Irish investor Derek Quinlan this week admitted receiving financial aid from the Barclay brothers, but denied it induced him to sell his shares in three luxury London hotels.
Quinlan was in court as the hearing over the ownership of Coroin, parent company of Claridge’s, The Connaught and The Berkeley, resumed.
Fellow Irishman Paddy McKillen claims Quinlan was induced by payments from Sir David and Sir Frederick Barclay to sell his stake in Coroin.
The Barclays and Quinlan deny the allegations.
Quinlan said his financial position had become “precarious” following the credit crunch and that, faced with a large tax bill in Switzerland that he could not pay, he had asked the Barclays for help “in light of their repeated and very generous offers of assistance” in the past.
He said he decided to sell his shares to the Barclays because they were “the only party who were serious about injecting capital into the company”.
Quinlan added: “Although I was naturally well disposed towards the Barclay brothers because of their generosity to my family, at no point did my relationship with them lead me to take a decision which I thought was anything other than in the best interests of the company.”
The case continues.
