Receiver wins injunction over Malahide property

A receiver has been granted a High Court injunction preventing two businessmen interfering with his efforts to take over a commercial property in Malahide, Co Dublin.

Ken Tyrell, of PricewaterhouseCoopers, was appointed receiver over five units at the Diamond Building by the Gulland Property Finance fund, which acquired loans made to Kevin and Aidan Mahon by the former Anglo Irish Bank.

The loans were taken over by Irish Bank Resolution Corporation (IBRC) and later sold to Gulland and stood at €2.6 million as of November last year.

Four of the five units have already been taken over by the receiver but a dispute remained in relation to the fifth, which is occupied by Aidan Mahon and used as a gym, the court heard.

In opposing the receiver's injunction application, Kevin Mahon argued, among other things, that the fifth unit in the property was excluded when the loan facilities were renegotiated in 2005.

It was claimed by Kevin Mahon that a deed of mortgage on the loan was subject to certain charges completed by IBRC in 2008 in favour of the Central Bank. Those charges had crystallised around December 2010 when IBRC was put into special liquidation by the then government, it was argued.

Mr Justice Donald Binchy said Gulland was entitled to deal with the loans and related securities unless and until such time as the Central Bank intervened to act upon the security over charges on the loans.

He was satisfied to grant the reliefs sought by the receiver but stressed Mr Tyrell “remains inhibited” from marketing for sale all of the units as one lot so long as the defendants remain in possession of the property.