Colombo Court Orders Winding Up of Walkers Piling Ltd. Following Debt Dispute
October 09, Colombo (LNW): The Commercial High Court of Colombo has issued an order to wind up Walkers Piling Ltd., once a major player in Sri Lanka’s piling industry, following a petition by Tokyo Supermix Ltd. This marks the end of operations for the now-defunct subsidiary of MTD Walkers PLC.
Tokyo Supermix Ltd., a subsidiary of Tokyo Cement PLC, initiated the winding-up petition in 2019, alleging that Walkers Piling had failed to settle a statutory debt owed to the petitioner. During the legal proceedings, other creditors also joined the case, lending support to the petition against Walkers Piling.
The petitioner highlighted in its submission that Walkers Piling’s assets include various construction equipment, yards, and other properties valued at over Rs. 1 billion, located across multiple sites in Sri Lanka. The court was informed that these assets represented significant holdings that could be utilized to address the company’s financial obligations.
Earlier, Commercial High Court Judge Pradeep Hettiarachchi had issued an interim order restricting Walkers Piling and its directors from selling, transferring, or placing any encumbrances on its assets. Despite presenting several settlement plans in court, Walkers Piling repeatedly failed to fulfill its commitments to the creditors, leading to the continuation of the winding-up process.
Legal representation for Tokyo Supermix Ltd. was provided by Attorney-at-Law Nishan Sydney Premathiratne, with instructions from Attorney-at-Law Gamindu Karunasena. Representing Walkers Piling Ltd. in court was Attorney-at-Law Sujith Rohana, under the guidance of Attorney-at-Law Kaushalya Thilakarathna.
Intervening creditors also participated in the proceedings, with Attorney-at-Law Lakshmanan Jeyakumar representing Unilanka Enterprises, following instructions from Attorney-at-Law Subashini Jayasuriya. Seylan Bank PLC was represented by Attorney-at-Law Senaka De Seram.
The court’s decision brings to a close a lengthy legal battle and signifies a major shift in Sri Lanka’s construction sector, with Walkers Piling Ltd., once a prominent figure, now officially dissolved.
Tokyo Supermix set out in its Petition that the assets of Walkers Piling inter alia include assets located at various locations, construction yards, and construction sites.
The Petitioner had also supported the allegation with an Affidavit given by a former employee of the company. Tokyo Supermix also through the Petition to Court had set out that the assets of Walkers Piling are valued at over Rs. 1 billion and such assets are located at various sites around the country.
It also set out in the Petition that, after finding out about the recent arrangements taking place with regard to the assets of the company sought to be wound up, the Petitioner submitted through the Petition that creditors of Walkers Piling would be severely prejudiced if the assets of Walkers Pilling Ltd., are liquidated either directly or indirectly.
