ACCBANK WILL appeal the High Court’s decision to approve a rescue plan for the troubled Fleming construction group.
On Friday, the High Court ruled in favour of proposals put forward by the group’s examiner, George Maloney of Baker Tilly Ryan Glennon, under which Flemings will be split into two separate businesses, contracting and property development.
An as yet unnamed new investor is taking over the contracting arm through a vehicle called Donban. The banks, including ACC, will have effective control of the property development side, which is focused on sites in Sandyford, Dublin.
The Dutch-owned bank’s lawyers told the High Court yesterday that the bank wants to appeal its ruling in the case to the Supreme Court. Its counsel, Paul Sreenan, told Mr Justice Brian McGovern that it intended to apply to the Supreme Court on Thursday morning for a date.
Mr Justice McGovern put a stay on the order he made on Friday approving the rescue plan. The appeal means the group, which has debts of €1 billion, remains under court protection, which in turn means that no creditors can enforce any debts against it.
One group company, Tivway, has been in examinership since the summer, while two others, John J Fleming Construction and JJ Fleming Holdings, have been in examinership since October.
ACC, which has been seeking the repayment of €21.5 million, opposed the companies’ applications to have an examiner appointed in the first place, and subsequently opposed Mr Maloney’s rescue plan. The examiner’s lawyer, Mark Sanfey, and the company’s barrister, Declan Murphy, both warned that continued uncertainty about the group’s future and further delays would damage the business, which has already missed the opportunity to bid for new contracts.
