Propinvest founder Glenn Maud is fighting off a second bankruptcy order from Robert Tchenguiz’s Edgeworth Capital and Abu Dhabi investment fund Aabar.
The order is the latest in the long-running battle to take control of Santander’s Madrid HQ, which Maud and joint venture partner Derek Quinlan bought for €1.9bn (£1.6bn) in 2008.
The 4.3m sq ft Santander campus is thought to be the most valuable piece of real estate in Europe and was acquired with debt from banks including HSH Nordbank, RBS, Bayerische Landesbank, Deutsche Post, RZB Group, ING and La Caixa.
Maud, who built up a £4bn property empire in the 2000s, was first made bankrupt in this case in April before overturning the order on appeal (see timeline).
Edgeworth and Aabar say they are owed some £66m by Maud and claim he has personal debts of more than £170m.
Maud, who is supported by other creditors opposing the bankruptcy order, is seeking more time to sell the 340-acre Santander HQ to enable him to pay back his creditors.
The property was placed into voluntary insolvency in March 2014, with a sale of the asset expected to have been completed by February this year.
Maud initially bid to buy the campus back as part of a consortium with California-based Global Asset Capital Europe and London-based AGC Equity Partners. That bid has subsequently been replaced with a new offer of around €2.5bn from AGC. It is due to expire by the end of the month, however.
Edgeworth and Aabar claim that there is no credible evidence that Maud’s creditors, which also include Navarro Ventures and GAC, will be in a better position if a bankruptcy order is not made.
Judgment on this latest order is expected to be handed down before the end of the year.
The twisting timeline
November 2010: Aabar and Edgeworth Capital purchase from RBS rights against Glenn Maud, Derek Quinlan and their company Ramblas Investments BV in respect of loan obligations.
February 2011: Aabar and Edgeworth issue proceedings against Maud, Quinlan and Ramblas.
June 2011: Maud and Quinlan ordered to pay €52.6m to Aabar and Edgeworth. They also obtain judgment against Ramblas for the sum of €216.6m.
June 2013: Bankruptcy petition first presented against Maud by Incorporated Holdings over a £19.6m debt. Petition later dismissed after GAC buys debt owed to Incorporated Holdings.
February 2014: Libyan Investment Authority serves Maud with a statutory demand for £17.5m.
June 2014: Aabar and Edgeworth serve a statutory demand for the amount outstanding under the earlier judgment.
March 2014: Spanish court permits companies in the Marme Group (owner of the Santander campus) to commence voluntary insolvency proceedings; administrators appointed.
January 2015: Judgment against Ramblas in favour of Edgeworth and Aabar in the sum of €105m.
June 2015: Court sets aside the statutory demand from the LIA, but not the one from Aabar and Edgeworth.
July 2015: First hearing of Aabar and Edgeworth’s bankruptcy petition adjourned because of the “reasonable prospect” of the Santander campus being sold and the debt paid.
November 2015: Maud held liable to Aabar and Edgeworth in the sum of €40m under a guarantee of a loan to Ramblas.
December 2015: Second hearing of the petition adjourned.
April 2016: At the third hearing of the petition, court makes a bankruptcy order, finding no reasonable prospect that creditors will be paid within a reasonable time.
June 2016: Effect of bankruptcy order stayed, pending appeal.
July 2016: Court of Appeal reinstates statutory demand served by the LIA.
September 2016: Court overturns the bankruptcy order, finding that earlier decision was flawed due to failure to weigh the views of the creditors who supported and opposed the making of the bankruptcy order.
November 2016: Aabar and Edgeworth again push for bankruptcy.
