Number of suppliers impacted by inability of drug-accused's Kerry firm to pay bills
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A number of Kerry businesses are now owed thousands of euro each after a company whose former CEO is charged in connection with the State’s biggest ever crystal meth seizure told suppliers it is “unable” to pay any outstanding bills.
Nathan McDonnell, 43, CEO of Ballyseedy Restaurant Ltd, was charged in Tralee District Court last Friday with possession of drugs for sale or supply.
Ballyseedy Restaurant Ltd ceased trading on Sunday and told suppliers this week that it is “unable” to pay any outstanding bills. The restaurant and garden centre has remained open but it has switched to a new company name, Smaash Burger Ltd.
Any stock at Ballyseedy that remained unpaid could be retrieved by suppliers from the premises, the company said. But some local suppliers are now owed more than €10,000 at a difficult time for food and retail businesses, sources said.
Niall McDonnell, CEO of ISME, said that burning creditors could have “a significant impact” on those companies.
He said the majority of Irish businesses operate on a 40- to 50-day credit basis, with some operating up to a 90-day credit period, leaving suppliers potentially out of pocket for products supplied over a significant period of time if a business suddenly folds and refuses to pay.
And unpaid stock translates directly into people’s wages, Mr McDonnell said.
“The red ink has to land on someone's balance sheet, and unfortunately, failure to pay debts like that could impact the financial stability of other small businesses.
“That's the major difficulty. They'll suddenly have to go to a bank or organize short-term finance, get a term loan or an overdraft to cover the disappearance of that amount of money,” Mr McDonnell said.
Although legislation is being considered in Europe and in Ireland which could enforce a strict 30-day period within which all debts must be settled, it is not yet in force. At the time of the pandemic, ISME found that the average small business owed around €76 000 to creditors.
“So where a business goes under, that €76,000 in a liquidation … people will look to get [money back]. If you're owed €10,000 you might get €1,000 you might get €6,000 or you might get nothing at all depending on the state of the books and the business when it's liquidated.”
Ballyseedy was open for business on Saturday, the day after its former CEO was in court on a drug-dealing charge. People have been rushing to the garden centre to redeem vouchers in case the business folds, sources said.
But messages of support for Ballyseedy and its owners were still being expressed by hundreds of people on social media, mentioning the innocent staff and concessions operating there.
Others reference other family members who worked hard to build the business over its 32 years of operation saying they should not be punished because of allegations that have been made against one family member.
Mr McDonnell’s co-accused James Leen, 41, of Pilgrim Hill, Kilmorna, Listowel, is facing two charges of drug importation of crystal meth last October and the possession for sale or supply of methylamphetamine (crystal meth) between October 27, 2023, and February 12, 2024.