Wind-up of €30m forestry firm delayed over creditors’ meeting

The matter will return before the court on February 20

Tim Healy

February 03 2023 02:30 AM

An application to the High Court to wind up an Irish-registered forestry investment company has been adjourned after the firm agreed not to proceed with a creditors’ meeting yesterday.

The application was to appoint a liquidator to GWD Forestry Ltd which is alleged to have taken in some €30m from investors. It will now proceed later this month.

The court also heard that notice of that hearing will be provided to over 400 investors who are creditors of the company and related entities.

Franco Bertellino, from Rivoli in Italy, had earlier this week sought to have Declan de Lacey, of PKF O’Connor Leddy Holmes, appointed as provisional liquidator to the company, with a registered address at Northumberland Road, Dublin 4.

Mr Bertellino sought the appointment over concerns about how the company has been run and its attempts to enter voluntary liquidation at a creditors’ meeting last December.

GWD’s attempt for voluntary liquidation was not done in accordance with Irish company law, he claimed. A second creditors’ meeting had been called by the company for yesterday which did not go ahead.

Earlier this week Mr Bertellino applied to the court to have Mr de Lacy appointed as provisional liquidator of GWD, rather than one appointed at a creditors’ meeting.

When the matter returned before Ms Justice Eileen Roberts yesterday, his counsel Robert O’Reilly told the court there had been some progress in the matter.

The matter will return before the court on February 20.