CELBRIDGE PLAYZONE HAS made history by becoming the first Irish business to exit examinership through the Circuit Court.

As a result, all 33 jobs at the Kildare-based children’s play centre will be saved.

The scheme of arrangement proposed by the company’s examiner, Joe Walsh of Hughes Blake, was approved by Judge Gerard Griffin in Naas Circuit Court yesterday.

Up until now, all previous examinerships have taken place in the High Court – something which involves higher legal costs.

The Circuit Court system is more accessible to enterprises based outside the capital and the overall process is less complex and cheaper.

Commenting on the outcome, Walsh described Celbridge Playzone as “an important local employer and a fundamentally viable business”.

The company accessed the examinership recovery mechanism outside the High Court in a historic legal first and today emerges from the process with a secure financial structure that will enable it to trade into the future. The ability to access the process within a Naas court meant that the examinership process became a viable option for this local business.

“The dominant narrative for enterprise in Ireland is a return to growth, but for the many Irish companies that have yet to address their legacy debt issues, the availability of formal restructuring in the circuit court serves as a potential route to ensure long-term survival for viable companies.

“It is likely that in the wake of [yesterday's] judgement, a large number of SMEs around the country that would otherwise be destined for insolvency can now look to the process to help protect their business and their employees’ jobs,” Walsh said.

Read: Here’s how many jobs were saved through examinership in the last three months

Read: Elverys may not have to shed jobs following appointment of examiner, experts say

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