Anglo Irish wins €868,000 judgment against developer

ANGLO IRISH Bank has secured an €800,000-plus judgment against businessman Conor Clarkson in relation to a property investment in England.

Mr Clarkson’s Ardenhill Properties, which developed 70 apartments in Wigan, greater Manchester, has been in receivership since July with debts of €40 million.

Anglo Irish Property Lending recently won a High Court judgment for €868,410 against Mr Clarkson. The debt, originally denominated in sterling, relates to the Wigan development.

Company documents show that State-owned Anglo Irish Bank was one of a number of banks that financed the apartment development.

In July, Irish Nationwide appointed Padraic Monaghan of KPMG and John Hansen of the accountancy firm’s Belfast office as joint receivers of Irish-registered Ardenhill.

At the same time, Mr Monaghan was appointed to another property company called Surtan, while the bank appointed Mr Hansen to two UK companies, Newbury GB Developments and Goodwood GB.

The receivers were appointed at the invitation of the companies themselves, which is a normal practice where businesses with secured creditors anticipate difficulty in meeting their liabilities.

The receivers intend selling the properties to repay the building society loans. It is understood the apartments are selling well and the companies involved are optimistic the debts can be paid off.

Mr Clarkson is believed to owe the building society €15 million in a personal capacity, while his companies owe about €25 million.

His Dublin-based company, Clarkson Financial Property, sold and let properties in Ireland, Britain, the US and other locations.