THE NATIONAL Asset Management Agency accused property investor Derek Quinlan of a breach of good faith and undermining their dealings, through his deal to support the Barclays’ investment in the Maybourne hotels in London.
The agency, which counted Mr Quinlan among its 10 biggest debtors, wrote to him on January 24th, 2011, to complain about his agreement to give the Barclay brothers exclusivity to acquire his 35 per cent stake in the hotels.
Evidence submitted in the action taken by developer Paddy McKillen against the Barclays, owners of the Daily Telegraph, over the Claridge’s, Berkeley and Connaught hotels reveals the tension between Mr Quinlan and Nama over the brothers.
Nama was told by Mr Quinlan’s side on January 23rd, 2011, that he supported the Barclays’ stake-building in Coroin, the firm behind the hotels, and that this was the best way to maximise the value of a sale of Mr Quinlan’s stake. The agency responded the following day complaining that Mr Quinlan was undermining any basis for further talks with Nama.
On January 25th, Nama wrote to Coroin, which owed the agency €800 million, saying that Mr Quinlan’s actions were potentially unlawfully prejudicial to Nama’s interests as one of his creditors.
That day, Mr Quinlan’s side told Nama he had not agreed to sell his shares to the brothers and that this required Nama’s approval.
In late January 2011, Nama issued a “stop notice” preventing any deal being completed based on a first legal charge that it had over about 13 per cent of the shares in Coroin owned by Mr Quinlan.
The following month, the Barclays began negotiating directly with Nama on the possible purchase of Mr Quinlan’s shares. It has also emerged Nama funded the running costs of Mr Quinlan’s family office.
On January 26th, 2011, Paul Hennigan, the portfolio manager at Nama who oversaw the Coroin loans, told Mr Quinlan’s side that his support for the Barclays called into question the agency’s commitment to cover these running costs.
The running costs of the office were subsequently funded by Mr Quinlan’s wife, Siobhan, from money she received from one of the Barclay brothers, Sir David.
Following the crash, Mr Quinlan started selling his assets from the middle of 2009 to repay his substantial debts. Nama sold the Coroin debt to a Barclay brothers firm in September 2011, a transaction that Mr McKillen is challenging in his case.
