Lyndhurst gets receiver

A RECEIVER has been appointed to a mysterious British Virgin Island-based company as part of a legal battle over bankrupt tycoon Seán Quinn’s international property empire, it was revealed yesterday.

The move to protect loans running into tens of millions of pounds followed court hearings in Belfast and in the Caribbean.

Lawyers for the former Anglo Irish Bank secured the appointment amid fears that assets it is seeking to recover could be put beyond its reach. It means Lyndhurst Development Trading, a major creditor of a Ukrainian shopping centre linked to the Quinn family, will be unable to transfer any debts.

Anglo, now renamed the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation, claims it is owed more than £2 billion from the 65-year-old businessman. It has already secured injunctions against any disposal of property in eastern Europe.

Four companies are covered by the prohibitions, including Lyndhurst, which is registered in the British Virgin Islands, and Galfis Overseas in Belize.

The other two, Demesne Investments and Innishmore Consultancy, are based in Co Fermanagh.

The injunctions were obtained on behalf of IBRC as controllers of Quinn Finance and Quinn Hotels Praha.

However, the bank returned to the Northern Ireland High Court this week due to concerns that Lyndhurst may attempt to move on assets to which it claims to be entitled.

During a behind-closed-doors hearing on Wednesday, a judge was asked to approve a letter requesting the courts in the British Virgin Islands to appoint a receiver to Lyndhurst.

Details of the move could not be reported until now to ensure all funds remained in place until the order was made. Informed sources confirmed yesterday that the appointment has been made.

The highly complex legal battle will now move on to a hearing in March over property ventures in Russia and Ukraine.

Mr Quinn was declared bankrupt in the Republic last month. The IBRC secured the order after it succeeded in annulling a self-certification by the businessman north of the Border.

Mr Quinn was stripped of control of his manufacturing and insurance business empire last April over the alleged billion-pound debts.