High Court Judge has declared the family business structure of Luxembourg’s entrepreneur Mark Godart and his family somewhat “ambiguous”. This structure governs their property investments and letting operations in Ireland.
Having benefited from funds sourced from family businesses in Luxembourg, Mr. Godart, aged 35, ventured into the Irish property market amid the financial collapse. His current dealings encompass development and letting of both his and others’ estates.
Mr. Godart holds directorship or secretary roles in over 50 Irish firms. His mother, Denise Godart, originally Webster, aged 64, is a board member in 11 companies, while his 71-year-old father, René Godart, is a company secretary in 12 firms. Mr. Godart’s parents both reside in Luxembourg, whereas he splits his time between Dublin and Luxembourg.
A previous tenant, Lizet Pena-Herrera, brought a case against Green Label Short Lets Ltd, a Godart-owned enterprise, over unpaid debt to the High Court. In reaction, Mr. Godart submitted an affidavit attesting that the company had essentially ceased functioning and lacked the resources to settle the debt of over €15,000 plus expenses owed to Ms Pena-Herrera.
Mr. Godart shared that his family’s business model, rooted in Luxembourg law, necessitates the transfer of revenue generated in Ireland back to a parent company in Luxembourg. This Luxembourg firm owns all Godart businesses involved in Ireland’s property ownership, short-term leasing and other ventures.
The model stipulates the need for most board members and individuals who legitimise the firm to be Luxembourg residents and expresses that overseas subsidiary operations must return revenue to the parent company within a year of receiving group financing funds.
As the hearing began with Justice Brian Cregan presiding over the High Court on Monday, Green Label Short Lets’ lawyer, Darragh Haugh, when asked if the company’s sole director Mr. Godart was resident in Luxembourg, said it was his understanding but added that Mr. Godart might divide his time between Ireland and Luxembourg.
Green Label Short Lets, falls under a “Société de Participations Financières (Soparfi) structure”, as stated by Mr Godart in his sworn statement, with its primary parent company being Itzig Sarl, based in Luxembourg. Identified as Soparfis, these entities are unregulated taxable corporations with their primary corporate intention being to execute holding and associated monetary activities. All profits earned by Green Label Short Lets are required to be transferred to Itzig Sarl, per Mr Godart’s statement.
Justice Cregan took a critical view of what he described as an opaque structure and requested Mr Godart provide a sworn statement including information about each of his holdings in Irish property businesses, the Luxembourg primary holding company, and two Irish-based companies involved in regulatory violations relating to city planning laws.
The legal representation of Ms Pena-Herrera requested that the Godarts be placed under oath to clarify the financial status of Green Label Short Lets. In reply, Mr Godart claimed in his affidavit that his mother is no longer a company director, and his father never held such a position, denouncing any assumptions about his family in the proceedings as deeply personal and inappropriate. He also protested against the possibility of being subpoenaed, declaring there are no assets to pay the debt, which arose due to a successful case about an unlawful eviction.
In Justice Cregan’s remarks, he made it clear that Mr Godart seemingly believes he can evict tenants for raising concerns about overpopulation in the properties, and then express concern when his parents are summoned into proceedings for their perceived roles as directors. If the Ireland-based company had indeed transferred funds to its parent company in Luxembourg following the compensation reward to Ms Pena-Herrera, this may be construed as suspicious activity, for which Mr Godart must provide answers.
Justice Cregan highlighted that the accusations against Mr Godart’s company included unlawfully evicting Ms Pena-Herrera as a punitive measure for complaints she raised about overcrowding. Reports show she was wrongfully evicted even before the expiration of the notice, causing her to become homeless.
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