PRODUCT PROFILE

Latest Dublin Prices

Treasury Holdings to be wound up

Friday, October 05 12:20:32

Johnny Ronan and Richard Barrett's property group, Treasury Holdings is to be wound up, a Dublin court heard today, making it one of the biggest and most high-profile casualties of the property crash.

The company, controlled by developers Johnny Ronan and Richard Barrett, had built up a multibillion-euro property empire that included golf course resorts in Sweden, a five-star hotel in Moscow and offices in Paris.

However most of its debts were transferred to NAMA after the building boom came to a sharp halt in 2008.

Backed by NAMA, another debtor, Belgian financial group KBC, won consent to have the company wound up in a dramatic court session today.

Joint liquidators are expected to be appointed by the High Court next week after the company said today it was no longer resisting KBC Bank's application to have it and related companies wound up.

KBC said in those circumstances it would seek joint liquidators and its counsel Bernard Duleavy also said the bank did not believe Treasury had provided an adequate explanation for a transaction in which assets of a Treasury subsidiary in Singapore had been transferred to a company in the Channel Islands beneficially owned by Richard Barrett.

Declan Murphy, for NAMA said it would like certainty in the matter and that it be addressed speedily.

Mr Justice Brian McGovern said today he would next Tuesday appoint joint liquidators from Grant Thornton to Treasury Holdings and 16 related companies. This would have the effect the Treasury group would be wound up, the court heard.

The judge said he would also deal with the issue whether Treasury has adequately addressed the concerns about the the Singapore transaction in an affidavit. Ross Gorman, for Treasury, said, as far as it as concerned, it had complied with the court order to provide an affidavit explaining that transaction.