Ex-Smart boss to lose his home

FORMER Smart Telecom chief executive Oisin Fanning yesterday lost a bid to stop a bank taking possession of his luxury home because of an alleged failure to keep up payments on an €8 million loan.

The High Court ruled that Anglo Irish Bank was entitled to possession of Forenaghts House, which stands on 24 acres at Forenaghts in Naas, Kildare, where Mr Fanning, partner, Pearl Roche, and her four grown-up children live.

Ms Justice Elizabeth Dunne put a stay on the possession order for three months on the basis that Mr Fanning make a €400,000 interest repayment by April on the loan which now stands at €8.6m.

If he does so, the judge said she would consider extending that stay to allow Mr Fanning to look at ways of meeting his debt either through the sale of Forenaghts and/or through the sale of a property in France.

The judge ruled that although the loan was given to allow Mr Fanning to buy €5m worth of shares in Smart Telecom and to refinance a €2.9m loan on Forenaghts, the loan had been secured on his home. She rejected Mr Fanning’s claim that the loan was given on the basis of assurances from businessman Brendan Murtagh, who took over Smart in 2006, that the company would repay it.

She ruled against an application from Mr Fanning to adjourn re-possession until separate proceedings in relation to the purchase of the shares were fully litigated.

The bank was entitled to an order for possession because this was a commercial loan which had to be repaid over 12 months and it was clearly intended that it would be funded by the €5m investment in Smart which unfortunately did not work out, the judge said.

Both Mr Fanning and Ms Roche were fully aware that the loan was secured on the house and had gone through careful steps with the bank before signing the loan agreement, the judge said.

Ms Justice Dunne said there was no evidence to support Mr Fanning’s contention that the loan would not have been provided were it not for assurances from Mr Murtagh.

“I simply do not believe such a loan would be provided on that basis. What amounted to, at best, a collaborative agreement between Mr Murtagh and Mr Fanning, cannot allow the plaintiff (Anglo) not to enforce its security,” she said.

While there had been a distinction made by Mr Fanning between the homeloan and commercial loan aspect of the matter, the judge said she could not see how the bank could get its money back other than by an order for possession.

Ms Justice Dunne said she would put a stay on her order until April 30 by which time Mr Fanning must make the €400,000 repayment. If he does so, she will consider extending the stay and if he does not “we are into a different situation,” she said.