Might Kepak supremo John Horgan and Ted Carty of pigmeat processing firm Oliver Carty be generous and pay any remaining sums owed to trade suppliers to Green Farm Foods? One supplier contacted The Dealer on the issue.

Green Farm Foods Ltd had €28.2m turnover in 2015, the last year for which it published accounts. It made profit after tax of €310,542 and had equity shareholders’ funds of €13.6m.

To a busy, small business owner this may have seemed like a reasonably secure customer to supply goods or services to, on credit.

But the firm had €3.3m in bank overdraft, over €2m in bank loans and finance, owed €2.6m to trade creditors and its cashflow was under pressure. It appears that in 2016 company founder and shareholder Kenneth Greene talked to Kepak about a possible sale of the business.

In mid-January 2017 a new company under the similar name Greene Fine Farm Foods Ltd was incorporated, with its address as Kepak in Clonee. A receiver was appointed to the original firm, Green Farm Foods, two weeks ago by Ulster Bank Ireland DAC and last Friday a petition to wind up the company was lodged.

Finally, a joint press release stated last week that Kepak and Oliver Carty had, via a joint venture company, acquired the assets and business of Green Farm Foods from the receiver. The 170 jobs in the operation will be secured – but there was no mention of payment to small creditors.