Housing

Glass Bottle consortium was ‘anxious’ to buy Nama’s stake in Poolbeg site

Opposition parties had called on Nama to transfer its investment to the local authority

Brendan McDonagh, chief executive, Nama, told the Department of Finance the agency was prepared to dispose of its stake ‘at a very good price’. Picture: Fergal Phillips

The Johnny Ronan-led consortium behind the redevelopment of the Irish Glass Bottle site became “anxious” about buying Nama’s stake in the lands following calls for it to be handed over to Dublin City Council.

On June 15, Jamie Bourke, Nama’s chief strategy and transformation officer, emailed the Department of Finance to say that the agency was in “advance negotiations” with Oaktree, one third of the consortium, over the sale of its stake to the developers.