Firm linked to DAA broke covenants

THE COMPANY behind a joint property venture between the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) and developer Liam Carroll was in breach of some of its bank covenants in 2010.

Turckton Developments Ltd, a joint venture between the DAA and a subsidiary of Mr Dunloe Ewart, owns the Horizons Logistic Park and other lands near Dublin Airport.

Accounts for Turckton and a subsidiary company, MonAer (Cork) Ltd, show that the companies wrote down the value of their development property by close to €17 million in 2010, a drop of around 37 per cent on the previous year.

The company has a €33.4 million loan with the National Irish Bank.

According to the company’s accounts, the firm has breached certain covenants on its bank facility.

While the majority of its banking facilities were due for repayment in July 2011, the accounts state that the banks have not demanded repayment of the loans and have not indicated their intention to do so before the end of January this year.

The directors of the company are in discussion about extending the loan facilities.

A spokesman for the airport authority said it understands that Turckton is currently in talks in relation to refinancing its borrowings, and these talks are expected to be concluded shortly.

Noting that the DAA is a joint venture between the Authority and Dunloe, he said that Turckton’s borrowings are non-recourse to DAA.

“Turckton has been a profitable investment for DAA, and DAA expects this to continue to be the case,” he added.

The accounts for MonAer (Cork) show a turnover of more than €1.2 million for the year, which relates to rental income from property on the site, and proceeds from the disposal of properties, according to the accounts.

Among the directors of Turckton and MonAer (Cork) are Ray Gray, chief financial officer of the DAA and Maurice Hennessy, director of commercial activities at the semi-State.