THE process of settling the affairs of the failed Patton Group construction company will take a major step early in the new year, the administrators said yesterday.
A meeting of creditors is planned to take place in the firm’s home town of Ballymena.
Administrators from Keenan CF said the meeting will be held at the Tullyglass House Hotel on Friday, January 11.
The firm was appointed on November 6 after a statement from the firm in the previous days that it was in talks with its bankers over its financial difficulties.
The firm had reported a pre-tax loss of around £10 million earlier in the year and within days of the administration being confirmed, 190 employees were laid off.
More redundancies followed bringing the total loss to around 250.
Celebrating its centenary this year, the company owes an estimated £17m to a large number of subcontractors and suppliers.
There will also be two further creditors meetings for related firms, David Patton & Sons (NI) and C&L MacFarland taking place on the same day.
At the meetings, creditors will get a briefing from the administrator explaining what has happened in the weeks since the announcement and his proposals for the new year and the eventual resolution of the process.
The creditors can vote on those proposals and may also establish a creditors committee.
The collpase of the firm sparked a great deal of concern within the industry not just for the immediate loss of jobs at the firm, but for the knock-on effect expected to impact on those owed money by the business.
Earlier in December, the Joseph Hughes Group, a major Patton subcontractor, also collapsed with the loss of 147 jobs.
