Minimising tax bills was a central part of the decisions being assessed by both John Magnier’s Coolmore team and the Thomson-Moore family of Barne Estate following their now-contested €15m handshake deal for the Tipperary estate.

Coolmore boss John Magnier was advised to consider how agricultural relief could be used to minimise a future land transfer of Barne Estate, the High Court heard last week. The estate had been advertised as available to purchase as a company holding shares in the land, or as the land alone.

In a July 2023 message read in court, Coolmore financial adviser Eddie Irwin told Mr Magnier that buying Barne Estate as a company would save stamp duty, he “probably wouldn’t recommend it” because “company would not allow us to use agricultural relief which is still possible with Alice.” Irwin confirmed that the reference was to John Magnier’s granddaughter Alice.

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John Magnier’s son-in-law David Wachman, told the court: “There would be a stamp duty saving if you bought the company…7% as opposed to 1%. So it could be significant, worth exploring anyway.”

The court heard that the stamp duty bill if Barne was bought on the land basis, at the higher rate, would amount to €1,087,500.

Senior counsel Martin Hayden, cross-examining John Magnier, put it to him that buying the company would be more expensive tax-wise.

“You’re aware that if you bought…the company, Barne Estate Ltd, you would be buying a latent CGT (capital gains tax) liability of over €5m?” he asked Mr Magnier, who said he would leave the decision “to the experts” at Coolmore.

Barne’s owners Richard Thomson-Moore and his wife Anna and his sister Alexandra, were also contemplating the tax implications of the sale

Meanwhile, Barne’s owners Richard Thomson-Moore and his wife Anna and his sister Alexandra, were also contemplating the tax implications of the sale.

Their exposure to a large tax bill rested on whether Richard and Alexandra’s late father Major Colijn Thomson-Moore was Irish-domiciled when he died in 2015.

The court heard KPMG tax advice, summarised by Eddie Irwin, was that “if Richard’s father was Irish domiciled they would pay close to 70% tax on proceeds. If h-e is not then just 33% CGT.”

The Coolmore side has alleged that the Thomson-Moores and associated companies used the issue of seeking tax advice as a way to run down the clock on an exclusivity agreement and ultimately agree a €22.25m sale to billionaire Maurice Regan.