There are reports that NAMA has this afternoon appointed receivers to properties owned by Jim Mansfield. If confirmed, this will indeed be surprising – not for the appointment of receivers, NAMA is doing that almost daily these days. Surprising because Jim Mansfield was not previously associated with NAMA.
The colourful 71-year old Kildare businessman famously made his money in the 1980s after spotting an opportunity to sell machinery and equipment left in the Falkland Islands (Las Islas Malvinas) after the conflict there between the UK and Argentina. In more recent times, Jim has been associated with the Citywest Hotel and residential development. His other notable properties include the Weston Aerodrome, Palmerstown House Golf Club, Finnstown Countryhouse Hotel and Tassagart House. He controls a web of companies, some of which are incorporated in the Isle of Man. His sons, PJ, Jim Jr and Tony have been involved in family businesses. Jim’s companies have extended beyond property and include HSS Planthire.
Jim has been in the wars with his company’s finances for over a year. Last July 2010, Martin Ferris was appointed receiver to HSS Limited which controls the Citywest hotel, conference and golf complex, on foot of loans owed to Bank of Scotland (Ireland). The Irish Nationwide Building Society is also reported to have been a major lender. There is no confirmation from NAMA yet of the receivership.
There is a regularly updated list of all NAMA receiverships and court actions here.
UPDATE: 20th April, 2011. Reports (here and here) are now saying that the assets to which a statutory receiver, named as Kieran Wallace of KPMG, include the Weston Aerodrome, Palmerstown House Golf Club and six apartment blocks beside the Citywest Hotel in Saggart in West Dublin. Citywest is located outside the M50 ring road around Dublin in which NAMA famously controls 6-16,000 residential properties, so these apartment blocks will add to NAMA’s portfolio of Dublin residential property.
UPDATE: 24th October, 2011. NAMA has secured a liability order against Jim Mansfield personally at Dublin’s High Court despite the application being opposed by Jim on a number of grounds including the behaviour of the NAMA-appointed receiver. Jim claims that there was an offers of €11.9m for Palmerston House, and this was allegedly rejected by the receiver, Kieran Wallance of KPMG. Mary Carolan at the Irish Times has the better reporting of the case. The liability order is for €74m and there is an extant application by Bank of Scotland (Ireland) for a liability order for an additional €204m. A couple of matters of interest are reported today (1) Jim claims that NAMA rejected offers for Palmerston House on the basis that the offers came from people associated with Jim (2) The judge stated that the receiver was not under an obligation to comply with NAMA’s wishes that sales not be made to associated parties.
NAMA Wine Lake 
Ah yes, the sword is bloody and heads are rolling thick and fast now. So much for cooperation. Time to join the refusnicks.
Word on Wall Street is that the NTMA have sold the Anglo US loan book and that Anglo has not been informed yet!
@WSTT, yes there seems to be such a concentration of receiverships at present that you would wonder if “shock and awe” tactics are at play.
With respect to Anglo’s US loan book, which was reported at €6.5bn (€7.643bn gross loans less €1.152bn provisions) in the 2010 accounts, that would be amazing if true that it has been sold. Forget about an Irish context, even in a USA context, that is a big transaction & you would have to wonder if the sale price was optimised.
All the most recent annual reports for Irish banks are available here
https://namawinelake.wordpress.com/about/the-banks/
Certainly Anglos and INBS foreign Loan Books should be up for disposal in short order however I believe that the NTMA would be unable to assemble a vendor data room without co-operation from Anglo so I believe that may be market mischief in the States. As I said before I am aware of 2 proposals to buy foreign loan portfolios from that are either sitting on desks in the Department of Finance that are in excess of what NAMA paid the institutions. The two bidders are both very credible and are bewildered by lack of engagement. But I suppose actually getting money in is secondary to making a developers wife sell her car.
On a separate note, a top ten developer told me last week that his only regret was “telling the bastards everything” when talking about NAMA.
In line with WSTT and his comments nearly every developer has accepted the fact that NAMA isn’t here to help and that the professional classes are running the show and ‘fee generation’ is the order of the day.
Correction. Should have read “refuseniks” – otherwise known as the “Poacher’s Club”. Very exclusive membership, but rising daily.
Anglo’s loan book has been trawled through many times by Blackrock, accountants KPMG, investment bank JP Morgan and consultancy firm Bain Co.
Most recently and significantly Eastdil and HFF have been valuing their US loanbook in preparation for a sale. See:
http://www.eastdilsecured.com/_about/overview.htm
http://www.hfflp.com/
Everyone knows exactly what’s in their books at this point.
@Banama Republic:
I think that a lot of the reluctance to engage with the foreign vulture funds in relation to Irish assets may have cultural roots. I was told the following story by a NY Capital Fund Chief Executive who jetted into Dublin on his G5 to meet with NAMA.
He was asked at the meeting to define his interest in the NAMA assets and at what level that interest maxed out at. He told them that he was “there to buy Ireland at a discount”. Their jaws dropped and he went home disappointed.
That is the cultural hurdle that NAMA have not yet come to terms with.
@WSTT, a Gulfstream G5? The Donald?
I see KPMG got the gig as promised.
Yes, there have been a few – but no one as exotic as the next US President!
@NWL, You can get 33/1 from Paddy Power on that one! :-)
Totally off subject but on the chances of The Donald, here is the result of a Newsmax poll covering 800,000 people. Makes interesting reading:
http://www.newsmax.com/surveys/results/id/11?PROMO_CODE=BEEE-1
@WSTT both portfolios are non-Irish assets should have made that clearer possibly. I think it may be that the boys at the top may be enjoying their new role as Kingmakers (or executioner!) Anyways who knows maybe they were waiting for the Nyberg and McCarthy reports before coming back to them