Property tycoons to sue for €120m over losses

PROPERTY developers Johnny Ronan and Richard Barrett are suing Aberdeen Asset Management for up to €120 million.

Real Estate Opportunities (REO), an investment fund listed on the London Stock Exchange and majority-owned by the pair, said yesterday it was bringing legal proceedings against Aberdeen Asset Management and UBS over losses suffered by REO in a split capital investment portfolio.

The portfolio was managed by Aberdeen until April 2003, when REO terminated the contract over the mounting losses. When REO was set up in 2001, its income portfolio was valued at about €500m, but the value nearly halved under Aberdeen’s management.