There was good news for Galway this week when 35 jobs were secured at the Kenny Galway motor dealership on the Tuam Road.

Kenny Galway is the main Volvo, Kia, Peugeot and Citroen dealership in Galway operating from state of the art showrooms built in 2004.  The business emerged from examination on Friday last after 100 days of restructuring, having previously been closed for two days by the appointment of receivers by vulture capital fund Sankaty last November.
Receivers, Grant Thornton were appointed at that point on the instructions of US-based vulture capital fund, Sankaty, who purchase the property loan from Ulster Bank. The receivers moved in on November 16 and started removing stock and cars from the premises.

However, Brian Kenny has always been resolute that he had a viable business and following an assessment by an independent expert company, three days later the high court ruled that the company was viable and Mr Neil Hughes has been appointed as examiner. The company re-opened immediately and stocks taken from the premises, although already listed for auction, were returned.

The situation then became even more complicated in the interim as Sankaty subsequently sold the loan to another vulture fund based in Austria. It is also believed that there were other potential buyers for the Kenny Galway outlet waiting in the wings to snap up the dealership pending to outcome of the High Court hearings.

However, last Friday the High Court in Dublin heard that the business had been completely refinanced by the existing owners and that the Company had strong prospects going forward, having seen strong growth in sales for all of its brands over the past number of years.

A jubilant Brian Kenny said: “We are delighted that we have been in a position to place the business on such a sound footing and secure the employment of our staff.  I want to pay tribute to them today and thank them for their loyalty and commitment.  We have built up the business over the past 25 years based on our people, our reputation for customer service and the quality of the cars we sell and I want to thank also our customers, suppliers and business partners for their unwavering support during this process.  We are looking ahead now to once again focus on our business and continue to serve our customer base in the West of Ireland”.

Pat O’Sullivan of Cognito Management Consultants and Matheson Solicitors acted as advisors to the Company during the examinership. Neil Hughes of Baker Tilly in Dublin acted as Examiner during the process, where the vulture capital fund debt was settled today following implementation of the examiner’s scheme of arrangement.

Examinership was introduced in Ireland in 1990 to give a breathing space for viable companies to restructure, with a view to protecting employment.