Carroll consents to €44m judgment

Well-known developer Liam Carroll has consented to summary judgment for about €44 million being entered against him at the Commercial Court in favour of the National Assets Management Agency and Bank of Scotland over unpaid loans and guarantees.

The €44 million is made up of some €30.7 million in favour of Nama and about €13.1 million in favour of Bank of Scotland. The bank said it is owed more than €600 million by companies within Mr Carroll’s group, including companies in the Zoe group.

Mr Justice Peter Kelly also yesterday entered summary judgment for some €32 million against the developer’s wife, Róisín Carroll, over some of the same loans.

Mr Carroll, Sycamore Crescent, Mount Merrion, Dublin, was the founder of the Zoe group of building companies that collapsed in 2009 with massive debts.

The key Zoe companies were wound up following a long-running court battle in which both the High Court and Supreme Court rejected arguments that they had a reasonable prospect of survival.

At the Commercial Court yesterday Declan McGrath, for Bank of Scotland, said Mr Carroll had been co-operating with the bank in its efforts to realise secured assets to meet debts owed. The bank was applying for summary judgment only because other creditors had begun to move against Mr Carroll, counsel said.

A solicitor for Mr Carroll and his wife said they were consenting to summary judgment in the amounts sought by BoS and the judge entered summary judgment for some €2.75 million against both of them arising from a €4 million loan facility of November 2004. He also granted summary judgment for a further €10.4 million against Mr Carroll alone, arising from his guarantee of a loan facility of April 2009 to Morston Investments Ltd. That loan was advanced to repay amounts owed to creditors of the Zoe group, according to the bank’s court documents.

Nama sought summary judgment for about €30.7 million against Mr Carroll and his wife. After their solicitor indicated they were consenting to summary judgment in that case also, Mr Justice Kelly entered judgment as sought.

The Nama application arose from the agency’s takeover of loans advanced by AIB to Mr and Ms Carroll, including a €25 million loan of January 2007 to fund outstanding build costs for a 167-bed hotel at Fels Point, Tralee, Co Kerry, and to enable the couple provide a €9 million loan to Orthanc Holdings Ltd.