Lands worth €31m in 2006 valued at €600k

DEVELOPMENT lands in Athlone valued in 2006 at €31 million have a current value of €600,000.

That was the claim made by Bank of Ireland at the Commercial Court when rejecting arguments by a developer that the sale of those and other lands offered reasonable potential for the bank to recover €17.4m from the developer under his guarantees of loans.

Mr Justice Peter Kelly said the €600,000 figure was “even more alarming” and put “into a cocked hat” the judge’s own view, from his experience in the Commercial Court in recent years, land values have fallen between 70%-80%.