The High Court was informed that the purchaser of a well-known hotel which sold for €1.5 million, a transaction currently under legal scrutiny, only made a deposit several weeks after a competitor asserts it had previously reached an agreement to procure the property. A legal action has been initiated by Treacy Hotels Group in an attempt to enforce a contractual agreement to acquire the Ard Rí in Waterford for €1.6 million, a deal which the company claims to have struck with American fund, Cerberus, in November 2016. At this time, Treacy Hotels Group paid a deposit of €160,000 and demonstrated they had the financial capacity to complete the purchase.
The High Court, on Tuesday, heard from Martin Hayden SC that business tycoon, Seamus Walsh, who later secured the hotel for €1.5 million, delayed paying a deposit until December 5th. This was two weeks subsequent to Treacy Group’s payment of their €160,000 deposit on November 21st. Moreover, Mr. Walsh did not verify financial resources until the ensuing January, even though Cerberus’ mentor Capita had made it clear such proof was required to consider any propositions for the property, added Mr. Hayden, who is representing Treacy Group in court.
One of Treacy Group’s family members, Maria Keena, has petitioned the High Court to mandate Cerberus’ offshoot, Promontoria Aran Ltd, and Luke Charleton of EY – formerly Ernst & Young – to finalise the sale of the Ard Rí Hotel, offering panoramic views of Waterford city, to the group.
Keena insists that a receipt confirming the deposit, signed by her, Bob Lanigan, a veteran collaborator of the hotel group, and Chris Allen of EY in the company’s premises on November 21st proves the deal to buy the hotel was set at €1.6 million. The terms were allegedly agreed upon in multiple telephonic exchanges between Mr Lanigan and Terry Byrne of Cerberus European Servicing Advisors (Ireland) Ltd, with payment procedures arranged with Andrew Geraghty of Capita, now known as BCM Global, and Mr Allen, according to the group.
On a previous Wednesday, the legal representatives for the defence cross-examined Mr Lanigan, a key witness representing the Treacys. This examination was concerning the testimonies he had earlier given about the order of phone call conversations involving himself, Mr Byrne from Cerberus, and the original founder of the hotel group, Mr Jim Treacy among others.
The defence team has raised objections on the exact timing of a couple of calls made on the dates November 18th and 21st, 2016, as outlined by Mr Lanigan, claiming them to be inaccurate. Nevertheless, Mr Lanigan maintained his stance, asserting that his testimony is based on his personal records and what he deemed to be truthful.
Micheal McGrath SC suggested that Mr Lanigan’s claim of receiving a high volume of calls from Capita on November 21st about the deposit payment doesn’t align with the records, which show he only received a single call from the company. In response, Mr Lanigan clarified that he was regularly updating Capita about the progress and that his communication wasn’t limited to a single person at the firm.
Meanwhile, the Treacys obtained a bank cheque amounting to €160,000 and travelled from Waterford to deliver it to the EY offices in Dublin. EY had kept its working space open until half-past eight on the said day to accommodate the payment.
Later on, while providing additional evidence, Mr Geraghty conceded that it is possible he didn’t inform Mr Lanigan about the necessity to show proof of funds until November 22nd. However, this aligns with what Mr Lanigan claimed in his testimony.
On November 28th, after the Treacy Group’s accountant showed proof of funds, Mr Geraghty confirmed in an email to Mr Byrne that the hotel group had enough finances to purchase the Ard Rí and renovate it. Subsequently, Mr Byrne conveyed that his company was planning to proceed with the sale to Mr Walsh, whom he described as “tried and trusted”.
Mr Geraghty shared in court that there was nothing suspicious about this particular decision, stating, “It was one of the offers on the table, they decided to take that one.”