Call for Qatari royals to come to McKillen trial 'surprising'

MEMBERS OF the Qatari ruling family could not be expected to give evidence about a deal they struck to invest £70 million in three landmark London hotels, the High Court in London was told yesterday.

Prime Minister of Qatar Sheikh Hamad Al Thani and his son Sheikh Jassim struck a deal with Belfast-born property developer Patrick McKillen to invest in Coroin – the holding company which owns the iconic London hotels Claridge’s, The Berkeley and The Connaught.

But for the deal to come to fruition Mr McKillen must win his High Court claim against billionaire twins Sir Fred and David Barclay about the ownership of Coroin – the £1 billion holding company which owns the Maybourne Hotel Group.

Mr McKillen, a 36 per cent shareholder in Coroin, claims the brothers gained effective control of the company through “unlawful means” and they unfairly prejudiced his rights as a shareholder and director in the company.

He also claims the twins conspired with financier Derek Quinlan to deny him the opportunity to buy Mr Quinlan’s controlling stake in Coroin.

Mr McKillen has a deal with the Qatari family if Justice David Richards’ ruling goes his way, whereby the hotel’s ownership would be spilt 50-50 between the parties.

Barristers for the Barclays had argued that a member of the Qatari royal family should have been called to give evidence of their involvement with the hotel group.

But Philip Marshall QC, acting for Mr McKillen, yesterday said that was a particularly “surprising submission”.

He said: “We are dealing with people who are involved in government, Sheikh Hamad is the prime minister of Qatar and Sheikh Jassim is his son.

“It is one thing to give financial assistance in an investment but quite another thing to have them come to court. It is a surprising submission.”

In his final submission in the two-month long trial Mr Marshall told the court that financier Derek Quinlan was an “incredible witness”.

The former tax inspector at one point owed more than €2 billion to the Irish “bad bank” Nama.

He told the court it was an “incredible” suggestion that Mr Quinlan was acting in the interest of his creditors in 2010 when he sought millions in brokerage fees when attempting to sell his shares in Coroin and the entire the Maybourne Hotel Group.

He said: “It is incredible to say that Derek Quinlan was acting in 2010/2011 in the interests of his creditors.”

He added: “We have the situation where Derek Quinlan is an incredible witness as is Gerry Murphy.”

Barristers from Nama will deliver an oral submission next Tuesday to answer Mr McKillen’s accusation that the transfer of Coroin’s £660 million debt to the Barclays was unlawful.

Justice Richards is expected to deliver his judgment on the case in the middle of next month or in early July.