Liquidators to be appointed to Electric bar and restaurant in Cork
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A meeting of creditors has been scheduled to appoint liquidators to Electric next week, the eatery that was put up for sale last year by popular publican Ernest Cantillon.
Mallpractice, the holding company of Electric, is set to nominate Tom O'Brien and David Swinburne of Mazers as joint liquidators of the business.
Owner of Electric and director of Mallpractice, Mr Cantillon declined to comment on the situation.
Mr Cantillon owns the building where Electric is located on the boardwalk between Grand Parade and South Mall in Cork city centre. The establishment has not been open since late December.
Last year Mr Cantillon decided to sell Electric, as it was “time to move on”, he said at the time, but the sale is set to be impacted by the anticipated liquidation.
Mr Cantillon's other pub, Sober Lane is separate and unaffected by the liquidation.
“I haven’t fallen out of love with hospitality, Sober Lane is like my right arm,” he said on The ieBusiness Podcast last year.
He invested nearly €1m in both Electric and Sober Lane during the pandemic so that both establishments would be revamped when the restrictions were lifted.
Hospitality has entered what seems to be an annus horribilis in 2024 as other well-known spots including Cork-based Nash19 have been forced to close due to the current difficult trading environment.
Among the challenges, the Vat rate has returned to the pre-pandemic level of 13.5% despite heavy lobbying by hospitality groups arguing it would have a decimating effect on the sector.
Mr Cantillon went against the grain when he opened his first pub in Cork. Both his parents studied law and his siblings ended up joining their father’s law firm.
He is also a co-founder of distilling business Kinsale Spirits and said he is now able to invest more time in the business as he winds up his involvement with Electric.
He is currently eyeing up new opportunities and is looking at ways he can sell his whiskey in Nigeria and other markets.
This is not the first time Mr Cantillon has navigated difficult circumstances; he previously decided to sell his pub Dublin after the venture failed to be successful.
Hospitality has suffered a harsh few years since the pandemic. By the end of 2021 when compared with 2019 figures, there were 37 fewer pubs in Cork, 10 fewer pubs in Clare, 22 fewer pubs in Kerry, 19 fewer pubs in Limerick, 17 fewer pubs in Waterford, and 14 fewer pubs in Tipperary.
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