A businessman has agreed before the Commercial Court to repay €2.25 million in loans plus interest made to him in 2004 by a company but not formally documented in its accounts. The company, Novowood Ltd, was placed in liquidation in June 2005.
Mr Justice Peter Kelly was told yesterday that Graeme De Renzy was consenting to judgment against him for approximately €2.25 million, plus interest, provided there was a three-month stay on registration and execution of that judgment.
For the purpose of making the judgment, the judge admitted to the Commercial Court proceedings brought by Jim Hamilton, the official liquidator of Novowood Ltd, against Mr De Renzy, of Woodberry, Castleknock, Dublin.
It was claimed the company had loaned approximately €1.69 million to Mr De Renzy between January and July 2004 and that, taking into account interest at 10 per cent per year, some €2.25 million was due and repayable on January 1st, 2007.
It was claimed the making of that loan was initially disclosed to the liquidator by a former director of Novowood, Peter Farrell. Mr Farrell had indicated that the arrangements under which the monies were loaned were not documented by either the company or Mr De Renzy at the time of the making of the loan agreement, but that the terms were set out in a letter by Mr Farrell of September 26th, 2006.
Mr De Renzy had confirmed the terms of the loan arrangement in an affidavit made by him in October 2006 in the liquidation, it was claimed.
In an affidavit, Mr Hamilton said he had been severely hampered in the liquidation by the lack of co-operation of the former directors of Novowood and the non-availability of books and records of the company. A large part of his concern related to a sum of €5.9 million realised by the company out of the sale of certain property but not accounted for by the directors, he said.
Mr Hamilton said Mr Farrell had told him in October 2006 that the payments included the investment of €1.69 in a company called GDR Inc Limited. Following a number of contacts with GDR, Mr De Renzy had later said that the €1.69 million was in fact loaned to him personally rather than to his company.
