Developer’s wife wants no-interest declaration

The US wife of Irish property developer John Flynn, whose family are being pursued by Nama for €22 million, is asking the Commercial Court to declare that she has no interest in a Dublin office park.

Leona Flynn, who lives in Florida for most of the year, denies Nama’s claim that the transfer of her 10 per cent interest in Belfield Office Park to her husband never took place or, if it did, is unenforceable.

The Flynns dispute Nama’s repayment demand of some €22 million arising from loans made by Anglo Irish Bank to members of the family related to the Belfield property.

Nama claims Ms Flynn contends she is no longer the owner of the Belfield shareholding because that is the only one of her four Irish properties over which she has a personal liability in relation to the loan on it.

Her interests in the other three properties – the Hermitage and Blackrock Medical Clinics in Dublin and the former Smurfit HQ in Beaver Row, Dublin – are ringfenced and are non-recourse or non- personal liabilities.

The court heard she transferred the Belfield interest to her husband in 2008 on an accountant’s advice because new tax laws were about to kick in in the US and she wanted to minimise her liability there.

Nama denies Ms Flynn divested herself of her interest in the Belfield property and says that if she did reach an agreement with Anglo permitting her to divest her interest as alleged, any such agreement would be unenforceable.

The hearing resumes next week.