Irish-registered entities in Saudi mansion story

ERGO

Bord na Mona wind farm at Oweninny, Co Mayo. The company now focuses on renewables

Prince Khaled bin Sultan Al Saud

Bord na Mona wind farm at Oweninny, Co Mayo. The company now focuses on renewables

Prince Khaled bin Sultan Al Saud

March 12 2023 02:30 AM

The Financial Times last week devoted several column inches to a story about some lenders getting into a row with an enormously wealthy Saudi prince.

A 205-year-old mansion in Regent’s Park, known as The Holme and nick-named the London Palace, was put on the market for £250m after a company managed by London hedge fund Attestor appointed receivers for the property following the expiry of a loan secured against it.

The loan had come from Trinity Investments, an Irish company managed by Attestor.

The FT also reported that the Saudi prince is being sued by a second lender over alleged missed payments on a private Boeing 787 jet.

An Irish subsidiary of China Minsheng Bank is claiming at least £30m in unpaid bills and interest on the business jet leased by a Bermuda-based company in 2017 under a personal guarantee from Prince Khaled bin Sultan Al Saud, the newspaper said.

It has been denied in court papers that Prince Khaled himself has an interest in the house

It’s a complicated story of vast wealth and complex, high flying financial dealings and has fascinated property watchers in the UK. From an Irish perspective it gives an insight in the very wide array of companies and vehicles now registered in Ireland.

Bord na Mona wind farm at Oweninny, Co Mayo. The company now focuses on renewables

Bord na Móna puts €10m tag on new HQ

Irish semi-state Bord na Móna has issued a contract notice seeking a main contractor for its new headquarters worth an estimated €10m.

According to the notice, Bord na Móna is seeking expressions of interest from qualified applicants, who will then be shortlisted for the tender stage.

Kildare County Council recently gave Bord na Móna the green light for new offices in Newbridge. Bord na Móna had a legacy in the Irish peat industry but stopped harvesting in 2019. It is now focused on renewable energy projects.

Housing Agency seeks €6.6m of legal services

One of the first thing anyone does when looking to buy property is appoint a solicitor. So it’s interesting to see that the Housing Agency is now looking to appoint legal conveyancing and advice services up to a contract value of €6.65m.

But anyone facing imminent eviction in the coming weeks should not get too excited. One lot of the contract is for legal conveyancing for the purchase of property by the agency, worth €650,000. Another €1m is for legal services related to local authority leasing. But the vast bulk of the contract, €5m, is for conveyancing services for land acquisition.