Marlet group chief executive denies attempt to ‘disengage’ from DCU land purchase

The chief executive of Marlet Property Group has denied he sought to pull out of an agreement to purchase land from Dublin City University (DCU) by “deliberately disengaging” from the project during the early portion of the pandemic.

At the High Court on Wednesday Pat Crean said he was focused on “more important” issues in March 2020, such as ensuring the safety of workers and following public health guidelines.

At that time the property market had “paused” and he would not have been looking for other development opportunities, he said.

Mr Crean was giving evidence in a lawsuit taken by a Marlet subsidiary, Atlas Limited Partnership, against DCU seeking the return of a €3.7 million deposit it paid as part of an aborted deal to buy a 9.6-acre development site at Hampstead, Glasnevin.

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The developer also wants the court to declare that the university was unable and unwilling to deliver title of the site.

Denying the claims, DCU says it at all times could sell the land but Atlas was in breach of the December 2019 sale contract by failing to complete the €37.6 million purchase.

DCU’s chief operations officer said in an affidavit that the sale was originally supposed to close in January 2020 but this did not occur as the institution dealt with issues about transferring part of the lands and clarified map issues raised by Atlas.

By the end of July 2020, the officer said, Atlas complained of significant legal points and mapping queries but failed to identify what the issues were.

In August the university formally asked Atlas to complete the sale within 14 days. Atlas contended DCU was unable to sell because it did not have sufficient title to a small area that was critical to the development potential of the site.

Cross-examining Mr Crean on Wednesday, Paul Gardiner SC, for DCU, homed in on March 2020 and the following months.

Mr Crean acknowledged he was “involved” in the process of purchasing the site but said his priorities at the beginning of the pandemic were in figuring out how to secure sites and ensure staff safety.

In March 2020 there remained issues with this project regarding mapping, a “physical boundary” around the land and appropriate access to the site, he said.

Asked if he “deliberately” sought to “torpedo” the sale completion by disengaging in mid-March 2020, Mr Crean said he had to keep referring back to the pandemic.

He said the situation was not isolated, and he did not choose not to respond to somebody on this particular deal at the time.

There was a “hierarchy of issues” at a time when the Government instructed schools to close and workers to stay at home where possible. He could not turn a blind eye to the fact people’s health was at stake and he had to sort situations on building sites.

Mr Crean said he does not recall telling an architectural contractor, tasked with resolving the mapping issues, to “stand down” from the DCU project in April 2020.

Mr Gardiner suggested that by this point it became apparent the site was no longer commercially feasible, due to the issues caused by an “absolutely trivial amount of land”, so an attempt was made to pull out of the deal.

Mr Crean said it was a “completely different world” during the early parts of Covid and “nothing had been resolved” in relation to the site issues. The parcel of land at issue was “critical” for access, he said.

Questioned on elements of the draft contract of sale, Mr Crean said he deferred to his legal advisers for interpreting its terms.

Mr Crean will continue under cross-examination on Thursday.

In its action, Atlas has contended that the sale was at an end due to Covid-19. DCU has refuted this and asserted that Atlas acknowledged as part of the sale conditions that it had fully investigated the title.