Bannatyne claims taxpayer missed out on €30m by not accepting loan offer

Duncan Bannatyne, the Scottish entrepreneur and star of BBC TV's Dragons' Den , has said the Irish taxpayer has lost out on up to £25 million (€30.5 million) after his loan was sold at a discount to Lone Star, an international investment fund.

Mr Bannatyne told The Irish Times he believed from reports his loan was sold for between 70p and 75p in the pound as part of a bundle of other loans acquired by Lone Star.

He said he had previously made an offer of 97p in the pound to pay off the debts of his fitness chain of £115 million, but this had been rejected by KPMG, the liquidator of Anglo Irish Bank. "Why are you and your fellow countrymen allowing Lone Star make a profit of £25 million?" he asked.

"I owe the money so I'll repay it but I wouldn't be happy if I was you and the taxpayers of Ireland. I would be knocking on the doors of parliament asking Mr Noonan what is going on."

Mr Bannatyne said he was going to pay off 100 per cent of his loans related to his health chain, Bannatyne Fitness, on March 7th. He has the backing of Royal Bank of Scotland and M&G Investments, an investment manager with £242 billion of assets. The businessman said the deal with his new bankers meant he was £5 million-£6 million better off."

“I’ve no interest any more in what is happening, but you should be asking about why you’ve been treated this way,” Mr Bannatyne said. “The taxpayers have lost out by not accepting my previous offers to buy out my loans at 97p in the pound.”

“It is not right that the liquidator is parcelling loans up and selling them off if the borrower is prepared to pay more than a fund ever would,” he said.

KPMG said it was prevented from commenting on individual borrowers.