The High Court approved an application by East Coast Bakehouse for an interim examiner to be appointed to the business.

An examinership process protects a business from its creditors for a limited period while a rescue plan is put in place.

East Coast Bakehouse was founded in 2015 by Michael Carey, previously chair of Bord Bia, and Alison Cowzer, one of the dragons on RTE’s Dragon’s Den.

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Carey resigned from his role as chair of Enterprise Ireland in June 2025 due to the failure of East Coast Bakehouse to file company returns on time.

Losses

When published, those delayed accounts for the year ended February 2025 showed the company had accumulated losses of €31.6m since it was founded and has not made a profit in any year of operations.

At the time those accounts were published, the directors of the company said that it had “reached the level of turnover required to trade on a breakeven basis during the year ending 2026”. EY, the auditor of the accounts, noted that a “material uncertainty exists that may cast significant doubt on the company’s ability to continue as a going concern”.

The directors said that East Coast Bakehouse had received €4.3m of additional equity funding by the end of July 2025.

The examinership process will allow the company to continue trading while it restructures its balance sheet in an attempt to attract fresh investments.