Bank seeks orders over Co Offaly retirement village

A BANK has sought court orders for possession of 10 residential units in a retirement village in Co Offaly allegedly sold by a property company to other people despite the bank having a first legal mortgage over the properties.

Investec Bank plc claims Cooleshall Developments Ltd was not entitled to sell the two-bedroom units and the purchasers have no legal title to those units.

Eight of the 10 units have been let to nursing home operator Cloverland Healthcare and there are continuing discussions with that company, Patrick Hanratty SC, for Investec, said.

In an action admitted to the Commercial Court yesterday, the bank wants orders entitling it to sell those units to satisfy a €6.2 million debt owed by Cooleshall, with registered offices at Holles Street, Dublin, and whose directors are Paul Minogue and Monica Minogue, Green Street, Kilkenny.

Last December, Mr Justice Peter Kelly granted judgment for that €6.2 million amount against Mr Minogue arising from guarantees given by him over the company’s debts.

In February, after being told the debt remained unpaid, the judge granted orders charging it against Mr Minogue’s shareholding in two nursing homes – Cloverland Heathcare Holding Ltd and Cloverland Health Care Ltd, which operate nursing homes in Shinrone, Co Offaly, and Athy, Co Kildare.

The bank has not yet sold those shareholdings.

In the latest proceedings, the bank says it believes Mr Minogue was instrumental in procuring the purported sales of the 10 units at prices up to €385,000 and that purchase prices were calculated according to Mr Minogue’s own personal liability to purchasers.

It claims Mr Minogue had reduced his personal indebtedness at the expense of the bank.

The bank claims the sales were carried out without its consent and it never received the proceeds.

Mr Minogue has previously said he derived no personal monetary benefit from the sales.

The case arose after the bank advanced €4.1 million in 2006 to fund the development of the retirement village of 24 residential units and a daycare centre at the rear of Clover Lodge Nursing Home, Shinrone. A further €1.49 million was advanced in April 2007.

The proceedings by Investec and Martin V Ferris, appointed as receiver over Cooleshall last October, are against the company and five individuals who apparently bought the 10 units.

Mr Justice Kelly was told one of the individuals was consenting to the possession order sought while the other defendants sought time to consider the matter. The judge said he would hear the bank’s application on July 30th.