Kildare Partners secures €100m of O’Flynn-linked loans

About €100 million of loans associated with companies owned by Cork developer Michael O’Flynn have been sold to

Kildare

Partners, a private equity firm founded by

Ellis Short

.

The loans, which were put up for sale by Lloyds Bank, are understood to relate to a portfolio of commercial properties in the Cork area.

Mr Short formerly worked for Lone Star Funds, a Dallas-based private equity firm, but he is best known as the owner of Sunderland FC.

In Ireland Mr Short's business is led by Emer Finnan, a former chief financial officer with EBS Building Society. Kildare was reported in March to have raised €1.1 billion to invest in distressed European property assets.

It was previously reported to be trying to buy Project Tower, a €1.8 billion portfolio of loans associated with Mr O’Flynn being sold by Nama.

Other bidders linked with the sale are Davidson Kempner Capital Management (DKCM), a $20 billion US hedge fund and private equity giants Blackstone and Lone Star.

Lone Star has already invested billions in Ireland and Blackstone has also been active here. DKCM was an underbidder for €800 million in loans linked to the property business of Paddy McKillen.

Mr O’Flynn’s Nama loans are expected to be sold for more than €1 billion and they have a rent roll of €75 million a year. A decision on his loans is expected next month.

His Nama assets are in Ireland, the UK, Germany and Spain and include the Elysian Tower in Cork. Mr O'Flynn is one of the top 10 developers in Nama. His borrowings are not personal but owed by his companies. He has reached a full debt restructuring agreement with the agency and is looking at new opportunities and managing existing properties.