McNamara says debts in the region of €1.5bn have left him 'broke'

INTERVIEW:THE PROPERTY developer Bernard McNamara has said he is "broke" and has debts in the region of €1.5 billion.

Asked if he could lose his luxurious home on Dublin’s Ailesbury Road, he said this was “probable”.

In an extensive interview with RTÉ radio's Drivetimeprogramme, Mr McNamara said he was involved in a number of businesses but they were not "interlinked" as had been reported by some media, and that the building company founded by his father, Michael McNamara Co, was a viable company with approximately 270 direct employees and a number of projects on the go.

He said he had looked for time in discussions with the Davy investors who had a judgment for €62.5 million registered against him yesterday, and had discussed a possible settlement of between €5 million and €10 million.

He said he could not pay the debt. He had given some consideration to seeking court protection, “the Liam Carroll route”, but had decided not to.

Mr McNamara was asked about the Irish Glass Bottle site in Ringsend, Dublin. He was part of a consortium that bought the site for €412 million in 2006, and it is now being valued at €50 million.

He said he had used valuers at the time. “How come they were all so wrong?”

He said he apologised to anyone who’d been hurt by the fact he had “waded too deep” into the property market and that he would do all he could to repay his debts. “Everything I’ve had since I was a young fella” was being put on the line, he said. “I’m not running anywhere. I’ll stand here and face whatever music there is.”

He was not ashamed of what he’d done. He had created employment and completed some very fine projects. He had paid €42 million to the State in taxes in the four years to 2006, he said, but agreed that in recent years property developers had “lost the run of themselves”.

“I didn’t cause the crash . . . I was hit on the road by something that no-one saw was coming . .. All I can do is do my level best to behave with decency in the situation I am in.”

Financial institutions had “sought out” people like him during the boom years, he said. There were a “lot of circumstances in the background” and he could “play the blame game”, but he had chosen not to.

He said the downturn in his business ventures had taken a toll on his family but he was not looking for sympathy. He said the family might have to move to a smaller house.

Mr McNamara said that office blocks he owned which had good tenants had seen their values fall by 30 to 40 per cent. No-one had seen this fall in value coming, and an increase in value again could occur in the coming years.

He said he was confident that the Irish Glass Bottle site could pay back its bank debt over a 10 year period.

He appeared to link this to the National Asset Management Agency process.

Mr McNamara said he did not have any “Jerseys Island companies” like the Davy investors who’d secured a judgment against him.

In a statement issued on his behalf, the developer said he was stepping down as executive chairman of Michael McNamara Co, which was “a legally separate and profitable entity from him and from his property development activities and therefore unaffected by today’s judgment.”

Companies Registration Office filings show the construction company is unlimited and owned by two Isle of Man based companies. It is not clear how his resignation as executive chairman could save the company from personal debts he might owe.

The company is “ultimately owned by him but it is ringfenced,” a source close to the developer said last night.

Major Deals

BARROW STREET/GRAND CANAL DOCK

Site and former mills bought in 1998 from IAWS for £8.8 million, a near record price at the time. Office and residential development constructed at a cost of more than €75 million, in partnership with Jerry O’Reilly.

ELM PARK, MERRION ROAD

Residential and commercial development built at a cost of €400 million with partners Jerry O’Reilly and David Courtney. Distinctive for its design, with some of the buildings being built on stilts. However, it has never been officially launched and many of the units are understood to remain unsold.

SHELBOURNE HOTEL, DUBLIN

Bought by a consortium including McNamara, O’Reilly, and Courtney for €120 million in late 2004.The extension and refurbishment of the hotel was carried out by Michael McNamara and Co, at a cost of €110 million.

GREAT SOUTHERN HOTEL, PARKNASILLA, CO KERRY

Bought for almost €40 million in 2006.

SUPERQUINN GROUP

Bought by McNamara and a group of other investors in 2005 for €450 million. In 2008 he said he had sold his stake to his fellow investors.

MONTROSE HOTEL, DUBLIN

McNamara led a group of investors who bought the hotel for €40 million in 2006. Still involved as operator but not as owner.

BURLINGTON HOTEL, DUBLIN

He bought the Ballsbridge hotel for €288 million in April 2007 and it was reported a month later that Bank of Scotland (Ireland) was taking an equity stake in the redevelopment project. The hotel continues in operation.

CONRAD HOTEL, DUBLIN

Bought a 45 per cent stake in January 2007, at a cost of approximately €40 million.

RADISSON HOTEL, GALWAY

Part of a hotel, office and residential development constructed in 2000.

THE IRISH GLASS BOTTLE SITE

A consortium involving McNamara, the Dublin Docklands Development Authority and financier Derek Quinlan, bought the former Irish Glass Bottle site in Ringsend, Dublin, for €412 million in 2006. The site is now said to be worth €50 million.

PUBLIC WORKS

Public buildings built by Michael McNamara Co include: extension to National Gallery; Galway County Council offices; new accommodation for the Oireachtas; Ballymun social welfare office and Garda station; Clare Co Council headquarters.

PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS

Was involved in a number of public private partnership arrangements in Dublin aimed at providing new social housing, and with a total value of €900 million. The deals fell apart in May 2008.