A NUMBER of potential suitors are interested in investing in the troubled McSweeney pharmacy group. The chain has court protection from its creditors, including AIB and United Drug, for up to three months after the High Court yesterday confirmed the appointment of an examiner.

The group owns and operates eight pharmacies, six in the west and south and two in Dublin, which support 95 jobs. Examiner Declan McDonald of PricewaterhouseCoopers has received a number of expressions of interest.

He plans to ask them to submit investment proposals that he can use as the basis of a rescue plan to be put to creditors and the court within the next 70 to 100 days.

The group owes creditors about €17 million, €13 million of it to AIB, which has security for its loans over a series of group assets, including book debts and property.

Mr McDonald told the High Court that he believed the insolvent group had a reasonable prospect of survival.

He has up to 100 days to come up with a rescue plan for McSweeney, which must then get the support of at least one class of creditors and the High Court.

In order to get the court’s backing, the plan cannot unfairly prejudice the interests of any creditor who claims they will fare better in either a receivership or liquidation of the business.

Earlier this year, both the High and Supreme courts rejected a rescue plan for McInerney Holdings on the basis that it was unfairly prejudicial to one of its three secured creditors, KBC Bank.

AIB opposed the McSweeney’s examinership bid on the grounds that a receivership would be more appropriate.

Geert Hof, the group’s biggest shareholder, told the court last week that he was prepared to provide up to €1 million to allow the business to stock up for the key Christmas period and to provide funding for the period of the examinership. The examinership means that eight pharmacies can keep trading.