Article from "Sunday Business Post"

30 December 2007

By Ian Kehoe

Rescue package for broadband provider

A rescue package has been assembled for Ardmore Technologies, a broadband provider that went into examinership three months ago.

Waterford-based Ardmore provides broadband to customers in the south and southeast, and employs 15 people.

The company petitioned the High Court for protection from its creditors at the end of September after running into cashflow difficulties.

Ardmore’s examiner, Dublin accountant Neil Hughes, has prepared a scheme of arrangement which will be presented to the High Court for approval when the courts resume early in the new year.

Under the scheme, Ardmore will sell off its non-core assets, including its broadband network. T he company will concentrate on its core business of providing wireless area networks (Wans) to local authorities.

P referential creditors will receive 16 per cent of what they are owed, while unsecured creditors will receive 8 per cent. The deal was approved at a series of recent meetings convened by Hughes, who is managing partner of accountancy firm Hughes Blake.

Ardmore had liabilities of €2 million when it went into examinership. Owner James Maloney, who established the company in 1996, has agreed to invest further capital in the company.

As well as broadband services, the company also provided high-bandwidth radio networks to local authorities, allowing civil servants to communicate easily and cheaply.

Ardmore installed a number of masts to service this network. The company has an annual turnover of about €2.5million and last year won a €3 million Wan contract with Cork County Council.