The managing director of one of the State's largest property investment companies was yesterday sent forward for trial to Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on charges of insider trading.

Mr Philip Byrne (44), managing director of Dunloe Ewart, appeared in Dublin District Court on foot of two counts of contravening the Companies Act, 1990. He was initially arrested and charged last March.

He will next appear in the Dublin Circuit Court where the hearing of the case against him will take place.

He is charged with selling 260,000 shares in Dunloe House plc (now Dunloe Ewart) while having information in his capacity as a director of Aviette, a firm associated with Dunloe.

It is alleged that this information would have been likely to materially affect the share price because discussions had taken place on the merging of Aviette with another company, Monarch, leading to the formation of an entity known as the Cradder Group.

Cradder, it is further alleged, was then to be taken over by Dunloe and in order to fund this, Dunloe was being advised to consider a rights issue at a price per share that represented a significant discount on the then price of 34p per share.

The charges are in contravention of Part V of the Companies Act and penalties on conviction in the Circuit Court can attract a prison term of up to 10 years, a fine of £200,000, or both.

Mr Byrne, Trafalgar Terrace, Monkstown, Co Dublin, was represented in court yesterday by solicitor Mr Garret Sheehan who said there were no submissions by the defence on the book of evidence.

Judge Miriam Malone returned Mr Byrne for trial to the present sittings of the Circuit Court. She ordered that the £600 bail posted on his first appearance in the District Court be transferred for the purpose of the Circuit Court remand.