Barclays takes pursuit of property loans to High Court

BARCLAYS BANK is going to the High Court to seek repayment of €9 million in loans from high-profile property players David Courtney and Bernard Doyle.

Mr Courtney and Mr Doyle are shareholders in Dublin’s Shelbourne Hotel and supermarket chain Superquinn. They also have a property consultancy business, Spain Courtney Doyle, which acted for the Government in the purchase of the Thornton Hall prison site in Co Dublin.

Barclay’s Bank Ireland is taking separate actions for the repayment of €4.5 million which it loaned to Mr Courtney and Mr Doyle almost two years ago.

In one case, against David Courtney, Belgrave Square, Rathmines, Dublin, the bank is seeking orders directing him to pay it €4.5 million, plus interest, on foot of a loan agreed on June 28th, 2007.

Rossa Fanning, for Mr Courtney, said his client is entirely up to date with loan repayments and Barclays had unilaterally moved to demand repayment of the loan when there were no arrears. He argued the bank had been “grossly selective” in relation to exhibiting correspondence between it and his client, with a large number of letters not shown to the court. The bank was seeking to use court procedures as a bargaining chip to extract extra security and Mr Courtney had been induced by the bank to alter his facility, Mr Fanning argued.

Hugh O’Keeffe, for Barclays, said repayment of the loan amount in full was due by November 30th, 2007, but the bank had given 13 extensions of the date before repayment of the full amount was demanded in March.

Mr Justice Peter Kelly said he would admit the action to the Commercial Court – part of the High Court – and Mr Courtney would have a full opportunity to advance his defence to the bank’s application for summary judgment against him for €4.5 million.

The judge pointed out that the court was only dealing with an application to admit the proceedings to its list. He added that it would hear the application for summary judgment on June 23rd.

In the second action, Barclays wants orders directing Bernard Doyle, Waterside, Dargle Road, Bray, Co Wicklow, to repay a €4.5 million loan also given to him on June 28th, 2007.

The bank claims the loan should have been repaid by November 30th, 2007, but the date was extended on several occasions, with the final extension up to March 13th last. It claims that, on April 23rd, Mr Doyle paid €34,970 interest, which was the interest due to April 7th, but had failed to pay the €4.5 million sum.

Also admitting that case to the commercial list, Mr Justice Kelly said the same line of defence was being raised as in Mr Courtney’s case and set June 23rd for Barclay’s application for summary judgment against Mr Doyle.