STATE-OWNED ANGLO Irish Bank will oppose a court application today by hotelier Hugh O’Regan for confirmation of the appointment of an examiner to three of his companies. Anglo will attempt to proceed with its recovery of unpaid loans.
The bank, which is owed more than €80 million by Mr O’Regan’s various companies, will argue before the High Court today that three of his companies under court protection since last Sunday have no income and no employees.
The bank will claim the three companies – Thomas Read Holdings, Dashaven and Clubko – do not therefore fulfil the criteria for the appointment of an examiner.
Mr O’Regan is seeking an extension of court protection for up to 100 days through an examinership giving the companies time to devise a restructuring plan.
He is also seeking to prevent the bank’s attempts to recover its loans from affecting his redevelopment of the Kilternan hotel and country club in south Co Dublin, which he acquired for €12.7 million in 2001. It is understood that Irish Nationwide is owed a substantial sum on the Kilternan project, which is close to completion. Dashaven is the company behind the redevelopment.
Anglo Irish and Irish Nationwide had no comment, while Mr O’Regan could not be reached for comment yesterday evening.
Mr O’Regan applied to the High Court at a special sitting on Sunday to place the three companies under the court’s protection in a move that prevented Anglo Irish taking control of a number of properties connected to his firms.
An interim examiner, Kieran Wallace of KPMG, was appointed to Mr O’Regan’s three companies after Mr Justice Vivian Lavan placed the companies under the court’s protection last Sunday.
Mr Justice Brian McGovern will hear the full application to confirm Mr Wallace’s appointment as examiner today.
The bank appointed a receiver, Martin Ferris of Dublin company Ferris Associates, last Friday in an attempt to take control of a number of properties linked to Mr O’Regan and the firms Thomas Read Holdings and Clubko.
The receiver agreed to stand aside pending the outcome of today’s court application.
Thomas Read Holdings is a holding company for a number of Mr O’Regan’s property companies and trading businesses, including the Morrison Hotel in Dublin city centre which does not fall under tomorrow’s court application.
The company owns a property at No 4 Parliament Street in Dublin city centre, which housed Thomas Read’s Cutlers, which was the city’s oldest continually run shop but now remains vacant.
Clubko owns No 8 St Stephen’s Green in Dublin city centre, which previously housed the Hibernian United Services Club. Mr O’Regan paid €10 million for the building in 2003 and had planned to re-open it as a new private members’ club.
Anglo will argue that the receivership should proceed as the companies do not fulfil the qualifying criteria for examinership.
Mr O’Regan will maintain that the companies have a reasonable prospect of survival and should be placed into examinership.
The scenario faced by Mr O’Regan today is similar to a case involving Cork property developer John Fleming last week.
Mr Fleming’s company Tivway, which was developing an office block in Sandyford, south Co Dublin, successfully secured court protection and the appointment of an examiner in the face of opposition from Dutch-owned ACCBank.
The bank, which had earlier appointed a receiver to Tivway, argued before Mr Justice McGovern that the firm was not a suitable candidate for the examinership process as it did not trade.
