Seán Dunne (businessman) facts for kids

Seán Dunne, born in 1954 in County Carlow, Ireland, is an Irish businessman. He is known for developing properties. People sometimes call him "Baron of Ballsbridge." This nickname comes from his big building plans for the Jury's and Berkeley Court hotels in Ballsbridge, Dublin. After a big property downturn between 2007 and 2011, he moved from Dublin to the United States.

In an interview in 2009, Seán Dunne mentioned that if banking problems continued, he might face financial difficulties.

Early Business Ventures

In 1990, Seán Dunne was involved in building homes at St Helens in Booterstown, Dublin. He worked with a company called Berland Homes. St Helens used to be the main office for the Christian Brothers in Ireland. The main house there is now a Radisson hotel.

Building Homes and Challenges

In 1994, Seán Dunne and other directors from Berland wanted to build 200 apartments at St Helens. However, a group that wanted to protect St Helen's House had stopped an office development there earlier. The plan for the 200 apartments was eventually turned down by the planning board.

In 1995, Seán Dunne had a disagreement with other directors at Berland. Later that year, he put houses up for sale on an 18-acre site in Rathmichael. He built 18 homes there. By March 1996, six of these homes had been sold. He also sold other parts of the site to different builders.

Expanding Property Interests

By 1997, Dunne was involved in another large project. This project included building 400 homes at St Raphael's hospital in Lucan, Dublin. In May 1997, he bought Woodtown Manor and 150 acres in Rathfarnham, Dublin. He bought this land from Guinness heir Garech Browne. Later that year, Dunne put Grattan House in Grand Canal Street, Dublin, up for sale. He had bought this property in December 1996.

In late 1997, Dunne was part of a group called the Anna Livia Consortium. They hoped to win a competition to build a national conference centre in Grand Canal Dock. The Convention Centre Dublin was eventually built by another company. In the same year, Dunne's company, Mountbrook Homes, and Sean Mulryan's company, Ballymore properties, bought a 100-acre site south of Greystones, County Wicklow. In 2002, they received permission to build 1,340 homes there. This made the land much more valuable. They also owned another 100-acre site nearby for business buildings.

By 1999, Dunne's business had grown into the UK. His building company, Mountbrook Homes, bought an office building in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey.

Ballsbridge Property Purchase

Seán Dunne is sometimes called "Lord Ballsbridge" or "Baron of Ballsbridge." This is because of his big building project in Ballsbridge, Dublin. In 2005, he spent a very large amount of money, €379 million, on a property deal in the wealthy Dublin 4 area of Dublin. This was a huge amount for property in Ireland at that time.

Funding and Development Plans

This purchase was paid for by two banks: Icelandic bank Kaupthing and Ulster Bank. Kaupthing lent Dunne a large sum of money through his company, DCD Builders. Ulster Bank also lent him a significant amount for the site.

Dunne planned to build Ireland's tallest building there. It was meant to be a diamond-shaped office tower, costing a billion euros. This plan caused a big debate in Ireland. Some people thought it would ruin the traditional look of Irish buildings. Others saw it as a sign of modern progress. Although the planning authority, An Bord Pleanála, first approved Dunne's tall building, the decision was challenged and then rejected in January 2009.

In September 2011, An Bord Pleanála approved a much smaller plan for the Ballsbridge sites. This new plan allowed for the old hotels to be taken down. It also included building 490 apartments, a hotel, and a healthcare facility. The original plan had a lot of retail space, but this was reduced. Dunne said that any work on the site would not start until at least 2017.

Financial Challenges

By November 2010, Seán Dunne faced problems with a very expensive property in Greenwich, Connecticut, USA. US officials ordered work on the property to stop because the owners had built more than their permission allowed. Seán Dunne has publicly said he does not own this property.

In July 2011, the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) took control of some properties owned by Dunne. One of these was Hume House in Ballsbridge, which he bought in 2006.

Bankruptcy Proceedings

In March 2012, Dunne faced the possibility of bankruptcy. He agreed to court orders to pay back more than €185 million to the National Asset Management Agency. In 2013, Dunne filed for Chapter seven bankruptcy in Connecticut, United States. He had been living there since his Ballsbridge development faced problems. Dunne filed this action on March 29, 2013. He estimated his assets were much less than what he owed. He commented, "I can always say to anyone that we did our best and came up short but now we move on."

Political Contributions

In 1998, Seán Dunne was the biggest single donor to the political party Fianna Fáil for the year 1997. His company, DCD Builders, made two large donations between May and December 1997. These donations were made shortly after Fianna Fáil was elected into power in the 1997 General Election. In 1999, DCD builders made two more donations. In 2000, Dunne also declared a smaller donation to Fianna Fáil after a golf event.

Personal Life

In 2004, Seán Dunne married Gayle Killilea, a newspaper columnist. They met at the Galway Races in 2002. Their wedding was very grand and expensive. It took place on the Christina O, a yacht that used to belong to Aristotle Onassis. Many notable people attended the wedding. During the wedding speeches, the Finance Minister at the time, Charlie McCreevy, and the Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister), Bertie Ahern, were mentioned.

His adult son, John Dunne, is a director of Yesreb, an organization also connected to Seán Dunne.

Documents from the Icelandic Bank Kaupthing showed that Dunne paid for a small share in a Gulfstream Jet. This was part of a program that allows people to own a part of a private jet. This was done through a company based on the Isle of Man.