The English Court of Appeal has ruled in favour of the National Asset Management Agency in relation to a claim brought against it by developer Paddy McKillen.
The decision confirmed NAMA's right to transfer loans owed by Mr McKillen to a company owned by UK developers the Barclay brothers.
Mr McKillen had challenged NAMA's transfer in September 2011 of the debts owed by his company Coroin to a company owned by the Barclay Brothers called Maybourne.
Mr McKillen said the debt transfer was invalid as NAMA had failed to comply with a contractual requirement to consult with Coroin before transferring the loans.
Mr McKillen is involved in separate proceedings in England against the Barclay Brothers.
Today's appeal court judgment, however, confirms that NAMA did have the right to transfer the loans and did not have to consult with Mr McKillen's company first.
The agency has also been awarded costs by the Appeal Court.
A spokesman said Mr McKillen is reviewing the judgment and has sought leave to appeal.
Mr McKillen's case against the Barclay Brothers continues.
"I am delighted that the English Court of Appeal has upheld the validity of NAMA's transfer of the Coroin debt, a transaction which led to a very substantial financial recovery by NAMA,'' commented NAMA Chief Executive Brendan McDonagh.
A spokesperson on behalf of Mr McKillen has said that the judgment today is a small part of the main unfair prejudice and conspiracy proceedings in the High Court (in relation to which, judgment has not yet been given) and does not lead to the automatic strike out of any other aspects of Mr McKillen's claims.
Mr McKillen is reviewing today's judgment and has sought leave to appeal.
NAMA redeems €2 billion bonds
The National Asset Management Agency has redeemed a further €2 billion of NAMA Senior Securities bonds today.
In a statement, it said that this is the fourth repayment of bonds to date and brings the total of NAMA bonds redeemed to €3.25 billion (€1.25 billion redeemed in 2011).
In addition to repayment in 2010 and 2011 of €299m in advances made to NAMA by the Minister for Finance, this means that NAMA has reduced its indebtedness by over €3.5 billion over the past two years.
Speaking today, Frank Daly, Chairman of NAMA, said that the Agency's strong cash position meant that additional debt repayments were likely before the end of the year and that NAMA was well placed to meet its target of repaying €7.5 billion of Senior Bonds by the end of 2013.
