A pre-pack is a process where the sale of a company’s business and assets is negotiated and agreed before a formal insolvency appointment, with completion happening immediately upon appointment. Pre-packs are well established in the UK but Ireland does not have a direct equivalent. In Ireland, a receiver or liquidator can sell a business quickly — sometimes to connected parties — but this is not formalised in the same way. Pre-pack style transactions do occur in Irish receiverships, particularly where speed is essential to preserve business value. They are controversial because unsecured creditors often receive little, but they can preserve jobs and maintain trading relationships that would otherwise be lost.
