Shovlin says he is unable to pay €31.4m judgment

A PROPERTY developer against whom judgments for €31.4 million were made this week by the High Court has said he is not in a position to pay the money.

Paddy Shovlin said he didn’t know what would happen next but that making him a bankrupt would not help anyone. He queried the wisdom of preventing people such as him from continuing to work on their projects so as to maximise the value that could be achieved.

Mr Shovlin (46) said he was still youthful and energetic. “There’s still 20 good years of work in us. I’m not going shirk my responsibilities and I am happy to work through these guarantees over the next 20 to 30 years.” Tying his hands behind his back would not help, he said.

“I am patriotic. My children go to school here. I want my children to stay in Ireland.” He said he wanted his children to grow up to become entrepreneurs in Ireland.

Mr Shovlin said he was not talking about himself but about the prospects for the country. Entrepreneurs needed to be allowed play their part in the country’s recovery. “I believe we beat ourselves up too much. We need to pick ourselves up and move on.”

He said he could understand why people might have negative views about property developers but he did not think it was logical to point the finger at any one group.

“I think we have had a systemic collapse based on a lack of liquidity.” This had led to a collapse in demand. He was not a property speculator or a “quick buck merchant” but someone who had built quality buildings.

The court heard this week that Mr Shovlin, along with brothers Patrick and Anthony Fitzpatrick, had developed the Beacon South Quarter in Sandyford, Dublin. Their company Landmark Enterprises had borrowed €277.6 million for the project in 2006 from Bank of Ireland and AIB.

The three gave personal guarantees to the banks in relation to this and a later €13.9 million loan but the guarantees were limited to certain amounts. In Mr Shovlin’s case they total €25 million, while for the Fitzpatrick brothers the guarantees totalled €12.5 million each.

Some weeks ago a receiver, Simon Coyle of Mazars, was appointed by Bank of Ireland to the Beacon South Quarter. Mr Shovlin said he was working with Mr Coyle and with the banks and said Mr Coyle was an excellent receiver. However, he said he was in a better position to maximise the return on the development.

The judgments against Mr Shovlin and the Fitzpatricks this week were the first pursued by the National Asset Management Agency. Ulster Bank secured judgments for €6.4 million against Mr Shovlin and €3.27 million against both Fitzpatricks immediately after the Nama judgment.