The High Court has heard of a deleted text message sent by the sister of Richard Thomson-Moore, who is being sued by John Magnier, in which she is critical of rival bidder Maurice Regan before the family received his improved offer of €5 million more for their Barne Estate in Co Tipperary.
Alexandra McCullough was giving evidence to the court this afternoon in the legal row over the collapse of a €15 million agreement for the farming estate taken by bloodstock billionaire John Magnier, who was present in court, against Ms McCullough’s brother.
In the text, she described the fight for the estate between the two men as “full on war”.
In the deleted September 10th, 2023, text to local auctioneer John Stokes, Ms McCullough says of letters allegedly being sent to Mr Stokes by the eventual preferred bidder Maurice Regan’s legal team that Mr Regan was “swiping” and “sniffing” in the manner of his approach in making offers on Barne and had a “thrown a tantrum” over the sale.
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The court was told the text was only discovered because the estate agent took a screen grab of it.
Competing bidder Mr Regan, the court heard, had complained in legal letters to Mr Stokes about the way the auctioneer handled the proposed sale when Mr Magnier believed he had a deal after a purported handshake agreement was made at his Coolmore home the month beforehand.
The deleted text to Mr Stokes, which Ms McCullough confirmed to the court, was complimentary of Mr Magnier who she described as “savvy” and “decent”.
Ms McCullough described the situation of the competing bidders, Mr Magnier and Mr Regan, to Mr Stokes: “We are now at full war and we are the peasants caught up in it.”
Mr Magnier is suing Mr Thomson-Moore and Barne over the collapse of the purchase. The estate has been owned by the Thomson-Moore family for generations and is held in a trust.
Mr Magnier wants the court to enforce the deal he claims he sealed with Mr Thomson-Moore with a €15 million handshake agreement for the 751-acre estate on August 22nd, 2023, at Mr Magnier’s Coolmore home.
The Magnier side has sued the Barne Estate, Mr Thomson-Moore and three trustee companies of IQEQ (Jersey) Ltd group, seeking to enforce the purported deal, which they say had been “unequivocally” agreed.
The Barne defendants say there was never any such agreement, as they needed the consent of the trustees to finalise any deal.
Mr Thomson-Moore has told the court that while a “price” was agreed with Mr Magnier for Barne, a “deal” was not.
After agreeing on €15 million, Barne and the Magniers entered into an exclusivity agreement stipulating that Barne would not permit itself or its representatives to solicit or encourage any expression of interest, inquiry or offer on the property from anyone other than Mr Magnier between August 31st to September 30th, 2023.
The trustees who hold the estate initially decided to remain loyal to the Magnier offer and felt Mr Regan’s higher offer could be seen as “provocative”. After the exclusivity period had ended, the trustees decided to go with Mr Regan’s offer. The Magnier side were ultimately gazumped by US-based Mr Regan, who offered a final €22.25 million, and was made the preferred bidder.
Mr Regan is not a party to the case.
Caren Geoghegan SC, for the Magnier side, put it to Ms McCullough that she deleted the message because she was afraid the disparaging comments about Mr Regan would come to light should the trustees of Barne entertain the higher offer submitted by Mr Regan as the family later requested.
Ms Geoghegan also put it to Ms McCullough that she deleted the message after a €50,000 cash gift from Mr Magnier, gifted to Anna and Richard Thomson-Moore in brown envelopes, was returned to Coolmore on September 11th, 2023.
Ms McCullough said she initially reacted to the offer of €50,000 in a text to Mr Stokes saying, “sounds good”. She told the court she “just thought it a goodwill blessing gesture that happens in Irish business”, which was “above board”. As time went by and when the money was returned, Ms McCullough said she was, by then, “uncomfortable” with the cash offer.
Ms Geoghegan said the deleted message was because Ms McCullough did not want it to come to light as it was “critical” of the eventual preferred buyer, Mr Regan, and whereas it said Mr Magnier had behaved “decently”.
Ms McCullough said it was a “hot message” she was “uncomfortable with”.
She said she was getting rid of a message in which she had been “lippy about someone I didn’t know” and that it was “not as intentional as you [Ms Geoghegan] are inferring”. She confirmed it was the only message she deleted during the August to October 2023 period.
“I felt I was very rude about Mr Regan,” said Ms McCullough, who referenced people in her own job with “so much money”, “stirring” things and “making up lies” with whom she chooses not to engage.
The case continues before Mr Justice Max Barrett.
