The High Court has approved the appointment of an interim examiner to McInerney Homes, one of the country's best-known house builders.
The petition was brought by its parent company McInerney Holdings, which wants to secure court protection for McInerney Homes while it negotiates a restructuring of its debts and a new investment for the group.
The court approved the appointment of interim examiner William O'Riordan of PricewaterhouseCoopers. A confirmation hearing will be held on September 7.
Talks are currently going on with US private equity company Oaktree Capital about an investment of around €40m in McInerney Holdings. The group has debts of around €200m and has been in talks with its Irish and UK banks since last year.
Earlier this month, the company denied reports that its Irish loans had been transferred to the National Asset Management Agency.
The interim examinership also covers McInerney Construction (Holdings) Limited, McInerney Contracting Limited and McInerney Contracting Dublin Limited. But McInerney Holdings' UK and Spanish divisions, as well as its commercial arm Hillview Developments, are not affected by the court move. The Irish Stock Exchange has suspended trading in McInerney's shares on the Dublin market.
