Court judgements on the rise.
THE value of Court Judgements (CJ’s) against companies in the Republic of Ireland for the recovery of unpaid debt has continued to rise in the second quarter of 2011. The value of CJs in the first six months of 2011 has reached an overwhelming €22.7 million. The ‘Construction’ sector accounted for the largest number of Court Judgements filed totalling an unimpressive €9.6million, whilst further reinforcement of the difficulties in the Housing market is reflected in the €2.7 million worth of CJ’s in ‘Real Estate and Renting’.
The strain on the Hospitality sector is also evident with ‘Hotels & Restaurants’ accounting for just under €2million in CJ in 2011.
Some 41 Limerick companies accounted for 3.6 per cent of the total judgements accounting for €807,437 in monetary terms. Dublin based companies accounted for the majority of CJs with just over €8 million and representing 35.5% of all CJ so far in 2011.
“Court Judgements are a indisputable indicator of a company’s financial health, but also of the economy’s health”, explained Paula Carney, markets manager and Development Leader at D&B Ireland.
“22% of all those companies that called creditors meetings in the first half of 2011 had at least one CJ against them and so companies need to be mindful when extending credit to companies”.
Ms Carney went on to say that “The value of Court Judgements has been increasing constantly since the start of 2011. No County in Ireland has been left untouched and every industry has felt the effects of the recession.
“As we continue on the road to recovery, it is essential that companies be more vigilant when doing business and ensure that they are only dealing with creditworthy companies, therefore decreasing the likelihood of them incurring a bad debt. Companies like our own provide exactly the kind of detailed financial information and CJ history that is required in order to make an informed decision as to whether or not to extend credit”.
