The High Court approved a revised €376,232.30 remuneration payment to the liquidators of Spencer Dock Development Company Ltd, after refusing an earlier request to pay €201,752.44 to Grant Thornton Corporate Finance Ltd.
Mr Justice Twomey’s judgment concerns an application by one of the company’s two official liquidators, Michael McAteer, for approval of fees and costs arising from its liquidation. At a hearing on 25 October 2022, the liquidators sought approval for €174,479.86, including VAT, in professional fees and expenses payable to them personally for a 15-month period. They also sought approval for €201,752.44, including VAT, for forensic work by Grant Thornton Corporate Finance Ltd, involving access to historic data on the company’s server.
The court recorded that it assumed the company was associated with, or part of, Grant Thornton, where the liquidators were partners, and that the liquidators would financially benefit from its fees. The nature and extent of any connection or financial interest had not been set out in Mr McAteer’s affidavit. The court said that paying the company rather than the liquidators personally made the total remuneration less transparent to creditors, who would receive less as fees were paid.
Although the main creditor, NAMA, did not object to the proposed payments, the judge said its position did not determine the application. The court refused to approve the payment to Grant Thornton Corporate Finance Ltd, citing its duty to consider all creditors and the taxpayer’s interests.
On 10 November 2022, the liquidators returned seeking approval for a single payment of €376,232.30 to themselves, replacing the separate €174,479.86 and €201,752.44 amounts. NAMA told the court it had no issue with the revised remuneration or with legal costs of €245,278.31 for the same 15-month period. Those legal costs were sought pending taxation or measurement, with the solicitors undertaking to reimburse any amount paid above what was certified.
The court approved the revised remuneration. The judgment does not state that the €245,278.31 in legal costs was approved in the final order; it records NAMA’s position on those costs and the earlier request for approval pending taxation or measurement.