Kendar Portugal, the property firm owned by solicitor Michael Lynn, is planning to continue building its seaside development in the Algarve, according to the company.
Dawn Marshall, who works for Kendar Portugal, told The Irish Timesthat "progress has begun" on the second and third phases of the company's property development at Cabanas, which is based near Tavira, east of Faro.
Ms Marshall declined to comment further when contacted on her Portuguese mobile phone, saying she was not in a position to issue a statement which was the responsibility of another individual. She declined to say whether Mr Lynn still managed or owned the company. The firm has already sold many of the apartments, mostly to Irish investors, in the first phase of the development which comprised 76 apartments. It plans to build another 200 apartments and houses.
According to Kendar records filed by one of the Irish banks suing Mr Lynn in the High Court in Dublin, the Portuguese company had taken in €12.1 million in sales on the first phase of the project.
Kendar Portugal's accountant, Nuno Paulino, told an Irish investor who paid a deposit on an apartment in the second phase of the project that he and his team were "committed to continuing with the plans for phases II and III" and that he understood the investor's concerns for the future of his investment. He told the Dublin investor in an e-mail sent on November 21st: "You may be aware by now that we have the infrastructure licence in place approved by Tavira Council, our bank confirms that the funds are in place, we are in talks with the developers involved in the second round phase for tendering, the land has been cleared and the fence is to be erected to secure the site.
"Please be assured we are working hard towards securing the future of your investment and this development. I have the utmost faith in my team here to liaise with you on my behalf should you have any further inquiries as we go forward."
Portuguese land registry documents show that Kendar Portugal received loan approval of €26.7 million from Portugal's largest bank, Millennium BCP, in July for the Cabanas project. It is not clear whether any of this money has been drawn down by the company. A spokesman for the bank said last month it does not comment on its relationships with clients.
An affidavit filed by Mr Lynn in the High Court in Dublin last month showed that the largest cash balance in any of his 154 accounts was €924,349 held in Kendar Portugal's account at Millennium BCP. Mr Lynn owns a number of properties in Portugal.
Included in court papers filed in Dublin last month was "a loan declaration" signed by Mr Paulino and dated January 15th, 2007 that Kendar Portugal had received a short-term, interest-free loan for €3 million from its shareholder, Mr Lynn, and that this would be repaid by the end of February 2007.
