The High Court refused to make an €18.03 million garnishee order absolute against Media Partners & Silva Limited and discharged the conditional order. It found the company insolvent and said it should be wound up, but did not appoint a liquidator in this judgment. It directed that the money remain on deposit with AIB while alternative names are submitted.
The ruling, delivered by Mr Justice Robert Haughton on 15 May 2019, dealt with two applications: Infront Partners SpA’s attempt to enforce European Orders for Payment against money owed to Media Partners & Silva, and a petition by the liquidators of M & P Silva Limited, a related UK company, to wind up the Irish company.
Infront said €18,033,014.12 was due under service agreements connected to Italian football television rights. It had obtained a conditional garnishee order over funds in an AIB account. Infront argued that its application came first, and that the order should be made absolute. The UK company’s liquidators opposed that application and sought the Irish company’s winding up, citing substantial group debts and the need for an orderly process for creditors.
The judge considered whether the conditional order had completed an attachment before the winding-up petition was presented on 8 November 2018. Applying section 606 of the Companies Act 2014 and the reasoning in the English case Roberts Petroleum, he concluded that a conditional order was not enough: completion required a final order and receipt of the debt. The court also found that Infront had not shown exceptional circumstances to set aside the rights of a liquidator under the Act. The fact that Infront moved first did not settle the issue.
The court accepted the petitioning creditors’ evidence that the company was insolvent and should be wound up. It noted claims of substantial inter-company liabilities, while also saying the appointed liquidator’s main task would be to verify their validity and extent. For that reason, it considered an independent liquidator preferable to the PwC (Ireland) nominee proposed by the petitioners. The judge expressly said this was not due to any suggestion that the nominee lacked qualification, professionalism or independence.
After the judgment had been prepared, Infront asked the court to reconvene, referring to a recommendation by the liquidator of a Monaco group company that a claim of nearly €60 million be admitted. The judge declined. He said no fresh affidavit or evidence showed a likelihood of a significant dividend for Media Partners & Silva, and that the intervention did not justify reopening either application. The judgment therefore stood.