Doonbeg property owners ‘face ruin’

Most of the investors who purchased properties with rental guarantee agreements attached to the Doonbeg golf resort now “face ruin”.

That is according to one investor yesterday as it was confirmed Tom Kavanagh of Kavanagh Fennell has been appointed as liquidator to Doonbeg Golf Club Ltd.

The most recent accounts lodged with the Companies Office show Doonbeg Golf Club Ltd’s largest creditors were connected companies owned €77m. The owners of investor properties with rental guarantees ranging from €1.2m to €1.8m will be categorised as unsecured creditors in the process.

At a recent Circuit Court hearing concerning actions taken against a collapsed Doonbeg firm by three separate investor property owners with rental guarantees, Donal O’Rourke BL said that the chances of the plaintiffs getting anything “is minimal”.

Asked what she expects from the liquidation process, the investor — who did not wish to be named — said yesterday “nothing”.

The most recent accounts show that the club’s inability to fund the payments to the owners of properties with rental guarantees was a factor in the club placing itself into voluntary receivership.

Doonbeg golf club generated revenues of €73.5m from the sale of properties at the site over the years before it was placed in receivership. US billionaire, Donald Trump has since purchased the resort for a reported €15m.

The investor said: “Most of those who bought properties with rental guarantees now face ruin. The whole thing is very upsetting and because the company is US-owned, there is no way we can get any satisfaction.”

George Sorial, executive vice president of the Trump Organisation, said: “These disputes... do not involve The Trump Organisation and were specifically excluded by contract when we purchased the Doonbeg assets.”