
High Court proceedings in London involving the ownership dispute of Maybourne Hotel Group between the Barclay brothers and developer Paddy McKillen moved into its second day on Monday with Bloomberg BusinessWeek reporting that lawyers for the Barclays alleged McKillen sought a £5 million (US$7.9 million) annual fee as part of a failed bid to use Qatari investors to restructure the debt of three luxury London hotels
McKillen was questioned about his efforts as the director of Coroin Ltd., the owner of Claridge’s, the Berkeley and the Connaught, to find a solution to its £660 million (US$1 billion) debt in 2010 and 2011. The Barclays bought €800 million (US$1 billion) of Coroin's debt last year from Ireland’s National Asset Management Agency, which it claims gives them control of the hotel assets.Bloomberg BusinessWeek reported that the proposed fee for McKillen to stay on if Qatari investors took a majority stake “was really an inducement to sell your shares,” said Kenneth Maclean, who represents the Barclays’ companies.McKillen said the money was for hotel refurbishment. “This was a budgeted fee for future work,” he told the court.McKillen is seeking a ruling that he has the right to buy the remaining shares in Coroin. His lawyers argued the Barclays intend to divide the company and sell the hotels.