Kilternan Hotel, Hotel News, Property Dublin, Country Club in south Dublin

Kilternan Hotel, Hotel News

The partially built Kilternan Hotel & Country Club in south Dublin is to be completed and operated by the Comer Group after being acquired at a knockdown price. The new owners are believed to have paid about €7 million for the complex on which €171.5 million from Irish Nationwide was spent before the collapse of the property market.

The 96 per cent write-down in value is easily the largest recorded for a substantial investment since the property and banking crisis began.

Marcus Magnier of agents Colliers International, who handled the sale, said yesterday the general consensus among investors who viewed the unfinished buildings was that it would take an additional €20 million to complete the project.

Although Kilternan and two other property-related companies controlled by the late Hugh O’Regan collapsed back in August 2009, with overall borrowings of €198.5 million, the sale of the country club was put on the long finger because of fears that a catastrophic fall in value such as the one now to be recorded would have a knock-on effect on the sale of hundreds of other distressed property assets. This is no longer a concern given the remarkable recovery in property values and the ever increasing competition between Irish and overseas funds for the larger number of investments being offered for sale.

David Hughes of Ernst & Young has been acting as receiver and manager of Kilternan which also includes 300 acres including a former golf course.

Although Comer operates a successful golf course at its Palmerstown House Estate near the Dublin/Kildare border, it is though unlikely it will resurrect the Kilternan course because of its proximity to several courses including Dún Laoghaire, Powerscourt, Woodbrook, Old Conna and Glen of the Downs.

About half of the €20 million likely to be spent on the buildings will be used to complete a 78-bedroom apart-hotel. Substantial funds will also have to spend on the completion of the 128-bedroom hotel.

The 16,435sq m (176,903sq ft) development also includes a spa, banqueting hall, lounge and service facilities above three floors of hotel public facilities.

There is a particularly large health centre with a floor area of 6,957sq m (74,883sq ft) over three levels built around a four-court indoor tennis centre.

Blackstone, High Court Dublin, Michael O Flynn

Blackstone, High Court Dublin, Michael O Flynn

Blackstone says it is ‘entitled’ to seek repayment from O’Flynns

US investor Blackstone said yesterday it was entitled to demand the repayment of €16.7 million in personal debt from developer brothers Michael and John O’Flynn, and force their property and construction empire to default on its loans.

Blackstone acquired the Cork-based O’Flynn Group’s €1.8 billion debts from State agency Nama in May and now claims the business cannot meet its liabilities, giving the US fund the right to take control of its assets in Ireland, Britain and Europe.

The fund’s subsidiary, Carbon Finance, last week appointed receivers to the O’Flynn Group’s parent and some of its assets when the brothers failed to meet a demand for immediate repayment of €16.7 million in personal loans, from a total of €24.9 million due from them and others, that are part of the overall debt acquired from Nama.

Strategy

The O’Flynns argue they were not given reasonable time to respond to this demand and that it was simply part of a strategy designed to engineer a default on the group’s loans and allow Carbon to take control of their group’s assets.

In an affidavit opened in the High Court battle over the group’s control, Carbon director Lorna Brown rejects that the firm engineered the situation.

“Carbon demanded repayment of the relevant personal facilities as it was entitled to do and the plaintiffs failed to satisfy those demands, leading to an event of default under the personal facilities, and in due course to an event of default under the corporate facilities,” she says.

Her affidavit points out that the personal loans, which are secured against group assets, are repayable on demand and that the O’Flynns negotiated those terms with Nama when the group’s debts were restructured in February of last year.

Following Carbon’s appointment of receivers last week, the fund successfully applied to the High Court to have Michael McAteer of Grant Thornton installed as interim examiner to the O’Flynn Group’s four key trading firms in the Republic.

The building and property group is asking the High Court to overturn the receivers’ and examiner’s appointments. It argues that Carbon took those steps simply to gain control of the assets, something it has intended to do since Blackstone bought the debts in May.

Liabilities

Carbon rejects this and says the group is unable to meet its liabilities, including a €235 million repayment due at the end of this year. Ms Brown points out that the subsidiary from which this cash is due, Tiger Haymarket No 1 Ltd, failed to make repayments of £6.2 million and €1.35 million when they fell due last March.

Nama and its subsidiary, National Asset Loan Management, said it would not enforce its rights as a result, once there were no further defaults before the end of this year.

Ms Brown argues that those repayments had to be deferred, and it would be “inconceivable” that the group would be able to meet the €235 million repayment due on December 31st.

Ms Justice Mary Irvine is due to rule on the case next week.

Paul Gallagher murder, Navan Gardai, Meath murder, Meath News

Paul Gallagher Murder

Gardai investigating the murder of 26 year old Paul Gallagher, whose body was found in Ballymacan outside Collon, are appealing for information on the journey he may have taken in a red Volkswagon Golf from Donaghmeade in Dublin to Collon on Monday night/Tuesday morning.

The car he was travelling in had a registration number beginning 01 LH.

Gardai have launched a murder investigation headed by Supt Michael Devine of Navan. An incident room has been set up in Navan Garda Station and Chief Supt Aidan Glacken has appointed a chief investigating officer.

Mr Gallagher’s body was found in open farmland at Ballymacon at 5pm yesterday.

Gardai believe he may have travelled north from Donaghmeade along the M1 and took the Slane exit.

He was last seen in Donaghmeade at 10.30pm on Monday night and was wearing a navy tracksuit top, grey tracksuit bottoms and white runners with a navy stripe.

They are appealing for information from anyone who may have seen him or the vehicle on Monday night or the early hours of Tuesday morning.

Gardaí are appealing to any persons with information or who can assist with the investigation to contact Navan Garda Station on 046 - 9079930, The Garda Confidential Telephone Line 1800 666 111 or any Garda Station.