Receiver appointed to Brooklawn

KIERAN WALLACE of KPMG has been appointed as receiver to the Brooklawn Partnership by Irish Bank Resolution Corporation (IBRC).

The Brooklawn consortium of high-profile investors paid €47 million for an office building on Shelbourne Road in Ballsbridge in 2006. The property was managed by D2 Property Management, the investment group run by David Arnold and Deirdre Foley.

Mr Wallace was appointed last week by IBRC, which comprises the former Anglo Irish Bank and Irish Nationwide Building Society.

Brooklawn has a long list of noteworthy investors. They include one-time AIB chairman and former attorney general Dermot Gleeson; ex-Anglo chief Seán FitzPatrick and his children, Jonathan, Sarah and David.

Mr FitzPatrick stood down as chairman of Anglo in December 2008. Mr Gleeson retired as AIB chairman in July 2009.

Others to invest included John Gordon, a senior counsel, and businessman Cormac McAlinden.

Recent reports suggested that up to €10 million in shareholder equity would be wiped out if IBRC took control of the building.

The purchase of Brooklawn House in Ballsbridge at the height of the property boom was funded by a mortgage from Anglo. It is understood the office block is fully let and Mr Wallace will manage it for the foreseeable future.

The building is believed to be valued at about €15 million currently.

Brooklawn Property Holding Co Ltd sold the building to the mortgage-holders, according to Registry of Deeds documents.

D2 Property Management itself was placed into receivership last year. It emerged from this process last September.

A document filed by the receiver Michael McAteer of Grant Thornton on September 28th, 2011, shows that €2.228 million was transferred to Bank of Scotland as part of the receivership.

D2 Property Management had owed Bank of Scotland £10.1 million, which fell due for repayment in December 2010.

D2 Property Management had also owed €14.5 million to Nama relating to a loan with Anglo Irish Bank that was transferred to the agency in July 2010. The current status of this debt is not clear.

This company is a subsidiary of D2 Private. At its peak, the company claimed to have a portfolio of projects in Ireland and the UK valued at £1.4 billion.

Other investments associated with D2 have also run into difficulties. The Scott Portfolio Unit Trust was placed in receivership last year with Grant Thornton while a receiver was appointed to the Woolgate Exchange building in London.

D2 identified investment opportunities and arranged groups of investors to purchase the investments via special purpose vehicles. It then managed the properties on behalf of the investors.