CEO must pay €9m after ‘sharp practice’

Avolon Airspace CEO Domhnal Slattery is liable for more than $10m (€9m) to Friends First under a personal guarantee following a Court of Appeal finding “sharp practice” lead to a clause being “slipped” into a deed which, unknown to the lender, removed that liability.

That “sharp practice” and “chicanery” entitled Friends First to rectification of the deed, the three-judge court said.

It also ruled Mr Slattery is not entitled to €100,000 damages awarded by the High Court to him against Friends First arising from its parent company, Achmea, having, just after Mr Slattery launched Avolon in 2010, told CVC Capital Partners, a key investor in Avolon, about Mr Slattery’s conduct of his dealings with Friends First.