outside the Irish State (and the EU) to have an examiner appointed under the examinership regime provided for in section 509 of the Companies Act 2014 (the 2014 Act).
The High Court has delivered its written judgment on a recent decision that was the first of its kind by appointing an examiner to a company registered outside of the State, as it was established that its centre of main interests was in the Republic of Ireland.
A recent High Court decision in Mac Interiors[1] determined whether a company needs to be formed and registered in this jurisdiction in order to enter into the examinership rescue process.
Mac-Interiors Limited (the "Company”), which has its registered office in Newry, Co. Down, Northern Ireland, presented a petition to the Irish High Court for the appointment of an examiner. Where the registered office of the Company is outside Ireland it does not fall within the definition of a 'company' under the Companies Act, 2014 being one which is formed and registered within the State.
On 11 July 2023, Mr Justice Michael Quinn delivered his judgment in the matter of Mac-Interiors Limited (High Court Record No. 2023/90 COS) (the “Company”), which confirmed and clarified ‘a significant and previously undecided point’ regarding the jurisdiction of the Irish courts to appoint an Examiner to a non-EU registered company with its centre of main interests (“COMI”) in Ireland. McCann FitzGerald act for the Company which brought the application.
A previously unsettled aspect regarding the High Court’s (Court) jurisdiction to appoint an examiner to a company which is not formed or registered under the Companies Act 2014 (2014 Act), has been considered in the recent case of In the matter of MAC Interiors Ltd [2023] IEHC 395.
The High Court (Mr Justice Quinn) has in the case of Mac Interiors Limited [2023] IEHC 395appointed an examiner by way of the direct appointment procedure to a company incorporated outside of the area to which the European Insolvency Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2015/848) (the “EIR”) applies. This is the first time the procedure has been used by the Irish courts in such circumstances.
The Companies (Rescue Process for Small and Micro Companies) Act 2021 was enacted in December 2021 to provide a more cost-effective restructuring process for smaller companies in Ireland (SCARP). It has a wide range of features which provide excellent opportunities to assist businesses in difficulty, in a similar format to Examinership but without the cost of the associated court hearings.
Process
The events in the last few years have had significant and lasting impacts on business in general and restructuring in particular, with the latter referring to the various options available for firms experiencing difficulties. European economies, hit by both the upheavals caused by the health crisis and geopolitical tensions, have also been a
On 30 May 2023, Mac-Interiors Limited (the “Company”), a private limited company incorporated and registered in Northern Ireland, but with its COMI in Ireland, presented a petition seeking the appointment of an examiner. On the same day, orders were made, amongst other things, appointing Kieran Wallace of Interpath Advisory as examiner on an interim basis pending the hearing of the Petition.
The High Court (Court) had to determine whether proceeds from two investments in the estate in the bankruptcy of Bernard McNamara (McNamara) were payable to NALM under its security package, or whether they should be retained in the estate in the bankruptcy of McNamara for the benefit of creditors generally (substantive question).