€30m property crisis lawyer has not 'absconded'
Lynn due to meet with anxious bankers in Ireland in hopes of staving off empire collapse
Sunday October 14 2007
The solicitor at the centre of a €30m property crisis says he has not "absconded" and is preparing to return to Ireland.
An assurance was given yesterday by a high-profile Dublin solicitor speaking on his behalf that he "will be available" to meet bankers and lawyers in Ireland this week.
Michael Lynn, a solicitor and property developer, is now trying to stave off the collapse of his international property empire.
Mr Lynn, a high-flyer in the property world in Ireland and abroad, is believed to have borrowed up to €80m to invest in property. But leading financial institutions are looking to secure up to €30m -- in the belief that Mayo-born Mr Lynn re-mortgaged many of the properties in his portfolio with different lenders to expand his business.
Yesterday, a solicitor acting on his behalf said "he has not absconded -- that is completely wrong."
He said that Mr Lynn's "main concern" now is to return to Ireland. "He says he has enough assets to go around and there will not be a problem -- I don't know, but he has assured me that he is coming back to face all this."
It is believed that the Irish Nationwide Building Society and the Permanent TSB are owed about €10m each. Other institutions like AIB and Anglo-Irish Bank are also believed to have lent him considerable sums.
The way the crisis has unfolded will lead to concern among those who have paid deposits on overseas property but not yet secured the title.
Mr Lynn is believed to have been in Portugal, where he has extensive property holdings, for the last two weeks. He did not answer his mobile phone yesterday, but in response to a text message the head of a large and reputable Dublin firm of solicitors rang the Sunday Independent to categorically state that Mr Lynn has not "absconded".
Last year, one of Mr Lynn's property companies gave away a €100,000 apartment in Bulgaria on the Late Late Show as part of a promotion. He also used the services of high-profile footballers in Ireland and Portugal to promote his ventures.
Mr Lynn has used a string of apartments and commercial properties in Dublin city centre to raise multiple mortgages from different lending institutions and then used the money to invest in overseas property in Portugal and European locations.
A combination of slow sales and rising interest rates have precipitated the current crisis. Last June his brother-in-law Cathal Power resigned as a director of Mr Lynn's main property companies.
There is now serious concern in business and legal circles that the practice of securing multiple mortgages on the same properties may lead to further turmoil in the property sector. According to banking sources there is now serious concern among lenders that up to five major property investors may have engaged in the same business practices.
Mr Lynn, who comes originally from Co Mayo, is a 39-year-old solicitor. He got married last year at a lavish ceremony. Earlier this year he moved into a €5m house in Howth, Co Dublin. In the last four years he has diversified from his legal business to property investments.
According to documents given to prospective buyers, his law firm is regulated by the Law Society of Ireland.
