Latest news with #propertydeal
Irish Times
4 days 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
6 days ago
- Business
- Irish Times
Senior official at UL resigns after university overpaid €5.2m for student housing
A top University of Limerick official has resigned his post, a year after the institution was rocked by a botched property deal in which it overpaid €5.2 million for student housing. Andrew Flaherty was chief commercial officer of UL since October 2020. He had responsibility for commercial activities, buildings and estates when UL went ahead with a €11.9 million deal in 2022 in which it paid significantly above market price for 20 student homes. The arrangement led to the resignation last June of then UL president Prof Kerstin Mey and heavy criticism by the Comptroller & Auditor General , the public spending watchdog. Mr Flaherty had been on administrative leave since June. READ MORE [ University of Limerick proposes moving school of medicine to Dunnes Stores site Opens in new window ] In a statement emailed on Tuesday evening to UL staff and students, university chancellor Prof Brigid Laffan said he had left the institution with immediate effect. 'The chief commercial officer has tendered his resignation from employment with University of Limerick with effect from 27 May 2025,' she wrote. 'The university has accepted that resignation. The chief commercial officer has also resigned from all directorships and offices associated with or connected to the university.' A biography of Mr Flaherty on UL's website said he previously worked in companies such as Generali, Utmost Pan Europe, GE, Aer Lingus, Chill, Genworth and ESAT Digifone. In July last year, UL's then chief officer Prof Shane Kilcommins started High Court defamation proceedings in a personal capacity against Mr Flaherty and his wife Audrey Flaherty. Prof Kilcommins is now acting president of UL. At the time the court proceedings were initiated, both Prof Kilcommins and Mr Flaherty sat on the 14-member UL executive committee, which advises the university president. According to legal records, the case remains before the courts. In a report last September, the C&AG found fault with the student housing deal and another UL property transaction in Limerick city that resulted in combined financial losses of more than €8 million. The C&AG report said UL's €5.2 million overpayment when buying the student homes resulted in a 'significant loss in value for money'. There were 'significant' due diligence failures, even though UL had adopted new procedures because of problems with a separate Limerick city deal in 2019. The report also concluded it was 'difficult to see' how the 2019 deal that led to a €3 million loss 'represented value for money'. The student housing deal at Rhebogue, 3km from the UL campus, was previously the subject of a special report for UL's governing authority that found the settled €10.9 million price rose by more than €1 million when the final contract was signed only nine days later. UL has also been under scrutiny over the purchase of a city centre property which it later admitted 'significantly overpaying' for. The university bought the former Dunnes Stores property at Honan's Quay for more than €8 million in 2019. It later wrote down the value of the site by €3 million in its financial accounts. In a message to staff on Tuesday , Prof Kilcommins said a 'concept proposal' for the possible redevelopment of the Honan's Quay site was discussed. This involves relocating UL's existing school of medicine to a 'fully redeveloped, high-quality facility' at the city-centre site.
