Dermot Desmond’s QED Equity goes into liquidation

Businessman Dermot Desmond has moved to formally wind up his QED Equity financial business, which provided advice to international banks.

Restructuring expert Declan de Lacy, a partner in PKF O’Connor, Leddy & Holmes accountants, has been appointed as liquidator of QED Equity in a solvent liquidation initiated by the company’s shareholders, which include an Isle of Man entity controlled by Mr Desmond.

The directors of QED Equity include Mr Desmond and also Michael Walsh, who was formerly chairman of Irish Nationwide Building Society.

Mr Walsh was last year disqualified from managing any regulated financial service provider for three years after admitting breaches of financial services law to the Central Bank. The breaches were in relation to Irish Nationwide's management of commercial loans and credit risk.

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QED Equity was also prominent in the case of a former official of the National Asset Management Agency (Nama), Enda Farrell.

Leaking information

In 2016, Mr Farrell received a two-year suspended sentence for leaking information about the Nama valuations of properties in 2012 to QED Equity and Canaccord Genuity. He pleaded guilty to leaking information about Cosgrave property group to QED's Stewart Doyle, who is listed as a director of the entity now in liquidation.

The liquidator, Mr De Lacy, declined to comment on Tuesday night, apart from highlighting that QED is a solvent liquidation and that “all creditors will be paid”.

The website for QED Equity, which says it has advised on the restructuring of $45 billion worth of bank assets, contains a phone number that is no longer working. Mr Desmond could not be reached through his Dublin group, International Investment & Underwriting.

Mr Desmond used QED for transactions including his investment in property lender Broadhaven Credit Partners, which he has since exited. He also used QED to buy debts linked to the Football Association of Ireland (FAI).