Latest news with #RichardThomsonMoore
Irish Times
a day ago
- Business
- Irish Times
‘I came here for protection': John Magnier complains about ‘unfair' treatment in court
Billionaire businessman John Magnier has accused a barrister representing the Barne Estate owners of 'slaughtering' him and trying to take away his good name. The bloodstock magnate addressed Martin Hayden on the third day of the hearing of his case alleging the property owners reneged on a deal, sealed with a handshake, to sell the 751-acre estate to him for €15 million. Mr Magnier, his son John Paul Magnier and his daughter Katherine Wachman are suing Barne Estate owner Richard Thomson-Moore and three companies of IQEQ (Jersey), the holding company of the estate shares, over the purported sale they say occurred on August 22nd, 2023, at Mr Magnier's home in Coolmore. They claim the Thomson-Moores backtracked on the agreement and accepted an offer from American-based businessman Maurice Regan for €22.25 million. READ MORE In the Commercial Court in Dublin on Thursday, Mr Magnier told Mr Hayden, senior counsel for the Thomson-Moores, he feels he was treated 'unfairly' in the witness box on Wednesday. 'I got a lot of praise at the start. You ended up taking my good name. I can't do business without my good name,' he said. 'They (the Thomson-Moores) wouldn't have done a deal with me without my good name. I came here for protection and not to be slaughtered'. Mr Magnier said he is not a 'legal person' and left that to others. Every day he received an update on his bloodstock business, which covers 6,000 mares a year. He also gets a daily update on his businesses in the UK, which employ 18,000 people. Mr Magnier went on to accuse Mr Hayden of repeatedly asking him the same questions. He is not a 'Pontius Pilate' washing his hands of the deal he had made with the Thomson-Moores. 'If I say something to you, it's the truth'. Mr Justice Max Barrett interjected to say Mr Hayden is doing his job and, in the judge's opinion, 'had not strayed at all yesterday'. Mr Hayden also said he is doing his job to the best of his ability and there are always two sides to every story. The judge said Mr Magnier and Mr Hayden are 'decent and honorable gentlemen, let's leave it at that'. In his evidence, Mr Magnier said only Mr Stokes had mentioned on the night of August 22nd, 2023, that the sale needed the approval of the trustees based in Jersey. According to Mr Magnier, Mr Stokes said they needed to phone the trustees and Mr Thomson-Moore's sister Alex about the deal. They adjourned to another room and, when they returned and shook hands, Mr Magnier believed the outside parties had given their approval. Mr Magnier's case alleges Mr Thomson-Moore 'had the authority or expressly represented that he had the authority' when he agreed to sell the farm, Mr Hayden said. Mr Magnier responded: 'I didn't say he had authority on the night. I assumed he had authority. It was his farm as far as he was concerned.' Mr Hayden said all property deals are subject to contract, and Mr Magnier was not going to send €15 million via Revolut to the Thomson-Moores without paperwork. Mr Hayden suggested Mr Magnier had entered into an exclusivity agreement with the Thomson-Moores for the land because he knew he did not have a binding legal contract for it. Mr Magnier rejected this suggestion, saying he only entered into an exclusivity agreement because Mr Regan was attempting to interfere in the sales process.
Irish Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Irish Times
Barne Estate trial: ‘I'm not the bad guy here', John Magnier tells court
Billionaire businessman John Magnier has said money does not mean much to him except as a way 'to keep the score'. Giving evidence on the second day of the trial over the Barne Estate in Co Tipperary, Mr Magnier said he has had good days and bad days in business, but the good days outweigh the bad. 'I've been fortunate,' he told the Commercial Court, confirming he is a billionaire. Mr Magnier, his son John Paul Magnier and his daughter Katherine Wachman are suing Barne Estate owner Richard Thomson-Moore and three companies of IQEQ (Jersey), the holding company of the estate shares, over a purported sale that occurred on August 22nd, 2023. READ MORE They allege Mr Thomson-Moore agreed to sell the 751-acre estate to Mr Magnier for €15 million in a deal, sealed with a handshake, at Mr Magnier's home in Coolmore. They claim the Thomson-Moores reneged on the sale and accepted an offer from American-based businessman Maurice Regan for €22.25 million. On Wednesday, Mr Magnier said he thought he had struck a deal at his Coolmore home when he shook hands with the auctioneer John Stokes and Mr Thomson-Moore and his wife Anna on the evening of August 22nd. Mr Thomson-Moore's senior counsel Martin Hayden put it to him that Mr Magnier had bought a huge amount of property in Ireland and overseas. The barrister asked if he understands the meaning of the phrase 'subject to contract'. Mr Magnier replied: 'I left school when I was 15. I haven't a good education. I employ people to do things on my behalf .... I don't understand I'm not a solicitor. Whatever goes on in the legal side of our business, it is nothing I deal with.' He said he does not understand this 'legal jargon', but has 'people better than me looking after it'. Mr Magnier said he never had any problems buying other properties. He was pressed on whether or not he agreed with the auctioneer Mr Stokes, who said 'greed' was the motivating factor for the Thomson-Moores seeking a higher price. Mr Magnier said the lawyers was 'trying to put words in my mouth'. This was Mr Stokes's view, not his. 'I wouldn't say they were greedy, if you ask me. I don't think they are greedy. I think they have been misled by Mr Regan,' he said. Mr Magnier told the court he does not know how much land he owns in Co Tipperary, but a suggestion that he might own as much as 20,000 acres was 'totally false'. He owns very little land in his own name. 'I have five children and 15 grandchildren. We have a lot of employees who are in partnership with us and some start businesses on their own in Ireland.' Mr Magnier confirmed he knew the Thomson-Moores wanted to sell the farm, which had been in the family since the mid-17th century. He knew they wanted to move to Australia to get better medical treatment for their severely disabled son. Mr Heyden suggested there is a disparity between a billionaire and a family, whose only asset is the farm and who were being offered €7.2 million more than he had offered. 'Do you say that was greed?' Mr Heyden asked him. Mr Magnier responded: 'You're trying to portray me as the bad guy here. Nobody else would have given them €15 million, including him (Mr Regan). There is no question. We were fair and honourable with them all the way.' Mr Magnier said Mr Regan wanted to depress the price of farmland in Co Tipperary and he (Mr Magnier) would not agree to it. 'It was personal with Mr Regan,' he said. He was pressed on whether or not he was buying the farm or the company that owned the farm when he agreed to the sale on August 22nd, 2023. He said his preference is for the farm, but he would keep an open mind on it, subject to his experts examining the accounts.
Irish Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Irish Times
Barne Estate case: Oral contract generates mountain of paperwork in court
An oral contract is not worth the paper it is written on, the film mogul Samuel Goldwyn once observed. The oral contract that ended in the alleged sale of the Barne Estate in Co Tipperary to the billionaire businessman John Magnier has generated a veritable mountain of paperwork. Magnier and family are suing Barne Estate owner Richard Thomson-Moore and others over the purported sale on the evening of August 22nd, 2023 of the 751-acre estate in Co Tipperary. There were boxes piled up on the seats of a crowded Court 11 and stacks of blue-grey boxes bearing the name of Magnier's solicitors Arthur Cox for which there was no room in the court. READ MORE After lunch Mr Justice Max Barrett acknowledged that he is going to need a bigger courtroom and ordered that the boxes be removed to let people sit down. Magnier's counsel Paul Gallagher led the court patiently through page after page of written evidence – more than 500 pages in total. Among the WhatsApp messages he read was one from Alex Thomson-Moore, the sister of Richard Thomson-Moore, who wrote: 'One of us needs to be writing a diary and turning this into a Sunday night TV thriller.' Tolstoy's War and Peace, more like. Counsel for the Barne Estate Martin Heyden interjected to say there had been an 'extraordinarily disproportionate' level of demand for documents in the case from Magnier's side and the process was costing a 'staggering amount of money'. [ 'Gargantuan' data search ongoing in case over alleged €15 million sale of Barne estate to businessman John Magnier Opens in new window ] The star witness, John Magnier, gave evidence just after 3pm. 'This is my first day here ever,' he added with a pause when asked how often he had ended up in court over a deal like this. He has amassed a huge fortune through his Coolmore bloodstock operation and much of Co Tipperary. He crossed swords with Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson and won. Yet, aside from the odd horse racing interview about his Coolmore prodigies, he rarely, if ever, speaks in public about his dealings. He has made his fortune while remaining a mystery. He spoke quietly and deliberately, aside from once when he got irritated and handed Heyden a copy of his statement only to demand it back again later. The Barne Estate was adjoining two farms that he owned and he was keen to purchase it. He went to visit it on July 7th, 2023 and noticed something odd. The Thomson-Moores were growing potatoes, which is 'hard on land'. When he inquired he was told that the Thomson-Moores were always 'strapped for cash' and had found a cash customer for the potatoes. 'That struck a chord with me,' he said. On the evening of August 22nd, Thomson-Moore, his wife, and auctioneer John Stokes arrived to the Coolmore House. Stokes demanded €18 million for the Barne Estate. 'That led me to believe that they were not serious about doing a deal. I was taken aback by it,' said Magnier. 'Between the jigs and reels and going back and forth,' he added, they finally settled on a figure of €15 million. Stokes and the Thomson-Moores adjourned to another room and then came back. 'John [Stokes] put out his hand, and said, 'John, we have a deal.'' It wasn't subject to anything, they all shook hands, everybody was happy and he thought he had a deal, Magnier remembered. He later gave the Thomson-Moores €50,000 in cash for three reasons: firstly, for allowing him to till the farm; secondly, because they were under financial pressure; and thirdly, because they were resisting a counter-offer from US-based businessman Maurice Regan. [ John Magnier confirms he gave 'strapped for cash' estate owners €50,000 in cash in two envelopes Opens in new window ] Magnier knew when the money was returned on September 11th, 2023 that the deal was in trouble. He wanted to resolve the issue by peaceful means and upped his offer to more than €16 million and €500,000 in a trust for the Thomson-Moores' disabled son. It was rejected. 'We were left with no choice but to launch proceedings,' he said. He spoke with Stokes on October 6th. 'I asked him what was going on. 'John, there is one word for it – greed.''
Irish Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Irish Times
‘Unequivocal' sale agreed with businessman John Magnier to buy Barne Estate, High Court hears
The owner of the Barne Estate in Co Tipperary had agreed a sale to billionaire businessman John Magnier before being 'beguiled' by an alternative bidder, the Commercial Court has heard. Mr Magnier, his son John Paul Magnier and his daughter Katherine Wachman have taken legal proceedings against Barne Estate owner Richard Thomson-Moore and three companies of IQEQ (Jersey), the holding company of the Barne Estate shares, over a purported sale that occurred on August 22nd, 2023. They claim Mr Magnier and Mr Thomson-Moore agreed to the sale of the 751-acre (303-hectare) estate in Co Tipperary for a price of €15 million. The Barne defendants say there was never any such agreement to sell the estate to Mr Magnier and that they subsequently agreed to sell it for €22.5 million to construction magnate Mr Regan, founder of the New York building firm JT Magen. Mr Regan is not a party to the case. READ MORE Mr Magnier's barrister Paul Gallagher SC said he could prove it was an 'unequivocal case' that Mr Thomson-Moore and his wife Anna had agreed to a sale of the land at a meeting in Mr Magnier's Coolmore home. Contemporaneous notes taken by the parties involved would show it was 'indisputable' that the deal had taken place, he told Mr Justice Max Barrett. The Thomson-Moores had sought to 'take refuge' in the land being held in a discretionary trust in Jersey and therefore they did not have approval to sell the estate to Mr Magnier on August 22nd, Mr Gallagher said. However, the barrister claimed the trust in question had 'no real status' and no phone call was made by the Thomson-Moores on the night of the alleged sale. This proved that they did not need the approval of any trust to sell the estate. Businessman John Magnier at the Four Courts in Dublin. Photograph: Collins Courts The Barne estate was put up for sale on by Savills and local agent John Stokes on July 16th or 17th, the court was told. Mr Magnier made an initial offer of €11.25 million on August 16th. Three bids had been made and rejected and no progress had been made on a sale. He then invited, through intermediaries, Thomson-Moores to his home on August 22nd in order to complete the sale. Mr Magnier made it clear that 'if they were not interested in doing a deal, there is no point in coming', Mr Gallagher said and he would never have done the deal with the Thomson-Moores if it was thought they had to refer it back to the trustees for approval. The deal was then done on August 22nd, Mr Gallagher claimed, with a number of ancillary terms that a long-term employee of the estate, Colm O'Flaherty, would be offered a job and the farm machinery would be sold separately. An exclusivity deal was done so that Mr Magnier could plough the land. The sale was supposed to have been included a month to the day after the agreement. However, it subsequently emerged that during this period the Thomson-Moores, encouraged by Mr Stokes, thought they could consider other offers, Mr Gallagher told the court. They 'foolishly and wrongly believed' that they could contract with Mr Regan, the US-based businessman who offered €22.5 million for the estate. Mr Gallagher contended that the Thomson-Moores had therefore been 'beguiled' by Mr Regan. Mr Magnier barrister said not only were there were a significant number of documents confirming the agreement 'but there are many versions of them'. The case is expected to last at least 13 days and Mr Magnier will be the first witness.
Irish Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Irish Times
John Magnier's case over alleged €15m estate sale begins today at Commercial Court
A case involving billionaire businessman John Magnier over the alleged sale of a large estate in Co Tipperary is due to get under way at the Commercial Court today. Mr Magnier, his son John Paul Magnier and his daughter Katherine Wachman are suing Barne Estate owner Richard Thomson-Moore and three companies of IQEQ (Jersey), the holding company of the Barne Estate shares, over a purported sale that occurred on August 22nd, 2023. They allege Mr Magnier and Mr Thomson-Moore agreed to the sale of the 751-acre (303-hectare) estate for a price of €15 million when at Mr Magnier's home in Coolmore. The estate, which is mostly fertile tillage land, comes with a three-storey, 12-bedroom mansion house modelled on a French chateau with manicured lawns in front running down to a lake that is stocked with trout. It has been in the Thomson-Moore family since the middle of the 17th century. READ MORE Mr Magnier said he paid a €250,000 deposit for the site, lodged the full amount with his solicitors and paid for a tillage licence to plough the land on the basis that he had a 'binding agreement' to purchase it. Mr Thomson-Moore's case is that no such sale took place and instead he plans to sell the estate to American-based businessman Maurice Regan for €22.5 million. The case was due to get under way in March but was delayed to allow for further sharing of documents by the Thomson-Moore side. The case has already generated more than 150,000 original documents. That figure came before a 'gargantuan' computer search of the servers related to the Barne Estate holding company in Jersey. The trial is set to last at least 13 days, with Mr Magnier taking the stand first. He is expected to give evidence for two days. Mr Thomson-Moore and his wife Anna are expected to give evidence along with the estate agent John Stokes who was there for the trial. The Thomson-Moores have stressed in the past that they want the trial concluded so they can move to Australia to get support for their son Teddy, who has cerebral palsy. Court documents show Mr Magnier offered the Thomson-Moores €50,000 in cash in two envelopes on September 7th as he heard they were 'strapped for cash'. The money was returned to John Paul Magnier via Mr Stokes some days later. Mr Regan is also expected to give evidence in the case. He is one of two shareholders in the Mercantile Group, which runs venues in Dublin such as Café en Seine and The George. He owns a 550-acre (222-hectare) farm in Co Tipperary and has some 200 acres (80 hectares) elsewhere in the county. For Richard Thomson-Moore, whose family has owned Barne Estate since 1654, the trial will determine whether he is bound to sell the property to Magnier, or whether he can proceed with a €22.25 million sale to Maurice Regan, the Kerry-born US-based construction tycoon behind the Mercantile Group of pubs. Thomson-Moore's lawyers have told the High Court on numerous occasions that they want to close a deal and move to Australia to access medical treatment for Teddy, their son.
