O'Briens Irish Sandwich Bars has gone into liquidation. The troubled franchise group employs 800 people in Ireland.
The development means a less certain future for the chain - although the liquidator has said he will try to sell the group as a going concern.
O'Briens had been one of the big success stories of the Celtic Tiger. Established by entrepreneur and one time Fine Gael candidate Brody Sweeney, the group expanded into Asia, Australia and Saudi Arabia.
But the economic downturn hit the company. Some outlets became vacant while the group was obliged to pay high levels of rent. The franchise business went into examinership in July, which meant it had court protection from creditors.
The examiner tried to put together a takeover deal which would see Abrakebabra Investments buy the franchising group. But a High Court hearing last week resulted in the deal falling through. The examinership was halted and the group went into liquidation yesterday.
As a result, Paul McCann from accountancy group Grant Thornton was appointed official liquidator. This evening Mr McCann told RTE News he would seek to sell the business and the brand and maintain staff.
He has permission to continue trading for a week, although that can be extended.
