BANK OF Ireland is seeking summary judgment for €3 million against the acting manager of Glasgow Celtic Football Club, Neil Lennon, under a guarantee allegedly provided by him for a loan to a building company of which he was a director.
BoI has admitted it has lost the guarantee itself but claims it can produce evidence Mr Lennon signed it at Dublin airport in February 2006.
The bank claims Mr Lennon was in Ireland on the weekend beginning February 24th, 2006 because he had a free weekend, due to Celtic having been knocked out of the Scottish Cup.
Colm McHugh, a senior business manager at Bank of Ireland’s Dundalk branch, said Mr Lennon had arrived at the airport carrying golf clubs and had signed the guarantee form at the bank’s airport branch. Mr McHugh claims he had advised Mr Lennon the guarantee meant the bank was entitled to call on him personally to repay the loan if the company, Rocket Developments Ltd, did not clear the debt.
Mr McHugh also claims Mr Lennon told him he anticipated planning permission would be obtained by Rocket for about 60 houses on a site Rocket intended to develop in Co Louth, that 50 per cent of the sites would be sold to clear the debt to the bank, and that the rest of the site would either be developed or sold at an expected profit of €3 million.
The proceedings against Mr Lennon, with an address at Queen’s Gardens, Glasgow, were admitted to the Commercial Court yesterday by Mr Justice Peter Kelly on the application of Aidan Redmond for the bank and on consent of counsel for Mr Lennon.
Mr Redmond said it was being contended that Mr Lennon has a credible defence to the claim and had not executed the guarantee.
Mr Justice Kelly said it was clear the guarantee allegedly executed by Mr Lennon had been lost and the bank could not find it. The bank was contending it could produce evidence as to the execution of the guarantee, he noted. The judge fixed the summary judgment application for hearing on May 12th.
Bank of Ireland claims Mr Lennon was a director of Rocket Developments Ltd, with registered offices at the Crescent, Dundalk, Co Louth. It claims it loaned that company €3 million in early 2006 to part-fund the proposed purchase of seven acres of zoned residential land at Knockbridge, Dundalk.
The bank claims Rocket defaulted on its loan obligations and owes some €3.7 million, inclusive of principal and interest.
Mr Lennon is liable for €3.07 million of that sum under his alleged guarantee, it is claimed.
