Judgment for €340,000 against Mellon

PROPERTY DEVELOPER and philanthropist Niall Mellon has said he has used all his personal funds to pay off “almost all” his business debts over the past two years.

Mr Mellon issued a short statement to The Irish Timesyesterday after he was listed in Stubbs Gazette as having had a judgment entered against him by IG Markets in the London High Court.

The judgment on February 22nd was for £308,796 (€339,632), and £43,500 had been paid since then. Mr Mellon said that before and since the judgment he had paid off amounts owing to UK-based IG Markets.

“The figure owed is reducing each month. This entire judgment came about as a result of a debt incurred by one of my companies, and as I had guaranteed it, IG Markets are now pursuing me personally for the full amount.

“I have already reached agreement with IG Markets to pay this amount off over 18 months, and I am doing so. As a property-based businessman, it is very difficult if not impossible to borrow against one’s property assets, and I am doing everything I can as a responsible person to honour my debts and pay them off.

“In a handful of cases, such as IG Markets (UK), I am paying them off by gradual reductions. Over the past two years I have used all my personal funds to pay off almost all my business creditors (except long-term bank loans), regardless of whether those debts were in a company structure or not. That is the most any decent person can do in the current difficult climate.”

IG Markets is a contracts for difference (CFD) service supplier. CFDs are a way of investing in markets while paying only a fraction of the investment up front. Investing this way magnifies gains made, but also losses incurred. There was no response last night to a query as to whether Mr Mellon’s company had invested by way of CFDs.

Mr Mellon started in property and financial services with the Niall J Mellon Group while in his 20s. He has extensive property interests here and in the UK.

In 2002, at the age of 35, he became involved in charity work, with a focus on South Africa. He established the Niall Mellon Township Trust, which quickly grew to become a major supplier of subsidised housing in South Africa.

He has been recognised internationally for his work in South Africa, garnering praise from Nelson Mandela and Bishop Desmond Tutu. He was honoured by Dublin City Council in 2008.