Magniers say approval of trustee was given for sale of Barne Estate

Barne side say there was never any such agreement and subsequently they agreed to sell it to construction magnate Maurice Regan

John Magnier and his children seek specific performance of what they say was a deal that was struck on August 22 last for the purchase of Barne Estate. File picture: Healy Racing

Billionaire bloodstock owner John Magnier and his family claim the owners of an estate they say they had an agreement to buy for €15m had the approval of a trust to make the sale, the Commercial Court has heard.

A Jersey trust which holds ownership of the 751-acre Barne Estate, near Clonmel in Co Tipperary, for the benefit of Richard Thomson-Moore, his sister Alexandra, their children, and their spouses, had given its approval for the sale of the property the day after the Magniers struck an agreement to buy it, Paul Gallagher SC, for the Magniers, told the court on Monday.