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Leaked communications show former operators of Rathwood discussing staff redundancies and business strategy with new owner Kevin Nolan, despite court undertaking not to serve as directors
Internal communications at the troubled retailer Rathwood have revealed detailed discussions between the previous operators and the new owners regarding which staff members should be retained and how the business should be managed following its dramatic collapse.
Thomas and James Keogh, who ran the home and garden furniture business before it went into examinership last April, remain heavily involved in the company despite selling it to a consortium headed by Kevin Nolan, a Cork-based corporate advisory executive. An extensive series of internal messages reviewed by journalists indicates the Keogh brothers have been participating in conversations about employee retention decisions, creditor management, and the broader direction of the business in the aftermath of a significant fall from grace.
Complaints about Rathwood's inability to fulfil customer orders first emerged in mid-2025, with the company's difficulties deepening considerably during the following winter. In April, the company entered examinership, after which it was revealed that approximately 7,000 customers had purchased products that were never delivered, leaving close to three million euros in unfulfilled obligations.
A High Court judge approved a rescue scheme valued at seven hundred and fifty thousand euros, noting that liabilities exceeded twenty-one million euros when the business entered examinership. The judge remarked that the manner in which the business had been managed before its examinership remained of significant concern. Legal representatives for the Keogh family directors told the court that their clients were undertaking not to act as directors of the company for a period of five years.
Despite this undertaking, internal correspondence shows the Keoghs continuing to influence key operational decisions. In one exchange between James Keogh and Nolan last month, Keogh described a proposed redundancy package of five thousand euros for certain staff members as a clever strategic move. He suggested that giving workers no hope and offering either reduced hours or a minimal payout would encourage them to leave voluntarily rather than wait for a larger settlement.
In another piece of correspondence, James Keogh dismissed an employee suggestion that the retailer's popular Christmas experience should involve local market stalls and craft markets, calling such stalls a waste of time that never pays. He further dismissed craft vendors as painful. In another sequence of messages, Keogh outlined how various staff members should be treated, with notations suggesting some should be let go or really need to go.
In response to queries from journalists, Nolan stated that he had drawn on the knowledge and experience of the inherited Rathwood management team, including James and Thomas Keogh, to understand the business and support its transition. He added that given the complexity of the business and the circumstances in which it emerged from examinership, that approach was both necessary and commercially sensible.
He insisted that since his consortium acquired Rathwood, the business has been under his full control, and he stressed that neither of the Keogh brothers had any ownership, control, or decision-making authority within Rathwood. Nolan explained that the fact views or recommendations were expressed in private Slack exchanges does not mean those individuals made the decisions, nor should his failure to challenge every comment be interpreted as agreement with the language used.
He affirmed that decisions on staffing, suppliers, and the operation and future direction of Rathwood rest with him, concluding that he controls the business and all material decisions are made by him
Rathwood Examership Keogh Brothers Kevin Nolan Retail Collapse