O’Briens agree to football ground sale

The family of businessman Denis O’Brien is to sell its interest in a controversial English football ground that was central to the Moriarty Tribunal’s probe of his links to Michael Lowry.

A successful bidder has been identified and if the deal is finalised, it would see Mr O’Brien’s family trust surrender a long-term lease to the former home of Doncaster Rovers Football Club.

The tribunal spent a number of years probing the acquisition of the site by the O’Brien family.

And, although it never established a direct link to Mr Lowry, it concluded the arrangement was set up to reward the former minister.

The Belle Vue ground in Doncaster was bought by a company owned by the O’Brien family trust in August 1998 for Stg£4.3m.

It was key to a plan to take over the lower-league football club in order to access and develop its four-hectare town-centre site.

However, the ground has remained vacant and dilapidated in recent years after the sporting side of the business was sold and the team relocated to a newly built stadium nearby.

Last year, press reports in Doncaster suggested the proceeds of the impending sale will be divided evenly between the council and Mr O’Brien’s company.

Mr O’Brien’s company, Doncaster Rovers Football Club Ltd, has more than 50 years remaining on the lease for its portion of the site. DRFC Ltd is owned by Westferry Ltd, which in turn was controlled by an O’Brien family trust.

A statement on behalf of the O’Briens said that Mr Lowry never had any “hand, act or part” in the purchase of shares related to Don-caster Rovers and not one of the 10 tribunal witnesses who gave evidence on the deal said the former minister was involved.

The site was jointly marketed by DRFC Ltd and Doncaster Council last year.

According to a tender brochure released by Doncaster Council, the O’Briens’ company has agreed to give up the lease once the sale is complete.

The council said a preferred bidder had been agreed and the parties would be reviewing contracts this month. “The proposed sale is conditional on the buyer obtaining planning permission for residential development and the buyer will be submitting an a planning application shortly after exchange of contracts.”

Until these were signed, it would not comment on the price agreed or the compensation that will be paid to the O’Briens’ company. “This remains commercially sensitive information pending exchange of contracts.”

The tribunal was never able to establish a clear link between Mr Lowry and the Doncaster deal.

And the suggestion that Mr Lowry was involved in the Doncaster project was denied by him, Mr O’Brien and the other connected parties who gave evidence.

However, in its conclusions, the tribunal said while it would not comment on how Mr Lowry may have been involved in the transaction, it said it was satisfied the deal was intended to result in a “payment to, or the conferral of a pecuniary advantage on, Mr Lowry by Mr Denis O’Brien”.

Under the original terms, land agent Kevin Phelan was in line to claim 40% of the profits from the resale of the Doncaster property for his work preparing the plan.