Magnate sued over apartment deal

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The BBC has learned that a former major property developer is being sued over his alleged failure to complete the purchase of an apartment booked at the peak of the housing boom.

Michael Taggart is among around 20 people being sued over the failure to meet the deadline to complete on flats in Belfast's Ormeau Bakery complex,

Mr Taggart ran Taggart Holdings which went bust in 2008.

He is being sued by a company run by another developer, Barry Gilligan.

Big Picture Developments have issued a number of writs and Michael Taggart is the most high-profile respondant.

His property company Taggart Holdings went into administration in October 2008, owing Bank of Ireland and Ulster Bank an estimated £170m.

Expanded

A former sub-contractor, Michael Taggart and his brother John began building houses 20 years ago in their native Derry.

They quickly expanded into the Dublin market and took advantage of the burgeoning economy to rapidly grow their company to a point where it valued its own land bank at 500m euros.

Michael Taggart, 43, enjoyed the trappings of wealth, travelling regularly by private helicopter and employing Lionel Richie and Van Morrison to sing at his wedding in September 2007.

That was just before the credit crunch and property crash which led to the decline of the company.

Within a year, the company was in administration and the subject of an investigation by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (DETI).

The administration is still ongoing and it is understood that the complex way in which the Taggart brothers' companies were organised means it will continue for some time.

It is believed it may be a considerable amount of time before those to whom the Taggarts owe money will know whether they are going to get it back.

A spokesperson for DETI said it would consider all the information provided by the administrator before deciding whether to apply to disqualify Michael Taggart as a company director.

Dotted line

The property market was booming when Michael Taggart signed a contract to buy a luxury apartment in the Ormeau development in south Belfast.

He was one of many relatively wealthy individuals who decided the apartment block was a good place for an investment.

The BBC understands that a number of doctors, solicitors and prominent figures in the business community also put down a deposit and signed on the dotted line.

Crucially though, the contracts signed were not 'subject to mortgage'. That meant that if the banks decided not to finance the deals, the buyers were still liable for the purchase.

With the banks now more reticent about lending, many purchasers now have to meet the balance without any help from financial institutions.

Mr Gilligan, who is also currently chairman of the Policing Board, has taken a hard line on those affected.

He has pointed out that it would be a rare occurrence for a purchaser who made money on a property between signing a contract and completing the deal, to return some of the profit to the developer.

Nevertheless, it is understood that around ten purchasers have counter-claimed against Big Picture Developments to cancel their contracts and win back their deposits.

Mr Taggart was not available for interview.