SITTING IN High Court in London yesterday, rejecting allegations made by his former business partner, property developer Paddy McKillen, financier Derek Quinlan was keen for the world to know of past successes.
Repeatedly he told Mr Justice David Richards that his gross estate in 2009, despite “substantial indebtedness”, was £4 billion, before the clouds darkened.
He told of how he went to Sardinia in 2010 to meet Qatari princes Sheikh Hamad and Jassim al-Thani onboard the former’s yacht. There, he met David Barclay, who, along with fellow billionaire twin brother Frederick, eventually acquired his stake in London’s Connaught, Berkeley and Claridges hotels.
“You could not miss Sheikh Hamad and his son because their boat is about 400-odd feet. It was the largest boat in the harbour. When their tender came in, it created masses of splashes of waves, because the bigger the boat, the bigger the tender.
“As it happened, Sir David Barclay was also in the same harbour,” Quinlan added, which led Mr Justice David Richards to ask, “Does he have a smaller boat?”
“My Lord, I understand Sir David’s boat is a mere 200ft,” Quinlan replied, with a chuckle.
The meeting with Sir David was “not accidental”, pressed McKillen’s barrister, Philip Marshall.
The relationship with the Qataris had been smoothed by a friend, whom he called “The Cat”.
“Who is The Cat?” Marshall asked.
“A friend of mine,” said Quinlan drily. The right-hand side of the well-populated court – mostly the financier’s legal team – erupted in laughter. So far, The Cat remains unknown.
Last week, Nama’s Paul Hennigan had been taken through his letters and emails to Quinlan, where he had frequently complained about the financier’s “lavish lifestyle funded by the Irish taxpayer”.
The financier, who now lives in London, yesterday told of how he had moved to Switzerland “at very great expense” for tax reasons on the advice of KPMG.
There, he had driven “a four- year-old car” of unknown make, he said, rejecting Marshall’s assertion that he had used a Mercedes S500 – “not at that point in time”.
Pressed by his lenders, he said he had his home in the south of France on the market for €75 million. Eventually it was sold for €64.5 million.
Denying he led an extravagant lifestyle, Quinlan said: “Extravagant is a relative term. What may be extravagant to one may not be extravagant to somebody else.”
Throughout, the McKillen camp has argued that Quinlan moved his support to the Barclays because they were now his sole source of funds.
Marshall said the documents showed he had sought £1 million and £3 million “to run the family office” from the Barclays, far lower than the success fees offered by other potential buyers.
The Barclays had given a loan in October 2010, partly to help him meet an upcoming Swiss tax bill of 400,000 Swiss francs, after he had called Sir David for help “with great reluctance”.
Quinlan’s relationship with the Barclays had developed after he “bumped into” him in Sardinia in the summer of 2006, he has said. Shortly thereafter, the second of the twins, Frederick, approached him about a site owned by one of his companies in Chelsea, which he was “interested” in acquiring for children with learning difficulties.
Although valued at £10 million, Quinlan, along with his partners, gave it for £1– although they benefited, too, because the presence of a school helped to get planning permission for the surrounding lands.
Later, he said, “Sir Frederick, in a private moment, told me that the Barclay family had never forgotten my gesture in relation to the school that was now operating in Old Church Street.”
*This article was amended on April 29th, 2012 to correct a factual error.
