Quinlan edges closer to bankruptcy as Tchenguiz granted day in court
Irish tycoon Derek Quinlan has moved a step closer to bankruptcy after his wife failed to halt court proceedings against him.
She told the court that Quinlan, who lives in Monaco but stays at a five-star hotel in Mayfair while visiting his Berkeley Square offices, was taken to St Thomas’ hospital in central London after reading an e-mail reminding him of the hearing at the High Court.
The judge, Sir Anthony Mann, refused a delay, saying that a previous hearing scheduled for March had been adjourned “on the basis of inaccurate medical evidence”.
Irish tycoon Derek Quinlan has moved a step closer to bankruptcy after his wife failed to halt court proceedings against him.
She told the court that Quinlan, who lives in Monaco but stays at a five-star hotel in Mayfair while visiting his Berkeley Square offices, was taken to St Thomas’ hospital in central London after reading an e-mail reminding him of the hearing at the High Court.
The judge, Sir Anthony Mann, refused a delay, saying that a previous hearing scheduled for March had been adjourned “on the basis of inaccurate medical evidence”.
Quinlan’s bankruptcy is sought by Edgeworth Capital, an investment fund owned by Robert Tchenguiz. It is linked to a dispute over a debt owed on the Santander bank office complex outside Madrid.
Quinlan, alongside a former business partner Glenn Maud, bought the complex’s freehold for €1.9bn in 2008, in what was then Europe’s biggest property deal.
The deal was financed by three loans from Royal Bank of Scotland. One, for €200m, was later acquired by the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund, in a deal with Edgeworth.
Edgeworth has claimed Quinlan owes it €80m.
Quinlan, a former tax inspector, and his companies once owned Claridges, the Savoy and Connaught hotels in London, as well as commercial properties including 25 Canada Square in Docklands, for which he paid £1bn.
The Times (£)
