TREASURY HOLDINGS is one of the top 10 borrowers on the books of the National Asset Management Agency, although the State body has never officially confirmed this as it does not reveal the identities of its biggest clients.
Nama now appears to have lost patience with the developer and is set to move to take direct control of a range of properties in Ireland against which Treasury has loans that have been transferred to the agency.
According to reports, Treasury’s loans with Nama were of the order of €900 million before it effectively lost control of Battersea Power Station in London at the end of last year.
Its interest in Battersea was held through a listed vehicle called Real Estate Opportunities, in which Treasury is the majority shareholder.
The Battersea deal was part-funded by Bank of Ireland, and these loans were transferred to Nama in 2010. Nama and Lloyds gained control of Battersea last month through the UK courts, with Ernst Young appointed as administrators.
Taking Battersea out of the equation, Treasury’s loans with Nama are thought to stand at between €700 million and €800 million. It is jointly controlled by businessmen Richard Barrett and Johnny Ronan.
It has a number of high-profile properties in Ireland, notably in central locations in Dublin, but it was not clear last night which properties could be affected by the Nama move. Its properties include the Spencer Dock development in the Docklands area and the Convention Centre Dublin, which opened in 2010 and is subvented by the exchequer.
Treasury also has an interest in the famous Bewley’s cafe building on Dublin’s Grafton Street. Its portfolio also includes the luxury Ritz Carlton hotel in Enniskerry, Co Wicklow.
Treasury manages buildings on behalf of REO, including the Stillorgan Shopping Centre in Dublin.
Treasury has interests in China, Russia, Sweden and France but none of these are believed to involve Nama loans.
In October 2011, REO said a draft Nama term sheet had been received in respect of its wholly owned Irish property assets on which Nama was the sole lender.
It said both parties were “working towards its finalisation and in turn completion of binding facility agreements”.
However, Nama seems to have lost patience with Treasury and is now prepared to move to take control of the properties.
