Trimart issue in limbo

FLASHBACK TO FRIDAY: Attorney-at-law Garth Patterson (far right) and other officials about to enter Trimart Haggatt Hall.

By MIKE KING | Thu, September 02, 2010 - 12:05 AM

INSPITE of meetings behind closed doors by businessmen and lawyers, the issue that has resulted in the shutdown of Trimart Supermarkets, is in limbo.

That means that the supermarkets which were closed by bailiffs last Friday, could remain closed for at least a few more days.

Yesterday, both parties, those acting on behalf of the supermarket and for property owners NSR Limited, made several attempts to hammer out a resolution.

The district auctioneer, who is acting on behalf of the landlord, has possession of the goods but is unable to sell them because of the action taken on Tuesday by Trimart’s attorneys, who filed with the Supervisor of Insolvency, a notice of intention to make a proposal to creditors.

“He (the auctioneer) has them but he can’t sell them. Trimart doesn’t have them so they can’t sell them, so they are negotiating to find a way around this.

“The common intention is to find a resolution that allows the supermarket to open up,” an inside source said last night.

PricewaterhouseCoopers, partner and joint receiver of NSR Limited, Christopher Sambrano, said last week the action taken to close Trimart’s Haggatt Hall and Bridge Street supermarkets was as a result of debts totalling over $1.2 million.

Reports indicate that some members of the business community, who are not directly connected to any of the parties, are trying to find a solution.

There has also been much debate relating to perishable items and whether it was possible these commodities could be sold to the public.

“One of the things being floated is to allow the company to sell the perishable items alone but that isn’t practical because you can’t ask people to come in a supermarket and just buy perishable items.

“Another option might be to just give them to staff just so they don’t go to waste. Clearly, the ideal thing is to be able to sell them so that you can get some money from them which is what is lending urgency to the discussions,” the source added.