Latest news with #ButlerBrothers
BreakingNews.ie
15-07-2025
- Business
- BreakingNews.ie
Butler brothers secure stay on order restricting them from acting as company directors
Two brothers behind a number of high profile Irish franchises – including several Starbucks cafes, TGI Fridays, Mao and Hard Rock Cafe – have secured a stay on a court order restricting them from acting as directors. In a judgment published last month, Ms Justice Nessa Cahill found Colum and Ciaran Butler failed to prove they acted responsibly in the operation of one of their companies, Downtul Ltd, which leased a premises at St Stephen's Green, Dublin, that operated as a Starbucks. Advertisement Downtul was placed in voluntary liquidation in November 2022. The judge granted a declaration sought by Downtul liquidator Patrick O'Connell restricting the brothers from acting as company directors or secretaries for five years unless the company meets certain requirements set out in the Companies Act 2014. Such an order means that, for the Butler brothers to act as directors of a company during that five-year period, that company must have share capital of at least €100,000 paid up by shareholders – or €500,000 in the case of a public limited company. The judge had found that the brothers did discharge the burden of showing they acted honestly in the operation of Downtul. Advertisement Lawyers for the Butlers on Tuesday successfully applied for a stay on the order, after submitting that their clients would require time to get their affairs in order. Brian McGuckian told the court his instructions were to seek a stay on the order for six months for two reasons. He said he was firstly seeking the stay to allow the Butlers time to organise their affairs, noting that Ciaran is the director of 134 companies, while Colum is the director of over 170 companies. Mr McGuckian said there was a general practice of the court affording directors time to organise their affairs in the context of an order of this kind. Advertisement He said he was also seeking a stay pending a possible appeal being brought against the High Court decision. Padraic Lyons SC, for the receiver, said there was an obvious distinction between the granting of a stay pending an appeal, and a stay to allow the directors to get their affairs in order. His side had received no correspondence on a potential appeal, and there were no draft grounds of appeal before the court. It was a matter for the directors to put before the court arguable grounds for appeal, he said. Ireland Jury views CCTV footage of Tom Niland hours before... Read More Mr Lyons agreed there should be a stay granted to allow the directors to organise their affairs but submitted that six months was an excessive amount of time. Ms Justice Nessa Cahill said she would grant a stay of four months to allow the Butlers to organise their affairs. She said she was not granting the stay pending a possible appeal, but noted the granted stay will be the same terms had she acceded to the application for a stay pending appeal. It was a matter for the respondents if they wished to bring an applicant to appeal, she said.
Irish Times
15-07-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Butler brothers secure stay on order restricting them from acting as company directors
Two brothers behind a number of high profile Irish franchises – including several Starbucks cafes, TGI Fridays, Mao and Hard Rock Cafe – have secured a stay on a court order restricting them from acting as directors. In a judgment published last month, Ms Justice Nessa Cahill found Colum and Ciaran Butler failed to prove they acted responsibly in the operation of one of their companies, Downtul Ltd, which leased a premises at St Stephen's Green, Dublin, that operated as a Starbucks. Downtul was placed in voluntary liquidation in November 2022. The judge granted a declaration sought by Downtul liquidator Patrick O'Connell restricting the brothers from acting as company directors or secretaries for five years unless the company meets certain requirements set out in the Companies Act 2014. Such an order means that, for the Butler brothers to act as directors of a company during that five-year period, that company must have share capital of at least €100,000 paid up by shareholders – or €500,000 in the case of a public limited company. READ MORE The judge had found that the brothers did discharge the burden of showing they acted honestly in the operation of Downtul. Lawyers for the Butlers on Tuesday successfully applied for a stay on the order, after submitting that their clients would require time to get their affairs in order. Brian McGuckian told the court his instructions were to seek a stay on the order for six months for two reasons. He said he was firstly seeking the stay to allow the Butlers time to organise their affairs, noting that Ciaran is the director of 134 companies, while Colum is the director of over 170 companies. Mr McGuckian said there was a general practice of the court affording directors time to organise their affairs in the context of an order of this kind. He said he was also seeking a stay pending a possible appeal being brought against the High Court decision. Padraic Lyons SC, for the receiver, said there was an obvious distinction between the granting of a stay pending an appeal, and a stay to allow the directors to get their affairs in order. His side had received no correspondence on a potential appeal, and there were no draft grounds of appeal before the court. It was a matter for the directors to put before the court arguable grounds for appeal, he said. Mr Lyons agreed there should be a stay granted to allow the directors to organise their affairs but submitted that six months was an excessive amount of time. Ms Justice Nessa Cahill said she would grant a stay of four months to allow the Butlers to organise their affairs. She said she was not granting the stay pending a possible appeal, but noted the granted stay will be the same terms had she acceded to the application for a stay pending appeal. It was a matter for the respondents if they wished to bring an applicant to appeal, she said.
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Last Iowa Ben Franklin store found in Sheldon
SHELDON, Iowa (KCAU) — Sheldon has many longstanding businesses, but just one can boast of being the only one in Iowa. Ben Franklin stores started in Boston in the 1870s as Butler Brothers. The name was switched in 1927, and at Ben Franklin's peak, there were 2,500 stores nationwide. The company filed for bankruptcy in 1996 and just a few stores remained running independently. Today, there is only one Ben Franklin store left in Iowa, and it's here in Sheldon. Phil Warnke and his wife Lori have owned the Ben Franklin store in Sheldon since 1991. Village Northwest Unlimited in Sheldon to celebrate 50 years 'It's a fun place to work, and we sell things you don't find elsewhere,' Phil Warnke said. There is plenty of stuff to find at the store. Warnke estimates there is around 20,000 items of inventory in the store. Everything like the essentials to things you wouldn't normally find in other stores. 'We try to carry things that are unique, that you don't see in some of the big box stores. And then we try to tailor our store to fit the community,' Phil Warnke said. While the store serves the Sheldon community, most of the business comes from out of town. 'We have a very loyal base. A group of customers that shop here from town,' Phil Warnke said. 'But about 75% of our business comes from people out of town that travel to the store because they've been in the store prior to it and enjoyed the experience and want to come back again.' In fact, competitors of the Sheldon Ben Franklin also shop there. Linda Swenson owns Beehive Crafts & Framing in Spencer. She tries to stop in two-to-three times a year and also sends her customers there. Sheldon is home of the 'Orabs,' but what are they? 'I like to come here to get stuff that I don't carry. I send people here to get fabric since we don't have any fabric stores in town,' Swenson said. Even though the Warnkes have owned the store for 34 years, there is no plan right now to stop. 'So, as we kind of progress in age and abilities, we'll continue to look for options, but we're hoping for the next several years we can continue to be healthy enough to keep going,' Phil Warnke said. Speaking of Ben Franklin's business from out of town, Phil Warnke said they have people from California, New York, and New Jersey stop in the store when they are in the area. For more of KCAU 9's Hometown Proud stories, CLICK HERE. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
