A group of up to 50 companies who operated concessions at Clerys are owed between €2m and €3m and are demanding that KPMG, the liquidators appointed to Clerys last Friday release up to €3m worth of stock to them immediately.
Under the terms of their contract with OCS, the company which operated Clerys for its former owners, Gordon Brothers of Boston, the money owed to concessionaires, was to be held in trust and paid on a monthly basis, net of the rent to Clerys and other overheads. This money was due yesterday but wasn’t paid.
According to the report, Gordon Brothers left €2m in the operating business to cover the money owed to concession companies, but it’s not clear where this money is now.
Many of the concession companies, including Best Menswear, which has up to €500,000 worth of stock in Clerys, met at the Gresham Hotel yesterday and have hired Lavelle solicitors to represent their case.
Representatives of Clerys workers will meet the company's liquidators KPMG this morning. It comes ahead of a rally outside the iconic Dublin department store at noon.
Around 400 staff say they've been left in limbo following the decision to close Clerys last Friday. The premises has been sold to a property development company Natrium and are likely to be used for mixture of office and leisure facilities, possibly with a hotel in the building’s upper-floors.
