McNamara's empire could collapse after Nama move

Agency's decision to appoint a receiver could lead to other problems for developer, writes BARRY O'HALLORAN

THE STATE’S bad bank, Nama, may not stop with the appointment of a receiver to Michael McNamara and Co, the building business controlled by developer Bernard McNamara.

Late on Thursday night, Nama appointed Dublin firm Farrell Grant Sparks as receiver to Michael McNamara and Co, after finally rejecting its business plan.

While debts owed by McNamara himself and those of companies that he controls or in which he has shares are strictly speaking due from separate entities, Nama’s move could signal the end for both the developer and the businesses with which he is involved.

The agency requires all the businesses and individuals whose loans it buys from the five participating Irish banks to submit business plans detailing how they are going to repay those debts.

While this could mean that it will get different business plans from different companies and entities controlled by an individual developer, the agency still bears in mind that they are related.

If one plan fails to measure up, it will take into account the likely impact of that on the other, related, businesses and individuals. So if one goes, there is a good chance that the others could follow.

It is thought that this could well happen to the rest of the McNamara empire, spelling the end for a building business successfully established against the odds by McNamara’s father in Lisdoonvarna in 1948, and for the property development operation he himself has built.

McNamara stepped back from any involvement in Michael McNamara and Co earlier this year in a bid to spare it any fallout from his own personal problems.

These stemmed from his part in property ventures such as the €412 million purchase of the Glass Bottle site in Dublin’s Ringsend in 2007 and the €140 million purchase of the Shelbourne Hotel in 2005. As the lenders to these projects included Anglo Irish Bank, which, along with Bank of Ireland, also financed the building company’s activities, the secured property debts involved went to Nama, which wants them to be repaid in full.

When McNamara very publicly moved to step down from Michael McNamara and Co, he made it clear that he was doing so because he believed that it was viable.

Another element of his empire on which the banks are closing in offers a clue. ACC is seeking to have a receiver appointed to Radora Developments, the firm used by Mr McNamara and his associates Jerry O’Reilly and David Courtney for developing the Elm Park site in Dublin 4.

A related company, Raycastle, owed Radora €67 million at the end of March last year, according to company filings.