The protracted, £1.1 billion legal battle over three of London’s most-exclusive hotels resumes tomorrow as Belfast developer Paddy McKillen prepares to cross swords in the Court of Appeal with the Barclay brothers.
The row over Claridge’s, the Berkeley and The Connaught has been raging for two years.
Mr McKillen lost a lengthy trial against the brothers last year but was granted leave to appeal.
He was one of five shareholders in Coroin, the frontman for which was former Irish property poster boy Derek Quinlan who brought the Berkeley, Claridge’s and The Connaught under the Maybourne banner.
Meanwhile, several of Mr Quinlan’s property investments defaulted in the crash and his debts were taken into Ireland’s bad bank, Nama. The Barclays seized the opportunity to do a deal with Nama to buy Mr Quinlan’s debts, giving them effective control of his stake.
Mr McKillen claimed in the High Court that the Barclay brothers rode roughshod over his “pre-emption rights” to have first refusal on the stakes of any other investors in the hotels that came up for sale, although Mr Justice David Richards rejected this.
The appeal will be decided within two months.
