A Northern Irish firm owned by the parent company of Manguard Plus, one of the island of Ireland’s largest security services groups, has called a meeting of creditors where a liquidator is due to be appointed.
Tearidge Limited trades as Manguard Plus in Northern Ireland and employed an average of 116 people in 2022, according to its most recently published set of financial results. The business had a revenue of over £3.96m (€4.75m) in 2022.
According to a recently published notice, the creditors’ meeting will be conducted under legislation in Northern Ireland that covers creditors’ voluntary liquidations.
A creditors’ voluntary liquidation (or creditors’ voluntary winding up) is when the shareholders of a company decide to put the company into liquidation, but there are not enough assets to pay all the creditors, meaning the company is insolvent, according to guidance published by the Department of the Economy.
The process is started by the company’s directors, not the creditors, calling a meeting of shareholders who agree to wind up the company.
The shareholders may nominate an insolvency practitioner to act as a liquidator, but the creditors usually make the final choice at their meeting, according to the department’s guidance.
The notice calling for the creditors meeting at Tearidge was signed by Sean Hall in his capacity as director. He is the majority owner of Manguard Plus’ parent company, SH Córais Slándála.
According to financial records, Tearidge’s immediate parent company is Gabi J Holdings Limited, which SH Córais Slándála owns.
In the 2022 financial accounts for Tearidge, SH Córais Slándála is listed as the ultimate parent undertaking and is regarded as “both the controlling party and the ultimate controlling party”.
Professional services firm Grant Thornton is set to host the creditors’ meeting at its offices in Belfast on February 26.
The meeting will cover resolutions, including the terms on which a liquidator will be paid.
In response to questions, Manguard said the proposed liquidation of Tearidge is being done in reliance on “professional advice from our international tax and business advisers”.
The 2022 accounts for Tearidge, which is based in Newtownabbey, Co Antrim, showed the amount the company owed creditors within one year was over £2.1m. This included £925,318 owed to group undertakings, £683,467 taxation and £392,501 on a bank loan.
The company’s current assets were valued at over £1.05m in 2022.
Tearidge also recorded a loss before tax for the 2022 financial year of £352,866, up from a loss of £113,948.
Manguard Plus is one of the largest security services companies in Ireland, employing over 1,000 staff.