DEVELOPER PADDY Kelly faces mounting financial pressure after ACCBank secured a judgment against him for €6.1 million over unpaid loans.
An order for judgment handed down by the commercial division of the High Court comes three weeks after a judgment against him for €3.4 million in favour of Bank of Ireland. Mr Kelly, one of the best-known investors in the beleaguered property sector, and members of his immediate family face a further claim from ACCBank for €16.9 million. But the developer told a court in March that he was on the brink of bankruptcy.
Known to be indebted to the tune of “hundreds of millions” of euro and one of the largest debtors of the nationalised Anglo Irish Bank, Mr Kelly has said in proceedings separate to the ACC case that he had been unable to honour some of his commitments and conceded that his liabilities exceeded his assets.
One of the most active developers in the boom years, his most prominent projects include the €500 million Smithfield Market in Dublin.
The developer consented yesterday to the judgment handed down by Mr Justice Peter Kelly. The judge was told that Mr Kelly, a resident of Shrewsbury Road in Dublin, was not advancing any defence to ACCBank’s claim, linked to loans granted for the construction of 62 aparthotel units at the Clarion Hotel, Liffey Valley, and other properties.
“We owe the money. We’re responsible for it. There’s nothing more I can say,” Mr Kelly said last night from Chicago, where he is conducting business.
ACC’s separate claim for €16.9 million, linked to loans for the acquisition of a property at Pembroke Place in Ballsbridge, comes before the court next week. However, Mr Kelly has himself initiated legal proceedings against ACC over a collapsed rental deal on that property.
Damien Keaney, for Mr Kelly, said the developer was anxious to assure the court he had made no attempt to evade service of the legal proceedings and was not engaged in “brinkmanship”.
Mr Kelly had been in Florida on business when the matter was before the court earlier this week as he had substantial business interests there but his son had been in court and the entire family took the legal proceedings very seriously, counsel added.
Mr Justice Kelly said his remarks about “brinkmanship” related to delays by Mr Kelly in giving instructions to his lawyers and the late entry of an appearance in the case.