Lowry link discovered by bankers year after loan issue

A Dublin bank was told in 1999 that Mr Denis O'Brien was "aware" of a £420,000 sterling loan being sought from the bank.

More than a year after giving out the loan the bank discovered that Mr Michael Lowry was involved.

Mr Michael Cullen, a senior executive with GE Capital Woodchester Bank at the time, told the tribunal that when he was told Mr O'Brien was "aware" of the transaction he took this to mean Mr O'Brien "may or may not have some interest" in it.

He said Mr O'Brien might have been mentioned to provide comfort to the bank, even though he was not seen as being behind the transaction from the credit viewpoint.

He also said that mention of Mr O'Brien might have indicated that Mr O'Brien would not allow the transaction to get into difficulty.

The tribunal heard that in December 1999 an accountant, Mr Aidan Phelan, made an application to the bank for the £420,000 loan. Mr Phelan said it was required urgently for a property transaction in England.

Mr Phelan was known to the bank in his own right and as a representative of Mr O'Brien, who also used the bank. Mr Michael Tunney, who dealt with Mr Phelan, told Mr Cullen of the application. The loan was to go to a British company, Catclause Ltd, and a guarantee was to be given by a wealthy businessman involved in property and construction, Mr John Daly. The bank was to get a charge on the property to be bought with the money.

The loan was issued before it received credit approval from Investec, a British bank which was in the process of taking over GE Capital Woodchester, and the British bank expressed annoyance over this.

"It should never have happened," Mr Cullen said. The deal was one of the first negotiated after Investec had taken over.

Mr Cullen said he took it that Catclause was Mr Phelan's company. He considered the loan to be a relatively small one. Documentation showing the company passing a resolution accepting the loan and signed by Mr Phelan was given to the bank.

The loan was to purchase a church in Cheadle. The purchasers hoped to sell the property on in a short period and repay the loan. The loan was to be repaid by July 31st, 2000.

Efforts by the bank to secure a guarantee from Mr Daly, who had a net worth of at least £5 million, failed.

In February 2001 Mr Cullen sought a meeting with Mr Phelan about the loan, which was still outstanding. On the day before the meeting he was told that a search in the British Companies Office indicated that Mr Michael Lowry and Ms Lorraine Lowry were the directors of Catclause. He was also told the company was being dissolved.

Because the information had not been confirmed he did not mention it during his meeting with Mr Phelan. On the same day he met Mr Tunney, who had by then left the bank but was still giving assistance in relation to the loan. Mr Tunney said he believed that Mr Phelan was a director of Catclause.

The next day Mr Cullen received confirmation that the Catclause directors were Mr Lowry and his daughter. He told Mr Tunney, who seemed shocked and said he would contact Mr Phelan.

A day later Mr Cullen met Mr Phelan. Mr Phelan said he was the beneficiary of the loan, and it was agreed a letter would be given to the bank stating this and outlining Mr Lowry's involvement.

One document shown to the tribunal indicated that planning permission was being sought to develop the site into an 85-bed nursing home. Another indicated that in October 2000 the owners of the property were hoping to sell it for £1.1 million sterling. This deal fell through.

The tribunal heard that the credit file in relation to the loan went missing in GE Capital Woodchester and had to be reconstituted. Mr Cullen said that only "0.001 per cent" of files go missing.

At the outset of the hearing yesterday limited legal representation was sought and granted to Mr Phelan, Mr Tunney and Investec, including Mr Cullen.