John Magnier's legal action over €15m Tipperary land deal opens in High Court
Coolmore Stud bloodstock billionaire John Magnier's legal action over a collapsed €15m Co Tipperary land deal has opened at the High Court.
The hearing is expected to last three weeks.
Lawyers acting for Mr Magnier are claiming Maurice Regan, the US-based construction magnate is allegedly engaged in a 'full frontal assault' on a property deal for the Barne Estate after it was purportedly agreed in August 2023.
Mr Magnier was present in court for the opening of the case.
Mr Magnier's proceedings are anchored in the claim the owners of the Barne Estate reneged on a purported deal to sell the 751-acre estate to him for €15m, instead choosing to sell to Mr Regan for a higher price.
Opening the case on Tuesday before Mr Justice Max Barrett, Paul Gallagher SC, for the Magniers, claimed Mr Regan's pursuit of the land breached an exclusivity agreement made on the purported deal between representatives of the estate and Mr Magnier.
Mr Magnier — along with his adult children John Paul Magnier and Kate Wachman — wants to enforce the alleged deal.
They say the deal was struck at an August 22, 2023, meeting at Mr Magnier's Coolmore Stud. They also claim an exclusivity agreement, stipulating the estate not permit its representatives to solicit or encourage any expression of interest, inquiry or offer on the property from anyone other than Mr Magnier, was in effect from August 31 to September 30.
Barne Estate is held for the benefit of Richard Thomson-Moore, his sister Alexandra, their children, and their spouses by a Jersey trust.
The Magniers have sued the Barne Estate, Mr Thomson-Moore and three companies of IQEQ (Jersey) Ltd group seeking to enforce the purported deal.
The Barne defendants say there was never any such agreement and subsequently they agreed to sell it for €22.5m to Mr Regan, founder of the New York building firm JT Magen.
Mr Regan is not a party to the case.
Mr Gallagher claimed a local estate agent involved in the deal, John Stokes, appeared 'visibly shaken' when he visited Mr Magnier following calls from Mr Regan after the deal was claimed to be agreed.
Mr Gallagher also told the court Mr Regan allegedly arranged for crime journalist Paul Williams to contact Stokes.
'The implication was that his [Mr Regan's] exclusion from the bidding process was somehow unlawful,' said Mr Gallagher.
Read More
Magnier lawyers claim construction magnate funding owners' defence on alleged reneged estate sale
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Post
32 minutes ago
- Business Post
Exclusive interview: Maurice Regan on why Magnier ‘needs to get used to not getting his own way'
Business Post subscribers can read: • Regan's view on John Magnier's case for Barne Estate • How he built a multibillion-dollar construction giant while being laughed at by Irish developers • If he knows how much his fortune is worth
The Irish Sun
an hour ago
- The Irish Sun
SAS witch hunts have led to recruitment crisis, former officer warns
SAS witch hunts have damaged morale and led to a recruitment crisis within the elite regiment, says a former commanding officer. Brigadier Ed Butler, who commanded the SAS in the wake of the 9/11 attacks and led the regiment in Afghanistan in 2001, said it's 'not surprising' the Hereford-based unit is also failing to retain experienced troops. Advertisement 2 Brigadier Ed Butler has warned morale in the SAS is low and faces a recruitment crisis Credit: News Group Newspapers Ltd Special forces sources have said that since the start of a series of so-called witch hunts against troops who served on They also claim that more troops are leaving the elite organisation in disgust at the treatment of veterans. Brigadier Butler, one of the SAS's most highly decorated and distinguished officers, told The Sun on Sunday: 'The politicians are happy to ask our Special Forces to prosecute government and foreign policies, in the most challenging and dangerous of conditions, to protect our democratic values and freedoms but are not prepared to stick up for them when the witch hunts start. 'Hardly surprising that morale is low, retention is a problem and now potential recruits are not trying SAS selection as they and their families are worried what might happen to them 10 or 20 years after fighting on the front line. You can't have it both ways.' Advertisement READ MORE ON THE SAS The SAS is currently at the centre of an inquiry into allegations that members of the special forces routinely Up to 20 SAS veterans, who served in Northern Ireland and shot dead armed IRA terrorists, are facing murder charges, according to senior members of the SAS regiment. The SAS Association have said: 'It is certainly true that there is real concern and extreme unease amongst SAS soldiers and commanders. "They operate on the front line, often in extreme danger, sometimes at the murky edges of the law. Advertisement Most read in The Sun 'There is genuine and justifiable concern that an SAS man may bravely and legally do his duty today, and then, in decades time, be persecuted for it if some revisionist government moves the goal-posts in retrospect.' Figures relating to staffing levels for the SAS are kept secret but sources say there's been a 'noticeable and significant percentage drop'. SAS legend who stormed the Iranian Embassy forced to launch public appeal to pay crippling care home costs 2 The SAS Association says there are fears troops could be prosecuted decades on for what was legal at the time Credit: AFP
Irish Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Michael O'Leary set to have funds for horse buying spree as Ryanair stocks soar
Michael O'Leary may soon have a sizable sum for his horse-buying interests, as the Ryanair chief is set to receive over €100 million in share bonuses. The longtime CEO has qualified for the payout after Ryanair's stock reached a performance milestone set six years ago. Shares in the Dublin-based budget airline have closed above €21 for 28 consecutive trading days, meeting the threshold established in February 2019. The condition required this sustained share price level to be achieved before 2028. It would provide him with 10 million shares worth around 111.2 million euros (£93.4 million). O'Leary will receive the share package if he stay with the business, which he has led since 1994, until 2028. Ryanair shares sat at 23.28 euros on Friday despite dipping slightly from their peak the previous day. Ryanair has been contacted for comment. When asked about the share option earlier this month, Mr O'Leary said: 'I think we're delivering exceptional value for Ryanair shareholders in an era when Premiership footballers and managers are getting paid 20-25 million a year. 'I think Ryanair shareholders are getting a particular value out of our share options – both mine and the rest of the management team.' Rival low-cost rival carrier Wizz Air has a similar pay pledge for its chief executive Jozsef Varadi, which would provide him with £100 million worth of bonuses if its share reached £120 by 2028. Its shares are currently valued at around £16.
