Receivers get €124m in Nama payments
THE bust in the building industry provided a bonanza for accountancy firms with new figures showing that Nama has paid receivers €124m over the past eight years.
According to figures provided by the Minister for Finance, Paschal Donohoe, the big winners in the lucrative work was Grant Thornton.
Between its Irish and UK operations it has received €19m for its work in the area.
One of the ‘Big Four’ accountancy firms, KPMG, received
€13.7m in fees, while Duff & Phelps received €10.94m, RSM Ireland/Baker Tilly got €10m, Pwc received €8.5m, Mazars was paid €8.5m and Deloitte received €8.3m.
Minister Donohoe also confirmed that BDO received
€6.9m while Ernest & Young (EY) got €5.3m.
Firms to get more than €2m in fees include Crowe Howarth, which received €2.95m; McKeogh Gallagher Ryan, which got €2.56m and McStay Luby (€2.9m).
The information provided to Fianna Fáil’s Niall Collins in a written Dáil reply show that
75 firms have received payouts, totalling €123.93m.
As the number of building firms to exit Nama has increased in recent years, the payouts to receivers has slowed.
In 2016, Nama paid out
€4.2m to receivers and this followed a payout of €10.8m in
2015 and €19.99m in 2014. The spend by Nama on receivers reached its peak in 2013 when €23m was paid out, while
€22.17m was paid to receivers in 2012.
A total of €19.54m went to receivers in 2012 and €15.47m was paid out in 2011.
Others to receive receiver payment since Nama’s inception include Savills – €1.77m; HWBC – €1.54m; Russell Brennan Keane – €1.5m; Smith Williamson – €1.33m; Allsop – €1.2m; Hughes Blake – €1.2m; Keenan Corporate €1m; RSM McClure Watters – €1m; Lisney – €931,114 and Jones Lang Lasalle – €478,923.
In his written Dáil reply to Deputy Collins, Minister Donohoe stressed that “all receivers appointed to Nama-secured properties are selected from Nama’s insolvency service provider panel which was established following a competitive public procurement process through which very competitive fixedfee rates were achieved relative to prevailing market norms”.
He said that in general, fees are not paid to receivers directly by Nama but are instead paid out of the proceeds of assets under receivership or the management of these assets, pending realisation.
Minister Donohoe pointed out that “typically fees reduce as the assignment progresses and the number of assets reduces by way of disposals or otherwise”.