Dunloe Ewart has named a date for the extraordinary general meeting sought by Mr Dermot Desmond and Mr Phil Monahan. The meeting will take place on December 18th, in the Westbury Hotel, Dublin.

Yesterday the only two board members whose removal is not sought by Mr Desmond and Mr Monahan, issued a statement to shareholders arguing against supporting motions submitted for the e.g.m.

Mr Tim Kenny and Mr Noel Murray said they did not favour the removal of their board colleagues. They also said that if Mr Desmond, or his firm, IIU Ltd, and Mr Monahan, or his firm, Monarch Properties, wanted control of Dunloe, they should bid for it.

The two executive directors also said that a number of the major shareholders in the company seemed to be in conflict.

Mr Desmond and Mr Monahan, who between them control about 23 per cent of Dunloe, have proposed that company resources be used to buy back shares at 50 cents per share. They have also proposed that company assets should then be sold off and distributed among remaining shareholders.

However another significant shareholder in Dunloe, Mr Liam Carroll, has said he is opposed to the plan to sell off assets. Mr Carroll owns 29.9 per cent of Dunloe.

The position of Mr Pascal Taggart, who last week bought up to 27 per cent of Dunloe from Dunloe chairman Mr Noel Smyth, is not clear. Mr Taggart hopes to sell on his shareholding at a profit to one of the other major shareholders.

Mr Kenny and Mr Murray also said in their letter that the proposal from Mr Desmond and Mr Monahan lacked clarity in relation to buying the shares, how they would be paid for and what proportion of a shareholder's stake would be purchased.

The directors have also written in praise of the independent directors whom Mr Desmond and Mr Monahan want removed.

The two directors said their colleagues on the board were truly independent and had wide experience of property matters. The letter also said they had built up a substantial company in a reasonably short period.