I see that livestock company SDM Emerald Green Exports was wound up in the High Court on Monday. Mr Justice Michael White appointed Martin Ferris of Ferris & Associates as official liquidator.

His role now is to realise all possible assets belonging to the firm and to distribute them among creditors on the basis of agreed priority. Farmers and livestock marts are owed payment for cattle.

Sean Mitchell, whose family is involved in the company, says the firm owes some €430,000 to farmers and marts. The firm is, in turn, owed sums in excess of this for cattle it sold and in VAT repayments, he has claimed.

This week, Mitchell contacted The Dealer stating that he and his family would now be helping the liquidator in every possible way to recover sums owed to Emerald Green so as to allow creditors be paid. Standard procedure for the liquidator will also be to examine the pre-liquidation affairs of the company and submit a report on this to the Director of Corporate Enforcement.

Meanwhile, a judgement in the High Court case involving HSBC and TLT International (in receivership) is now not expected to be delivered until October. This is because Justice Haughton has commenced work on a new high-profile case.