The High Court has granted businessman Paddy McKillen jnr a protection certificate that will protect him from his creditors for who was 70 days.
Barrister Keith Farry, appearing for personal insolvency practitioner Eugene McDarby, successfully applied for the certificate for the businessman, co-founder of the Press Up hospitality group.
Farry told Judge Michael Quinn that McKillen jnr, of Torquay Road, Foxrock, Dublin, was “firmly insolvent” and had liabilities of €27.7 million. He has just €270 in his bank account, Farry said.
McKillen jnr, who was not in court, owes €2.9 million to his wife Edel McKillen and €1.8 million to his mother Maura McKillen, the court heard.
McKillen jnr’s liabilities total €27,710,644.51 while he has assets of just €143,295.72, according to documents provided to the court.
Farry said McKillen jnr’s wife gives him €300 per week for his personal expenses, while she pays for all the household expenses, “the light, the heat, the food and all the rest”.
Almost €735,000 is owed on McKillen jnr’s mortgage, which is in arrears of €18,995.92, according to documents. The property, which was valued at €2.1 million when it was bought in 2014, is not deemed to be an asset as it is held on trust.
Farry said the majority of McKillen jnr’s assests – some €105,000 – relate to cars he owns, including a 1986 Porsche 911 Carrera Targa worth €45,000, a 2021 Volkswagen Golf worth €35,000 and a 1983 BMW 6 Series valued at €25,000.
McKillen jnr has a personal Revolut account with a balance of €270.08 and a Revolut cryptocurrency account with a balance of €193.79, according to the documents. The rest of his assets relate to stocks, shares and art, including five Richard Gormley paintings valued at €15,000.
An account he has with Bank of Ireland is overdrawn by €345, according to the files.
A number of McKillen jnr’s business debts were also disclosed to the court: he owes €8.9 million to Jonc Ltd, which is based in the Isle of Man, €8.7 million to Cabriz Finance Ltd in Monaghan and €2.3 million to Herbert Street Property Finance in Dublin, among other debts.
The High Court last month rejected McKillen jnr’s bid to set aside a bankruptcy summons over an alleged €2.1 million debt, but adjourned the case for six months.
In a judgment on August 13th, Judge Liam Kennedy dismissed McKillen jnr’s arguments to strike down lender Herbert Street Property Finance’s summons, finding that he had not established that the summons was an abuse of process, and was brought for “an ulterior motive”.
A number of Press Up group restaurants and venues recorded six-figure losses in the year before London-based lender Cheyne Capital took over the group from McKillen jnr and his business partner Matt Ryan.
Cheyne Capital, a long-standing finance partner of Press Up, which has since rebranded the chain as Eclective, took control of the hospitality group as part of a debt-for-equity swap in September 2024.
Press Up had set up many hospitality businesses in Dublin, including the Stella Cinema, a chain of Wowburger restaurants and several cocktail bars.
In a statement, McKillen jnr pointed to the pandemic and the subsequent inflation and sharp interest rate rises that followed, with “limited access to traditional commercial banking in Ireland” forcing many group businesses with which he was involved to borrow at higher cost from alternative lenders.
He said that restructuring programmes had “safeguarded all these businesses, protected thousands of jobs, and ensured many of these iconic venues have a long-term future”.
“For me personally, insolvency is now unavoidable,” he said. “Certain alternative lenders have pursued me personally in the courts for personal guarantees that I gave in support of company debts and these liabilities outweigh any assets.”