Doyle Group settles case against Bank of Scotland

The Doyle Group has settled a High Court action with Bank of Scotland following a dispute over the sale of €67 million worth of loans owed to the bank by the Cork-based shipping company.

The group is a holding company for several firms providing shipping and warehousing services at all major Irish ports. It said the bank’s attempt to sell the debt to a third party amounted to a breach of the terms of the loan agreement made between the parties.

The group previously secured an interim injunction restraining the bank transferring to any third party any right, interest or obligation under that agreement.

Selling loans
However, last December, the High Court lifted an injunction restraining the bank from selling the loans to a hedge fund.

The Doyle Group said it was in the process of refinancing its Bank of Scotland loans with Ulster Bank when it learned, much to its surprise, that the bank had entered into a second process concerning the sale of the group’s debt to third parties.

The group claimed Bank of Scotland wanted to exit the Irish market and was seeking to sell its debt for €53 million to the Blue Bay investment fund when it had been represented to the bank that no such assignments should happen.

The company feared that if the debt was sold to the hedge fund, its assets could be stripped down and sold off, ultimately destroying the companies and affecting several hundred jobs.

While the group had made out an arguable case against the bank, Mr Justice John Cooke was satisfied, if it won its full action, any damage it may have suffered was quantifiable and would be an adequate remedy. He thus lifted the injunction.

The group’s principal operating subsidiary is the Burke Shipping Group, which has offices in ports including Cork, Limerick, Dublin, Belfast and Shanghai. In 2011, the group sold its share holding in the Irish Continental Group for €47 million.