The only vinyl record producer in Ireland, known as Dublin Vinyl, has officially been closed by a High Court order, leading to over 20 employees losing their jobs. The decision, passed down by Justice Brian Cregan, came about when Pressing Matters Limited, the company behind Dublin Vinyl, couldn’t meet its financial obligations due to liabilities exceeding its assets by €1.3 million.
Mr Fennell and Mr Richardson from Interpath Advisory were installed as joint liquidators. Despite initial hope that the provisional appointment of the liquidators could enable the completion of outstanding orders worth €500,000 last month, it was ultimately deemed impossible. As a result, all of Dublin Vinyl’s workforce has been made redundant.
In a subsequent report to the court, the liquidators specified that they had received four different bids for the insolvent firm’s assets, which are presently under review.
Dublin Vinyl, established in 2016 sporting 22 full-time employees and four contracted full-time workers, had contracts from high-profile record companies and artists, including Taylor Swift. However, the company suffered severe financial setbacks in 2022 and 2023 due to a myriad of factors including delivery delays of record-pressing machines, loss of a major contract, Brexit, and the Ukraine war, not to mention the COVID-19 pandemic.
An orderly shutdown was deemed to be in the best interests of all parties involved by the Dublin 4-registered company, including their creditors. Though alternatives like examinership were considered, ultimately liquidation was thought to be the favourable choice.
The company, which leased units in Dublin, was under increasing pressure from creditors, including their energy provider who had threatened to discontinue their electricity due to outstanding payments.