Carroll firm under receivership pays €1.4m to creditors

ONE OF the businesses in Liam Carroll’s collapsed property development empire paid €1.4 million to secured creditors in the first year of its receivership, according to documents filed in the companies’ office.

Mr Carroll’s property development business collapsed last year owing its banks €1.2 billion after two failed attempts to have it placed in examinership and under High Court protection failed.

State toxic loans agency, Nama, subsequently took over loans due to AIB, Anglo Irish Bank, Bank of Ireland and the EBS.

Documents filed by David Carson of Deloitte, the receiver appointed by Bank of Ireland, show that €1.45 million was distributed to secured creditors over two six-month periods between October 2009 and 2010.

The inter-locking companies in Mr Carroll’s business, known collectively as the Zoe group, owed Bank of Ireland €113 million.

Mr Carson’s filings relate to a series of properties at Castleforbes, between the Point and Sherriff Street in Dublin’s docklands, Brunswick Street and Coolock on the city’s northside and Inchicore on its southside.

The figures show that these businesses generated receipts of €5.6 million, much of it in rent, while €2.8 million was distributed in payments, which included receiver’s fees of €126,000.

Mr Carroll had been a successful developer before the boom of the last decade, and became one of biggest property players in Dublin during that period.

AIB, which the State effectively took over yesterday, was the largest lender to Zoe, which owed it €489 million, or 40.8 per cent of the group’s overall debt.

Bank of Scotland (Ireland) followed with a €321 million debt. Other lenders included: Ulster Bank, €82 million; Anglo Irish Bank, €38 million; KBC Bank Ireland, €23 million and EBS, €8.5 million.

A number of other receivers were appointed to the group, but none of the documents they have filed at this stage show any distributions were made to creditors.

Zoe’s efforts to get court protection and to be placed in examinership last year failed because the group was unable to show that it would have a reasonable chance of survival were this to happen.