Paddy Shovlin, the business partner of the Fitzpatrick brothers, Tony and Patrick, was declared bankrupt a month ago in London on 29th May, 2012. His bankruptcy was first reported in the Irish media by Ronald Quinlan in the Sunday Independent today. His bankruptcy record from the UK Insolvency Service is shown above. One of his erstwhile business partners, Patrick Fitzpatrick was declared bankrupt in the UK on 12th April, 2012. There is no record for Tony Fitzpatrick with the UK Insolvency Service.
Paddy gives his residential address in the bankruptcy record as an apartment in Earl’s Court in south west London, and also provides a trading address just off the wrong end of the upmarket King’s Road in Chelsea. A “former” Irish address on Kerrymount Avenue in Foxrock, Dublin is also provided.
Paddy has been in the wars with NAMA from the beginning, and in October 2010, NAMA secured its first personal judgments against Paddy and the two Fitzpatrick brothers. NAMA has moved against his flagship company, Landmark and its mixed residential/commercial development of the Beacon South Quarter in south-west Dublin.
Paddy has the distinction of being the tenth NAMA developer to be declared bankrupt in the UK, the other nine being Ray Grehan, his brother Danny Grehan, Tom McFeely whose bankruptcy is being challenged in the UK at present, John Fleming whom NAMA is still pursuing seeking an attachment to earnings for two years, Bernard Doyle of Spain Courtney Doyle fame, Northern Irish developers Alastair Jackson, Fergal McAlinden and Peter McDaid; and of course Paddy’s Shovlin’s erstwhile business partner, Patrick Fitzpatrick.
NAMA’s chairman, Frank Daly who was previously the chairman of the Irish tax authorities, the Revenue Commissioners has darkly warned that just because a developer wins bankruptcy in the UK – and when you consider the standard bankruptcy period in the UK is just one year compared to 5-12 in Ireland, it is a “win” – doesn’t mean NAMA loses interest in them. The pursuit of an attachment order on John Fleming’s earnings and his pension is proof of that, but overall, NAMA appears to have been more bark than less bite in this area.
There are other Nordies: Mervyn McAlister, Peter Dolan, Sam Thompson. Though these three did the vast bulk of their work in the north. Mervyn had a small development in Donegal.