Collapsed window firm DK still leaving questions unanswered, liquidators say

High Court Reporter

The liquidators of a Dublin windows and doors company have informed the High Court that a representative of its sole director has left a lot of questions unanswered about the running of the company before its collapse, despite a number of requests to do so.

An investigation by the liquidators into the running of DK Windows and Doors, which suddenly ceased trading last December, leaving some 225 unfilled contracts on which customers paid a total of €1.2 million, is looking at the conduct of its sole director, Darragh Keane, in the run-up to its collapse.

Some creditors, including customers who paid significant deposits for work never done, alleged the company was run in a fraudulent manner during that time.

In an update presented in court on Tuesday on behalf of Grant Thornton joint liquidators, Nicholas O’Dwyer and Colm Doran, solicitor Graham Kenny said the next steps for his clients will be to compile a report for the Corporate Enforcement Authority (CEA) to decide whether or not they will take director restriction actions.

In what was their 5th report, the joint liquidators said that since the last one, Mr Keane had appointed tax advisor Andrew Feighery of Ecovis DCA as his representative.

The principal areas of investigation include consideration of creditor interests and the company's deteriorating financial position prior to liquidation.

There was also a "Black Friday" promotion the month before the collapse, and the lack of any financial assessment underpinning it.

There was further consideration of trading while insolvent and the basis on which a payment plan to Revenue was entered into, including reliance on customer deposits.

Mr Keane's representative had been written to twice since last June seeking satisfactory responses to questions asked about the company but, while responses were received, they remained unsatisfactory. There were contradictions between those responses and other available evidence, the liquidators said.

In particular, they noted ongoing concerns about matters including the maintenance of adequate accounting records and the diversion of customer deposits to discharge historic liabilities rather than to progress customers' orders, the liquidators said.

Following receipt of satisfactory responses, the liquidators hope to be able to finalise their position in relation to the conduct of Mr Keane in the lead-up to the liquidation.

They have previously noted that there does not appear to be sufficient assets available in the company to pay for the costs of the liquidation in full, "nor to provide a distribution to any class of creditor in the company".

The liquidators said it remains their intention, subject to those responses, to finalise the investigation phase and submit a report to the CEA ahead of the deadline for their next reporting date in December.

Mr Kenny asked the judge, in the light of that date, to adjourn the matter to March. The judge agreed to do so.