DEVELOPER DAVID Agar yesterday succeeded in getting a High Court order preventing Ulster Bank from appointing a receiver to one of his properties in Dublin city centre.

The bank moved to appoint accountancy firm Deloitte as receiver to the Harcourt Building, at the junction of Harcourt Street and Adelaide Road, this week.

But the High Court yesterday issued an injunction halting the receiver’s appointment following an application by Mr Agar.

The debt due on the building is in the region of €40 million. The developer has been in dispute with the bank for a number of years. It is understood that he took the first steps in issuing proceedings against Ulster Bank in relation to the borrowings late in 2011.

The finance he used to buy the building included an interest rate swap product sold and recommended to him by the bank in 2007. The product obliged the bank to pay him a dividend in the event of interest rates increasing, but also obliged him to pay the bank a dividend should interest rates fall.

Interest rates subsequently fell and, as a result, the bank sought the extra dividend payments.

However, Mr Agar argued that he was mis-sold the product in the first place. Negotiations between the bank and Mr Agar failed to resolve the problem.

Ulster Bank was not in court yesterday to contest Mr Agar’s application. The issue is scheduled to return to court on Monday, at which point the bank will have an opportunity to contest the order.

Mr Agar is well known in the property business and has been involved in a number of highprofile commercial developments.

He was one of the original backers of the Beacon complex in Sandyford in Dublin, but sold his interest in that a number of years ago. His business has offices there.

State assets agency Nama recently appointed a receiver to some of his development properties in Dublin and Wicklow.

Tenants in the Harcourt Building include wealth manager and investment firm, Investec, and Mellon Bank.