Nama lines up receiver to control assets of Treasury

THE NATIONAL Asset Management Agency is believed to have lined up a receiver to take control of assets at Treasury Holdings today if an agreement is not reached on the repayment of the developer’s loans by this afternoon.

Nama has set a 4pm deadline today for Treasury to repay its near €900 million loans to the state agency.

It is understood that accounting firm Ernst Young has been lined up by Nama to take charge of the assets involved if no arrangement has been reached with Treasury by the deadline.

Ernst Young was last month appointed by Lloyds Bank in the UK and Nama as administrator to Battersea Power Station in London, one of Treasury’s most prized assets.

Battersea will shortly be put up for sale.

Detailed talks between Nama and at least two groups – Australian investment bank Macquarie and global real estate specialist Hines – in relation to Treasury’s loans have been ongoing for some time.

Nama is not expected to extend the deadline for the standstill agreement with Treasury.

In the event that no agreement is reached today, Nama would appoint a receiver to the various assets involved.

Even if the negotiations with Macquarie or Hines were to prove successful, it is not clear what role Treasury would play in relation to the assets in the future.

Treasury, which is jointly controlled by Irish businessmen Richard Barrett and Johnny Ronan, has argued to Nama that it was best placed to extract value from the properties by continuing to manage the assets.

It recently agreed a new lease deal with Silicon Valley company LinkedIn to rent extra space at its Wilton Plaza building in Dublin. This deal is believed to be worth €1.5 million.

Treasury is one of Nama’s 10 largest borrowers and this would represent the biggest move by the state agency against a client.

On January 12th, The Irish Times revealed that Nama had issued Treasury with a demand for its loans to be repaid this month.

The debt relates to Treasury and Real Estate Opportunities (REO), a UK-listed company in which the Dublin-based developer owns a majority stake.

A spokesman for Nama last night said the agency was “evaluating a number of proposals” in relation to Treasury’s loans.

There was no comment from Treasury.

Treasury’s portfolio of assets here includes the Spencer Dock development in Dublin’s Docklands and the Convention Centre Dublin, which receives an annual subvention from the State.

It also developed the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Enniskerry, Co Wicklow.

According to its website, Treasury controls more than 130 individual real-estate projects with a combined value in excess of €4.6 billion.

Some of Treasury’s assets here are not affected by Nama’s move, in addition to projects outside the Ireland and the UK.

A decision by Nama to appoint a receiver would represent a significant blow to REO, which is listed on the Alternative Investment Market in London.

Its shares traded up 5.5 per cent yesterday at 28 cent. But the share price has collapsed in the past 12 months and its current market value is £1.2 million.