Developer declared bankrupt in London

Developer Fergal O’Mahoney has become the latest Irish property player to be declared bankrupt in a UK court.

A London court declared Mr O’Mahoney bankrupt on October 15th last, according to the UK personal insolvency service.

The move means he will be discharged from bankruptcy next October with his debts cleared and a clean sheet, although he could be subject to some supervision and follow-up orders after that date.

Mr O’Mahoney, whose former address was in Co Mayo, gave his current residence as the Munkenbeck Building, 5 Hermitage Street, Paddington, London.

He was a director of property firm, O’Mahoney Finnerty, but resigned from this last February. His former colleague, Tommy Finnerty, refused to comment on Mr O’Mahoney or the background to his bankruptcy yesterday. Mr Finnerty stressed that the company was still trading.

Bank of Scotland recently appointed Kieran Wallace of KPMG as receiver to one of its assets, a property in Galway, but Mr Finnerty said that this represented just “0.01 per cent of the company”. He said the rest of the business was not affected.

O’Mahoney Finnerty was associated with a number of high-profile developments during the last decade’s property bubble. In 2005 it bought a service station on Rock Road in Booterstown, Dublin, for €16 million and sought planning for 60 apartments there.

It got the go ahead for 42 units in early 2008. Several months afterwards a new service station re-opened for business on the site and the proposed €60 million development never went ahead.

The company’s last available accounts, for 2010, show that it owed the banks €44 million, and its balance sheet was €35.6 million in the red.