Flight of the Wild Geese II

Up until a few years ago, Derek Quinlan epitomised the property bubble that had engulfed Ireland. With his empire now mostly in the hands of Nama, Michael Clifford profiles the man who once flew the Tricolour over London

IT was in the dog days of August 2009 that Derek Quinlan upped sticks and struck out for Switzerland. The man known as King Midas said he was moving for “tax and personal” reasons. A few months earlier, he had stepped down as chief executive of Quinlan Private, a vehicle that was to the fore in blowing the property bubble.

Now the time had come to leave dear old Ireland behind. It was a world away from the heady days of 2004, when a Quinlan-led consortium bought the prestigious Savoy Hotel in the heart of London. The day after the deal was done, one of the Irish-born members of staff raised the Tricolour over this bastion of the British establishment to let everybody know the hour of the Paddy had arrived.