Six companies controlled by property developer Liam Carroll have told the High Court of their intention to apply to go into examinership.
The move follows a decision by ACC Bank to lodge a petition to have the six companies wound up because it is owed substantial sums of money by them.
The companies are Vantive Holdings, an unlimited holding company, and four of its Irish subsidiaries, Villeer Developments, Peytor Developments, Caragh Enterprises Limited, Parlez International Limited, and a related Jersey registered holding company, Morston Investments.
Bill Shipsey, SC for the companies, told Mr Justice Frank Clarke that the six companies are part of what were the Zoe Developments company, and comprise a substantial property and construction company.
In total there are 51 companies within the Vantive Holdings group, and the court heard they own development sites, apartment blocks which are completed or under construction and commercial developments.
Their combined borrowings are €1.1 billion, which is owed to a large number of lending institutions here.
Mr Shipsey said the cause for the application was that the third largest lender to the group, ACC Bank, which is owed €130 million by Vantive, has taken a view contrary to the other banks that they wish to petition to have the six companies they are owed money by wound up.
Mr Shipsey said they are therefore only seeking protection of the companies to which ACC owes money to by guarantee.
Mr Shipsey said the group had been in extensive discussions with its bankers since the property crisis began in the middle of last year and had presented a business plan earlier this year which saw creditors paid and interest rolled up.
He explained that financing for operations of all the operating subsidiaries within the group came by way of loans taken out by Morston Investments or Vantive Holdings, which was then lent down to those companies that needed it.
He said up until yesterday all the banks, except ACC, seemed to have given indications of their willingness to continue supporting the companies.
He warned that if ACC was permitted to appoint a receiver or wind up the six companies, there would be consequences not just for them, but also for the whole Morston Investments and Vantive Holdings groups.
And so, while the six companies have no actual employees because services are done by employees in other group companies, indirectly the ramifications would be enormous for employees in those other companies.
The court heard that AIB is the largest lender to the group, holding 40.8% of its €1.1 billion debt. It is followed by Bank of Scotland Ireland (26.8%), ACC (10.7%), Bank of Ireland (9.3%), Ulster Bank (6.7%), Anglo Irish Bank, KBC and EBS.
Mr Shipsey said ACC was not a long-term lender to the group, and had only given its first loan in 2007. He said the bank began issuing letters of demand in June of this year.
He said the companies hoped to not have to seek to have the banks write-down any of the loans and added that the moves were not directly linked to the setting up of the National Asset Management Agency, but some of the loans could find themselves being administered by NAMA.
Mr Justice Frank Clarke directed that ads be put in two national newspapers here and one in Jersey, notifying creditors of plans to apply to place the six companies into examinership.
The court will hear the case again on July 27, when the appointment of an examiner will be discussed.
NIBS wins case against Carroll
The development comes after the Commercial Court earlier ordered one company - controlled by Liam Carroll - to repay €78.6 million of unpaid debt to Irish Nationwide Building Society.
The debt relates to a loan of €66.5 million given to Aifca Ltd of Upper Mount Street in Dublin in 2006 to refinance debt and to acquire a company involved in the development of The Square shopping centre in Tallaght.
