Nama denies conflict-of-interest claims over valuation fees

THE NATIONAL Asset Management Agency (Nama) has spent over €13 million on fees for property valuations since it was established, according to new figures.

The biggest single beneficiary of valuation work over the period was Jones Lang LaSalle, which acted in many of the big property deals during the boom. It earned fees totalling €1.24 million since 2010, Minister for Finance Michael Noonan has told the Dáil.

The former chairman of Jones Lang LaSalle, John Mulcahy, is now head of the asset management division at the agency and was recently appointed by the Minister to the Nama board.

Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams, who was provided with the figures by Mr Noonan, yesterday expressed concern about the level of fees being paid by the agency to property valuation firms with links to its management.

“The fact that a firm with close links to Nama management is the top recipient of these fees highlights again the need for closer scrutiny of the work of Nama,” Mr Adams said. “I am concerned that Nama is not properly managing conflicts of interest.”

Mr Adams said Fine Gael had promised before the last election to expose Nama to greater public scrutiny but progress on this had been “negligible”.

Nama rejected Mr Adams’ claims, saying it had clear procedures for managing potential conflicts of interest involving staff members. It also pointed out that the property valuation work was awarded following a competitive tender process.

“A key item for any Nama evaluation group for procurement of services is a declaration by each member that they have no conflict of interest in the outcome of the process,” a spokesman said. “This enables the agency to ensure that potential conflicts of interest in the management of the loan portfolios are managed effectively, and that staff do not participate in decisions which may involve the allocation of work to companies for which they worked previously.”

The figures show the agency spent over €4 million on property valuations in 2010 and almost €9 million the following year.

Mr Noonan said that, of the €13.3 million spent by the agency on property valuations, €12.4 million related to once-off property valuations carried out as part of due diligence on acquired loans. The rest related to valuation required as part of the agency’s ongoing management of the portfolio it had acquired, he told Mr Adams.

The valuation fees incurred by the agency are recovered from financial institutions through a reduction in the acquisition price of property, the Minister added.

The figures show that Donal O’Buachalla Co was second on the fees list, having earned €1.2 million since 2010. It was followed by Colliers International (€978,000), Lisney (€861,000) and Knight Frank (€756,000).

Other well-known firms on the top 10 list were WK Nowlan Associates, Cushman and Wakefield, Lambert Smith Hampton, HWBC and Savills Commercial.