Developer 'Unable To Pay Back Investors'

A prominent Irish property developer is said to have 'no assets left' and is unable to pay back €62.5m owed to investors, a Dublin court has heard.

Bernard McNamara was a well-known figure in the 'Celtic Tiger' property boom – his portfolio including the purchase of the €288m Burlington Hotel.

The current case centres on Mr McNamara's acquisition of a 24-acre site on Dublin's southside in 2006, with the court ordering the tycoon to pay the money back to investors.

Mr McNamara is seeking a stay on the judgement against him and on a €98m judgement against his company Donatex over the purchase of the former factory site.


The Irish Glass Bottle site on Dublin's southside was worth €412m when it was purchased by a consortium consisting of Mr McNamara, fellow developer, Derek Quinlan and the Dublin Docklands Development Authority (DDDA).

The value of the site has now dropped to an estimated €60m.

Investors claim a company called Becbay, which made the purchase, had failed to secure planning permission from either the DDDA or Dublin City Council as agreed.

The court heard that solicitors for Mr McNamara and Donatex informed the investors that their clients could not afford to pay back the money.

The investors were told Mr McNamara had no assets free from debt, and all the equity in his personal assets had been used to support his businesses and his employees.

Lawyers for Mr McNamara said if a stay on the judgement were granted, he was offering to pay the investors a sum of €100,000 a month pending an appeal to the Supreme Court.

The judge said that in the context of the amount of money owed, this was of little importance. A decision on whether to grant the stay is due.

In a separate action, Mr McNamara is suing the DDDA over the deal.

(NS/BMCC)