Sweeney in talks to save O’Brien’s Sunday, July 05, 2009 By Ian Kehoe Brody Sweeney, the founder of O’Brien’s Irish Sandwich Bars, is in talks with creditors and minority shareholders this weekend over the future of the sandwich chain in Ireland.
Sweeney is attempting to restructure his company’s finances and has engaged a number of corporate advisers.
It is understood that the businessman is considering bringing a High Court petition to have the company put into examinership in the coming days. O’Brien’s has been in business for 21 years and has 110 franchised outlets in Ireland and a further 190 in Britain, Asia, the Middle East and Canada.
The British business went into administration two weeks ago, with a number of its franchisees struggling to pay their rents.
Sweeney, who ran as a Fine Gael candidate in the last general election, declined to comment on the future of the Irish business this weekend, other than to say that trading was tough. Franchisees representing more than half the Irish stores met at the end of May and voted to stop paying franchisee fees to O’Brien’s.
A number of O’Brien’s outlets have also shut down, including one outlet in Dundalk following a dispute with the landlord.
The Irish business has had to subsidise the British operation in recent times, and also holds the head leases on most of the 150 outlets in the British chain.
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