ANGLO EXTENDED FITZPATRICK FIRM LOAN - The Irish Independent reports that Anglo Irish Bank signed off on a multi-million euro loan extension for a foreign property company co-owned by its disgraced former chief executive Seán FitzPatrick on the same day it was taken into state ownership.
The paper says it has learned that the bank topped up a €14.6m loan with a further €2.6m on January 21 2009 - the day legislation nationalising the troubled lender was enacted.
It adds that records reveal the company subsequently drew down almost €17m of the €17.2m Anglo made available. The Indo says some of the money was used for the purchase of a plush €10.25m villa on the French Riviera and €450,000 in estate agent fees, but it is not yet known what the rest of the money was spent on.
The paper says the increased loan facility was given to SCI Saint Roch, a property rental company in the south of France co-owned by Mr FitzPatrick and property developer and corporate financier Angela Cavendish.
***
PREMIER HOTELS LTD FACES LIQUIDATION OVER RENT - The Irish Times reports the Premier Hotels Ltd, one of the subsidiaries of hotel management firm Prem Group, is facing liquidation after failing to agree a deal on a six-figure rent arrears bill with one of its landlords.
The paper says the company, which was a joint venture with developer Paddy Kelly and his family until they exited last year, has called a creditors' meeting for early next month to appoint a liquidator.
Premier Hotels previously managed six of the Prem Group's properties but it transferred the other businesses to new Prem Group companies between June 2009 and May 2010. Up until yesterday, it had been responsible only for Days Hotel, Dublin airport.
The Irish Times says the Dublin airport hotel's landlord, Pierse Santry Cross, part of the Pierse construction group, appointed a new operator to the hotel yesterday, but would not reveal the company's identity. The hotel will not close and the change will not affect its 35 staff.
***
SANTANDER EYES £3 BILLION UK FLOAT - The Financial Times reports that Santander is gearing up to list its UK operations on the London Stock Exchange as soon as this autumn in a deal that could raise an estimated £3 billion (€3.5 billion) to fund growth by the Spanish bank.
The FT says the group, which is on the verge of buying a portfolio of 318 UK branches from Royal Bank of Scotland, needs the money to fund that deal, following a spate of other acquisitions - most recently the €555m purchase of 173 branches in Germany from Sweden's SEB.
The paper quotes people close to Santander as saying that if market conditions were to allow it, the group would like to float 20% of Santander UK, the subsidiary formed by the roll-up of its UK acquisitions - Abbey, Alliance & Leicester and parts of Bradford & Bingley.
The transaction could raise an estimated £3 billion.
***
PENGUIN BAR OWNER LOOKING AT SALE - The Guardian reports that Penguin chocolate bars could be picked up by a new owner next year after United Biscuits launched the initial stages of a sale process that could see the company valued at up to £2 billion.
The paper says Blackstone and PAI Partners, the private equity groups who co-own United Biscuits, are sounding out investment banks about auctioning a business they bought for £1.6 billion in 2006. It says a sale is not expected to take place until 2011, with no bank appointed yet, although Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan are in the running for the mandate.
United Biscuits is one of the UK's most venerable corporate brands as Britain's largest biscuit maker and maker of Hula Hoops, Jaffa Cakes and Twiglets.
The Guardian says its sale could raise complaints about another household British name being sold off to foreign competitors, in the wake of Kraft Foods' acquiring Cadbury, although Blackstone and PAI are already based in the US and France respectively. The owners are reported to be considering selling the snacks arm and the biscuits division to different buyers, while retaining the option of a flotation if the asking price is not met.
