John Magnier and family ‘disappointed’ that Barne deal not upheld

John Magnier, his son John Paul Magnier and his daughter Katherine Wachman have issued a statement saying they are "disappointed" with the High Court ruling that a 2023 handshake and verbal agreement to buy the 751ac Barne Estate for €15m was not a binding sale.

In a statement issued on Monday afternoon, the three plaintiffs 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,” they stated.

“Pending full consideration of today’s judgment, we will not be commenting further at this time.”

The statement gives no indication of whether the trio intend to appeal the ruling.

Dispute

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

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.

The Coolmore plaintiffs also argued that they had the right to buy the company which owned the land at Barne, known as the ‘option agreement’.

They also argued that Richard-Thomson Moore and the other defendants broke an exclusivity agreement which would have prevented them from entertaining or encouraging bids from anyone other than Mr Magnier and Coolmore.

On Monday, Mr Justice Max Barrett ruled that “neither the alleged land sale agreement nor the alleged option agreement were ever concluded”, while he also found that there was no breach of the exclusivity agreement.

US-based construction magnate Maurice Regan agreed to pay €22.25m for Barne Estate in October 2023, some €7m more than what Mr Magnier had agreed to pay on 22 August 2023.