Cullen could be bankrupt by Christmas

BILL Cullen has until a week before Christmas to stop a bank putting him into bankruptcy over an alleged €8.1million debt.

The High Court’s bankruptcy wing yesterday heard that the 75year-old former Apprentice boss, who’s been suffering from ill health, is in talks this week to ‘settle’ the row with Danske Bank.

Lawyers for the Danish bank asked the court to set a ‘short’ deadline in order to ‘focus minds’ and hopefully get the case resolved out-of-court.

Judge Caroline Costello agreed to adjourn the case until December 18. Mr Cullen could be declared bankrupt on that date unless an out-of-court deal has been struck by then.

The Irish Daily Mail revealed last July that a ‘final demand’ for the debt had been served on Mr Cullen and that bankruptcy proceedings had been launched against him by the bank.

When the case was called yesterday, barrister Theo Donnelly, for Danske Bank, told the court that an imminent ‘settlement’ is now hoped for. He told Judge Costello: ‘There are meetings taking place later this week… A short adjournment, it’s hoped, will focus minds and make the parties [Mr Cullen and the bank] more conducive Couple: Mr Cullen with Jackie Lavin to solving this matter.’

Judge Costello then set December 18 for the next hearing before her.

Mr Cullen’s case arose yesterday on a list of 55 cases in the bankruptcy court. If he were to be made bankrupt by Christmas, Mr Cullen would in theory have to surrender all of his assets and cash to court-appointed officials.

The bank has been pursuing the businessman over the debt since 2012 on foot of a 2011 loan. It claims he hasn’t yet satisfied the debt.

In October 2012, the entrepreneur lost control of his prized Renault dealerships to bank-appointed receivers. And in April 2013, his five-star Muckross Park Hotel in Co. Kerry was wrestled from his grasp – again by a bank.