Businessman Jim Reynolds seeks to stop sale of properties

Retired businessman Jim Reynolds has launched High Court proceedings aimed at preventing a financial fund and its receivers from marketing and selling three properties he owns.

The properties at the centre of the action are two terraced houses on Elgin Road in Ballsbridge, Dublin 4, and The Annaly Hotel, Main Street in Longford. Mr Reynolds, of Golflinks Road Longford, is the brother of former Taoiseach the late Albert Reynolds.

In his action he seeks injunctions preventing financial fund Promontoria (Aran) Ltd and receivers appointed over the properties, Kieran Wallace and Patrick Horkan of KPMG, from selling the three properties.

He also wants the court to prevent the defendants from placing, advertising, marketing the properties for sale, or from inviting and accepting offers for the properties. Mr Reynolds further seeks orders preventing the defendants from holding themselves out from having as having a power of sale over the properties.

At the High Court on Thursday Mr Reynolds, represented by Louis McEntagart SC, was granted permission from Ms Justice Miriam O’Regan for service of the proceedings at short notice on the defendants. The application was made on an ex-parte (one side only represented) basis, and was adjourned to next week.

Mr McEntagart said the disputes arises out of a claim that Mr Reynolds entered into mortgage agreements in 2005 and 2009 with Ulster Bank in respect of the properties.

Demand for €6.45m

The bank, after appointing receivers over the properties, issued a demand in 2013 for €6.45 million, which it says was not paid by Mr Reynolds.

It then sought judgment for that amount against Mr Reynolds, which he opposed. The High Court refused to grant summary judgment against Mr Reynolds, and referred the dispute to a full hearing. That action has yet to be determined by the High Court.

In 2015 Ulster Bank sold Mr Reynold’s loans to Promontoria, which has taken over the case seeking judgment against Mr Reynolds.

Counsel said the injunction application was brought after the properties were advertised for sale on various websites and estate agents were appointed.

Counsel said the defendants have no right to sell the properties, and Mr Reynold’s solicitor Tom Casey wrote to the defendants seeking to have the properties withdraw from sale. Counsel said under the terms of the mortgage agreements the receivers do not have a power of sale and are rent receivers only.

However the defendants, through their solicitors in a letter sent on June 7th, have refused to do so and rejected claims they were doing anything they were not entitled to.

Counsel said Mr Reynolds fears the sale of the properties, when the claim against him for judgment has yet to be determined, will damage his reputation and his property rights. Counsel said his client is 86 years of age and was vulnerable.

The judge, in granting permission, said she was dubious as to the urgency of the matter, given that Mr Reynolds had known about the refusal to withdraw the properties for sale since June.

It would be up to the judge hearing the case to determine if the injunction application was so urgent that it needed to be heard during the legal vacation, the judge added.