State seizes Quinlan properties over unpaid borrowings

THE STATE has seized a number of properties belonging to property dealer Derek Quinlan, after he failed to repay a debt said to be in the tens of millions of euro.

The National Asset Management Agency (Nama) yesterday confirmed it had appointed Paul McDowell of estate agents Knight Frank Ireland as receiver to a number of Dublin properties belonging to Mr Quinlan and members of his family.

The properties are located in Dublin, mainly in central, high-end residential areas such as Raglan Road, Ailesbury Road and Fitzwilliam Square.

It is understood that the properties include number eight Raglan Road, which at one point was listed as Mr Quinlan’s address on company documents.

He now lives in Epalinges, Lausanne, in southwestern Switzerland.

The move means that the agency was not satisfied with Mr Quinlan’s proposals to repay bank borrowings used to buy the properties in the first place.

In these situations, Nama writes to the debtors, pointing out that their proposals to repay the money they have borrowed are not satisfactory, and then issues a demand for repayment of the cash. If the debtor takes no steps to repay the money, the agency appoints a receiver.

In this case, Nama has appointed a property specialist rather than an accountant as a receiver, indicating it is going to seek a relatively quick sale of the properties to recoup money for the taxpayer.

The agency has been championing the idea of using specialist property receivers in some situations. Most receivers come from an accountancy background, as they are involved in managing the businesses to which they are appointed.

However, in this situation the agency is looking for someone who can maximise the return from a sale of the properties rather than manage them.

If the sale of the properties does not realise the full amount of the loans to the Quinlans, they will be liable for the outstanding balance.

It is not known how much money Mr Quinlan and his family owe in relation to the properties, but it is understood to be in the tens of millions.

He paid more than €8 million for one of the homes involved. It is now on the market with a guide price of €3 million. Mr Quinlan himself, his wife Siobhán and one of his children own the properties.

Nama chairman Frank Daly signalled earlier this week that the agency was preparing to move against 30 developers and property players whose business plans had not satisfied the agency, or who they believed were attempting to slow down the process of repaying their debts.

The agency is buying €88 billion worth of property-related loans from the banks for a total of €37 billion in an effort to clean up the lenders’ balance sheets.

It has taken over debts owed by leading developers and has reviewed most of their business plans. It is now moving on to the next phase of its task, which is to pursue the developers involved for repayment of the loans.

Nama has said that it will, as far as possible, seek full repayment of all the €88 billion.