Bar manager has more than €7m property investment debt written off

A bar manager has had nearly €7.4 million in debt written off as part of a court-approved personal insolvency arrangement (PIA).

The High Court heard that Oliver Flynn (59), who manages Wright’s Bar Group in Swords, north Dublin, got into difficulty during the financial recession after investing in several properties.

The more than €7.7 million he owed was made up primarily of unsecured debts, with these creditors recovering just €9,800 under the debt restructuring scheme.

Barrister Keith Farry, for personal insolvency practitioner Tara Cheevers, told the court the debtor will be put to the “pin of his collar for the rest of his days” to keep his €370,000 home in Clongriffin.

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The court heard Mr Flynn, a single man with no dependant children, has a net monthly income of €3,250 from his work as a full-time bar manager.

His sole secured creditor, Mars Capital Ireland DAC, is supporting the PIA. Mars is owed €600,000 via a mortgage on Mr Fynn’s four-bedroom home. Under the arrangement, this is being written down by €230,000 to the property’s current market value, which is payable over 15 years.

He will make interest-only monthly mortgage repayments during the scheme’s one-year lifespan. Full monthly payments of €1,900 will begin after 12 months.

Unsecured creditors, owed the remaining €7.1 million of Mr Flynn’s debts, will recover a 0.13 per cent dividend under the scheme.

Pepper Finance Corporation (Ireland) DAC, which has a claim for nearly €5.5 million in unsecured debt arising out of mortgage deficits following a sale, will recover €7,300.

Promontoria (Aran) Limited, which is owed more than €1.6 million, will receive €2,200 under the scheme.

Mr Farry said unsecured creditors would have received nothing in a bankruptcy scenario. Pepper voted against the arrangement at a creditors’ meeting but it did not oppose the application before the High Court.

Mr Justice Alexander Owens made orders approving the PIA which will see Mr Flynn return to solvency.