TWO former directors at Flynn Fine Foods in Co Fermanagh, once one of the largest family-owned food firms in Ireland, have been handed boardroom bans for allowing the company to slump into administration four years ago owing more than £2.5 million and making 40 workers redundant.
Ann Teresa Flynn (63) and her son Micheal Gerard Flynn (35), both with separate addresses at Smithboro in County Monaghan, were disqualified for four and 11 years respectively in a case brought by the Department for the Economy.
Meat processing and preserving firm Flynn Fine Foods operated from a purpose-built 17,500sq ft plant at Dernawilt Road in Roslea and also at Derryvollen.
In its pomp it sold more than five million packs of meat annually under the Flynn's brand to around 2,500 customers including Tesco, Asda and Costcutter.
The business, which had been founded by Micheal Flynn senior 1978, operated its own fleet of refrigerated lorries and vans and also had depots in Dublin, Galway and Limerick.
But Flynn went into administration in September 2013 with a litany of debts, and after taking into account the losses incurred by shareholders of the company, the estimated total deficiency was £2,521,418. Forty jobs were also lost with the closure.
A number of areas of unfit conduct were admitted by both the Flynns in separate disqualification hearings last month.
Micheal Gerard Flynn was said to have generated fictitious invoices and caused the unauthorised advance of monies from a financial provider.
He also failed to account for all assets of the company and also misappropriating and seeking to put assets beyond the reach of the administrators.
And he caused the company to misuse bank accounts by presenting cheques, direct debits and standing orders to the bank knowing there was insufficient funds available to have them honoured.
His mother was said to have failed to adequately inform herself of the company’s affairs and therefore failing to prevent and inhibit Micheal Gerard Flynn from misappropriating and/or seeking to put assets beyond the reach of the joint administrators and failing to account for all assets of the company.
She also failed to ensure sufficient principles of corporate governance were in place.
Both also admitted failings around ensuring the company's accounts were filed on time over different trading years.
