Paintings formerly owned by financier Derek Quinlan were sold at knockdown prices at auction in London yesterday on behalf of the National Asset Management Agency (Nama).

Four paintings went under the hammer at a Christie’s auction where they sold for £239,750. The money raised will be used to offset at least a fraction of Mr Quinlan’s bank debts which have been taken over by Nama.

The paintings were previously offered at auction in 2011 but failed to sell, with Nama then deciding to cut the prices.

A Louis le Brocquy painting, Tinker Breaks Whitethorn (above), sold for just £32,500. Another le Brocquy, Woman, made £28,750 – less than 50 per cent of its estimated value in 2011."Still Life with Candle" by William Scott, a Scottish-born artist who worked in Northern Ireland, which had a top estimate of £ 80,000 two years ago finally sold for £50,000.

Red Rocks, Brittany, by Roderic O'Conor made £128,500, less than half its estimated value in 2011.