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Tuesday September 4, 2012

Irish Haulage Giant Target Express Is Liquidated

Gardai intervened to resolve the situation at the Target Express depot in Damastown last week when staff blocked the main gate at the site in protest over the company's closure and lost wages (Photocall)

One of Ireland's biggest road hauliers, Target Express, has been forced into liquidation, and its core assets sold to one of its biggest rivals.

Target shocked everyone when it ceased trading on Monday of last week - and its owner Seamus McBrien launched a scathing attack on the Revenue Commissioners.

He claimed the tax man had effectively frozen his accounts over a debt of just over half a million euro, putting up to 400 jobs at risk.

Workers at one of the company's depots in Cork began a sit-in. They pointed out that they were owed two weeks wages.

And radio phone-in shows wondered why the tax-man would not strike some deal to save the hundreds of jobs over a relatively small amount of money.

The first hint that all may not be as it seemed, came when workers later expressed their belief that the owners were not being entirely truthful in their account of the company's woes.

And when the High Court appointed a liquidator on Wednesday, it soon became apparent that things were worse than they appeared.

The liquidators from Grant Thornton examined the books and said the company was "hopelessly insolvent".

It also said while Target Express was the operating name, the corporate structure behind it involved at least four other companies owned by Mr McBrien, three of which had been placed in administration.

Workers ended their sit-in after talks with the liquidators, and guarantees that the money they were owed would be prioritized.

And by the end of the week, there was a glimmer of hope for at least some of them.

The High Court approved the sale of Target main assets, including its goodwill, to Masterlink Logistics, a Dublin based company.

It's not clear how many jobs will be saved as a result.

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