The Mahon Tribunal’s investigations centre on the relationships and deals that ultimately led to the building of the massive Liffey Valley Shopping Centre in west Dublin.
The centre has proved to be a money-spinner for its joint owners, Cork businessman Owen O’Callaghan and Grosvenor Holdings, a property company owned by the Duke of Westminster. The centre is run through a company called Barkhill, which has its registered address in Cork, but its holding company is Grosvenor Overseas Holdings in London.
The latest accounts for Barkhill show that it made a pre-tax profit of €2.4 million in the financial year to the end of March last year. The company had turnover of €17.4 million from selling development properties at Liffey Valley.
‘‘The company owns a major site at Liffey Valley, Clondalkin, Co Dublin, and has already sold a significant part of the site for shopping centre development,” according to the accounts. ‘‘The company intends to develop the remainder of the site.”
At the end of the financial year, Barkhill had an accumulated profit of €46.5 million and more than €3.1 million in cash on its balance sheet. It was owed €45.6 million by debtors, including €27.3 million from subsidiaries, €9 million from its parent company and €9 million from related parties controlled by O’Callaghan.
The Mahon Tribunal’s investigation into whether Barkhill was involved in payments to politicians is noted under the heading of ‘contingencies’ in the company’s accounts.
‘‘The financial implications, if any, for the company cannot be ascertained until such time as the tribunal completes its investigations,” according to the accounts.
‘‘However, the directors do not believe that any provision is required in the financial statements in respect of this matter.”
The accounts are audited by Deloitte in Dublin, which noted the contingency, but said its opinion was ‘‘not qualified in this respect’’.
Earlier this year, it was reported that O’Callaghan was in talks with South Dublin County Council to double the size of the Liffey Valley shopping centre. The shopping centre already has 320,000 square feet of retail floor space, making it one of the biggest in the country.
O’Callaghan’s other interests include the €500 million Mahon Point shopping centre in Cork. His company, O’Callaghan Properties, is also working on a major retail development on Academy Street in Cork city.
The latest Sunday Times Rich List ranks O’Callaghan as the 75th richest person in Ireland, with an estimated wealth of stg£120 million (€176.8 million).
However, property sources believe that the list underestimates O’Callaghan’s full wealth.
Sunday Business Post
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