The Irish Supreme Court has ruled that developer Paddy McKillen has the right to make representations to Nama before it can decide to acquire €2.1bn of his loans.
Currently the legislation states that Nama is entitled to acquire any eligible bank asset if it considers it necessary or desirable.
While the court rejected claims that the taking over of McKillen’s loans interferes with his constitutional property rights, Chief Justice Mr Justice John Murray ruled the criteria according to which Nama must exercise its discretion are sufficiently set out, and did not give the agency an arbitrary or untrammeled discretion to acquire McKillen’s assets, or that of others in a similar position.
McKillen has always claimed that his loans are performing well, and that his property portfolio, three-quarters of which is outside Ireland, relies on long-term leases to blue-chip clients.
james.a.kenny@estatesgazette.com
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