Graeme Beere, the entrepreneur behind the Abrakebabra and Bagel Factory franchises, has tabled a bid to buy O’Brien’s Irish Sandwich Bars out of examinership.

Beere, who also owns the Irish franchise for Gourmet Burger Kitchen and Yo! Sushi, is one of a number of potential investors interested in the chain, which is headed by Brody Sweeney. It went into examinership after amassing liabilities of €6.4 million.

A number of food businesses and finance houses lodged proposals for O’Brien’s with the firm’s examiner ahead of last Thursday’s deadline. Some bids would see the investors take outright control, while other are interested in investing with existing management.

Sweeney is keen to remain with the business and retain a majority shareholding after the examinership process. A small number of franchisees have said they will not back a deal that involves Sweeney remaining with the company, but most of them have indicated that they would prefer Sweeney to remain with the business in the future.

T he examiner, Pau l McCann of Grant Thornton, last week met the company’s main creditor, Bank of Ireland, to discuss the investment offers.

A decision on the preferred bidder will be taken shortly.

O’Brien’s Irish Sandwich Bars has 85 franchised stores across Ireland, employing more than 800 people. It has 220 outlets in 13 countries worldwide. However, the examinership process applies only to Sweeney’s holding company, not to the individual franchisees.

As part of the examinership process, McCann is closing nine loss-making stores and attempting to repudiate leases on another ten vacant premises. The company is also seeking to alter the nature of its lease agreements with its franchisees to limit its liabilities.

The franchise has suffered from a significant downturn in its business over the last 12 months. Court documents state that it made a loss of €593,000 last year, the first time in more than a decade that the business failed to generate a profit. Turnover at the parent company dropped by 11 per cent €3.6 million last year, while individual shops also suffered falls in sales and profits.