IRISH NATIONWIDE has appointed receivers to four property development companies and personal assets owned by businessman Conor Clarkson in a bid to recover debts of €40 million.

The building society has appointed Padraic Monaghan of KPMG and John Hansen of the accountancy firm’s Belfast office joint receivers of Irish company Ardenhill Property, which developed apartments in Wigan and Manchester in the UK.

Mr Monaghan has also been appointed to another property company called Surtan, while Mr Hansen has been appointed to two UK companies, Newbury GB Developments and Goodwood GB.

The firms developed about 70 apartments which will be sold to recover the lender’s debts.

Mr Monaghan has also been appointed receiver over a property in Aherlow, Co Tipperary.

Mr Clarkson is believed to owe the building society €15 million in a personal capacity, while his companies owe about €25 million.

Mr Clarkson declined to comment. A spokesman for the building society said it had no comment to make on the case.

Mr Clarkson is better-known as the owner of racehorse Kicking King, winner of the 2005 Cheltenham Gold Cup. The horse generating more than €950,000 in prize money. Mr Clarkson has sold and let property in the Republic, the UK, the United States, Spain and Dubai through his Dublin business, Clarkson Financial Property.

The most recent accounts for Ardenhill shows the company had stocks valued at €7.4 million and cash of €921,000 at July 2007. The firm had retained profits of €284,000 at the end of the year.

Surtan had stocks of €2 million at July 2007, accounts show.

Mr Clarkson was a 20 per cent shareholder in the Shannon-based charter airline, Eirjet, which was wound up in 2006.

Irish Nationwide has taken a more proactive approach to recover property debts since the departure of chief executive Michael Fingleton last April.