A woman whose husband is being sued by John Magnier over the purported sale of a prized Co Tipperary estate said she felt €50,000 in cash delivered in two brown envelopes on behalf of the bloodstock billionaire was “incredibly tainted and dirty”, the High Court has heard.
Anna Thomson-Moore told the court that on September 7th, 2023 – two weeks after an alleged €15 million handshake allegedly sealed the sale of Barne Estate – Mr Magnier called to Barne with his son, JP, and met the Thomson-Moores. She said they told Mr Magnier they had to work through tax issues and involve the trustees of the estate to complete any deal.
Ms Thomson-Moore said that at the end of that conversation their estate agent, John Stokes, who had walked out with the Magniers, returned to the house with two brown envelopes given to him by JP containing €50,000 cash. She said she felt “incredibly uncomfortable” about the envelopes and had the money returned days later.
The Magnier side has told the court the money was a token of “appreciation” to the Thomson-Moores for letting the Magnier side on to the land before any sale was finalised.
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The Magnier side was ultimately dislodged by Irish-born, US-based construction magnate Maurice Regan, who offered €22.25 million and became the preferred bidder for the estate.
Mr Regan is not a party to the case.
Mr Magnier wants the court to enforce the deal he claims he sealed with Mr Thomson-Moore in an alleged handshake agreement for the 751 acres on August 22nd, 2023.
The Magnier side has sued the Barne Estate, Mr Thomson-Moore and three companies of IQEQ (Jersey) Ltd group, seeking to enforce the purported deal, which they say was “unequivocally” agreed.
The Barne defendants say there was never any such agreement as they needed the consent of the trustees to finalise any deal. They say they preferred to sell the estate to Mr Regan.
Mr Magnier claims there had been no mention of the sale being subject to trustee approval.
At the High Court on Tuesday Ms Thomson-Moore – wife of defendant Richard Thomson-Moore – told Paul Gallagher, senior counsel for the Magniers, that the family was not deliberately “stalling” on a deal with Mr Magnier because Mr Regan had outbid Mr Magnier.
Barne and the Magniers entered into an exclusivity agreement stipulating that the estate would not permit itself or its representatives to solicit or encourage any expression of interest, inquiry or offer on the property from anyone other than Mr Magnier between August 31st and September 30th, 2023.
However, during September 2023, Ms Thomson-Moore said, Mr Regan offered about €20 million for the estate. She said the trustees recommended honouring the exclusivity agreement with Mr Magnier, making Ms Thomson-Moore increasingly frustrated with the trustees who refused to consider the new bid.
Mr Gallagher asked why the Thomson-Moores did not tell the trustees of the brown envelopes until a month after the incident. An emotional Ms Thomson-Moore said she was “incredibly uncomfortable” about the money and that it gave her a “tainted and dirty” feeling.
A portion of a text message from Mr Regan to Mr Thomson-Moore was read to the court by Mr Gallagher in which Mr Regan described the Magnier-led Coolmore side as “professional bullies”.
In the text, Mr Regan said the Thomson-Moores had not been through a fair process in dealing with Coolmore which, Mr Regan says, should not be the new owner of Barne Estate and if they were to take ownership that they should “pay dearly for it”.
“You are dealing with professional bullies,” wrote Mr Regan to Mr Thomson-Moore, adding that the Coolmore side was engaged in “intimidating” Mr Thomson-Moore. Ms Thomson-Moore said her husband did not reply to the message.
The case continues.
