Collapsed property firm has debts of almost €16m

Date Published: 04-Jul-2011

BY ENDA CUNNINGHAM

Harrmack Developments – one of Galway’s biggest property ‘boom time’ property companies – left almost €16 million in debts, creditors were told at a meeting.

George Maloney of Baker Tilly Ryan Glennon was appointed liquidator to the company at a creditors’ meeting last Friday morning.

A Statement of Affairs presented at the meeting showed the company has a deficiency of funds totalling €15.7m – including just over €4m to unsecured creditors.The company is also owed more than €9.1m by debtors.

A breakdown of the figures shows that preferential creditors – the Revenue, Department of Enterprise, Galway City Council and staff redundancies – are owed almost €140,000.

Creditors who hold a floating charge (security) over assets – generally banks – are owed more than €11.5m.

Included on the list of unsecured creditors is company boss Stephen Harris who is owed just over €1m for a director’s loan; Harrko (which he also owned and is in receivership and liquidation) is owed €1.2m, while Silverpath Developments (which he was involved in and has been struck off by the Companies Regisistration Office) is owed almost €1.4m.

Harrmack built around 400 homes in the city, Craughwell and Moycullen since it was formed in 2002.

A spokesperson for the company told the Sentinel a fortnight ago that the majority of creditors had already been paid in full following an “organised wind-down” since 2007.

Read more in today’s Connacht Sentinel