13-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Investment company seeks €8.7m judgment against Paddy McKillen Jr
Cabriz Finance Ltd, of Riverside Road, Carrickmacross, Co Monaghan claims Mr McKillen Jr, with an address for communication at Ely Place, Dublin, provided various guarantees and indemnities for four loans to four companies.
The companies – Welltrack Ltd, Yarnway Ltd, Ahlstom Ltd and Dontigo Ltd – defaulted on the loans, and Mr McKillen Jr failed to pay the money due despite a demand, Cabriz says.
The loans and guarantees/indemnities were entered into in December 2022, January 2023 and August 2023. The purpose was to facilitate working-capital requirements of the firms, it says.
An application on behalf of Cabriz to enter the case into the fast-track Commercial Court was rejected by Mr Justice Mark Sanfey.
He said it was a requirement of the commercial list that parties should move with expedition, but in this case while there was default in December 2023 it was not until April of this year that the demand for payment was made.
There had not been expedition in this case, the judge said, and he would not include it in the commercial list.
This means the matter must now go through the normal High Court list.
Earlier this month, the High Court appointed an interim examiner to Workman's Club Ltd, part of the former Press Up group founded by Mr McKillen Jr and Matthew Ryan. It was renamed Eclective Hospitality Group in February following its takeover by the London-based financial firm Cheyne Capital.
The application for court protection followed a demand for payment of €4.5m in respect of guarantees on loans drawn down by property-owning companies outside of Cheyne Capital's control.
Venues within the Workman's Club Ltd include the restaurants Angelina's, Doolally, and Isabelle's, and the pubs Peruke & Periwig, Mama Yo and Vintage Cocktail Club, as well as the Workman's Club itself, a live-music venue in Temple Bar. Their premises are all leased.
It has a total of 362 employees, 55 of whom are full time.
During the due diligence process undertaken last year as part of a restructuring, it was discovered the company had given guarantees to Relm Capital in respect of borrowings by other companies controlled by Mr McKillen Jr.
Relm Capital issued demands to Workman's Club Ltd for payment of €4.5m in respect of the guarantees last March.
