A survival plan for Mount Wolseley Hotel and Golf Resort in Carlow has been approved by the High Court.
Bank of Ireland, the hotel's largest creditor, sought to appoint a receiver last April which led to the operating companies making an examinership application. Brehon Capital put forward a financing proposal of €7.5 million. The bank then decided to support the examinership and agreed to provide Brehon Capital with the majority of its proposed investment.
The hotel operators Donal and Breda Morrissey had also put forward refinancing proposals but these were rejected by the examiner in favour of Brehon's proposal. This led the Morrisseys to erect a nine-foot fence between the hotel and Mount Wolseley House, which they live in, and gardens. They said the Brehon proposal would have to be increased to provide alternative fire access arrangements and the relocation of services running through their land. They also said that the ability to run the business as a going concern would be affected because wedding parties at the hotel would no longer be able to use the gardens.
The examiner however was not overly concerned about the loss of the gardens, which he believes will only result in a loss of seven to ten bookings a year, and said that alternative fire access arrangements could be provided at a much lower cost than the Morrisseys were suggesting. He said that the business had a reasonable prospect of continuing as a going concern under the survival scheme.
On this basis the judge approved the examiner's modified survival scheme for the hotel, which employs 175 people, but added that he did have sympathy for the Morrisseys, who regarded the business as a family enterprise.
