John Magnier’s High Court bid to force the owners of Barne Estate in Co Tipperary to sell the 751ac trophy estate to him has failed.

A judgement issued online on Monday afternoon by Justice Max Barrett found that “neither the alleged land sale agreement nor the alleged option agreement were ever concluded”.

In a further blow to the Magnier family’s case against the Barne Estate owners, the judge found that there was no breach of the exclusivity agreement between the Barne and Coolmore sides.

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“It follows that all the reliefs sought by the plaintiffs will be and are respectfully refused,” Judge Barrett noted.

The case was the highest-profile dispute over land in recent years, in which bloodstock billionaire John Magnier, his son JP Magnier and daughter Katherine Wachman sought to have the court enforce a €15m deal which they claimed was a binding agreement between Mr Magnier and Mr Richard Thomson-Moore of Barne Estate.

Contested deal

Mr Thomson-Moore and associated Barne companies - Barne Estate Ltd, IQ EQ One, IQ EQ Two and IQ EQ Ltd - argued that Mr Thomson-Moore had no authority to conclude a deal on the night of 22 August 2023 and that the contested deal of €15m required the approval of Barne Estate’s Jersey-based trustees.

A statement issued on behalf of John Magnier, his son JP Magnier and daughter Katherine Wachman on Monday said: "We took this case on principled grounds and though we have the utmost respect for the Court we are disappointed that a deal which we believe was agreed over two years ago has not been upheld.

"We engaged in this process in good faith and wish all parties to this litigation well for the future."

It added: "Pending full consideration of today’s judgment, we will not be commenting further at this time."

Witnesses

The trial saw not one, but two, billionaires give evidence during nine weeks in the High Court.

John Magnier was questioned over three days about his evidence and recollections of the handshake agreement and the actions of his Coolmore team in the days and weeks following it.

In the last days of the case, US-based construction mogul Maurice Regan – who was not a party to the High Court proceedings but a major player in the case – was also questioned about his role.

Landbank

Mr Regan agreed to pay €22.25m for the 751ac estate weeks after John Magnier believed he had sealed the deal to add the property to his extensive Tipperary landbank.

Mr Magnier had accused Richard Thomson-Moore and the Barne side of breaking an exclusivity agreement with Mr Magnier by entertaining bids from the New York-based Mr Regan, who also owns hundreds of acres in south Tipperary.

The confrontation between Mr Regan and Mr Magnier was described in court as a “war” over Barne Estate.

During the trial, the court heard evidence of envelopes containing €50,000 in cash, a ‘secret’ phone, distressing family circumstances, and enraged and agitated bidders on all sides of the Barne Estate sale.