The wife of a man being sued by John Magnier over the purported sale of a prized Co Tipperary estate said she felt €50,000 in cash delivered in two brown envelopes on behalf of the bloodstock billionaire was “incredibly dirty and tainted”, while a rival bidder for the land described Magnier’s Coolmore group as “professional bullies”, the High Court has heard.

Anna Thomson-Moore has told the court that on 7 September 2023, two weeks after Mr Magnier claims he shook hands with her husband Richard on a €15m deal for the Barne Estate, Mr Magnier called to Barne with his son, JP. She said they told Mr Magnier that they had to work through tax issues and involve the trustees of the estate to complete any deal.

Mrs Thomson-Moore said that at the end of that conversation, their estate agent, John Stokes, who had walked out with the Magniers, returned to the house with two brown envelopes given to him by JP containing a total of €50,000 in cash - €25,000 in each. She said she felt “incredibly uncomfortable” about the envelopes of cash, told Mr Stokes this, and had the money returned days later.

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The Magnier side has told the court that the money was a token of “appreciation” to the Thomson-Moores for letting the Magnier side on to the land before any sale was finalised.

The Magnier side were ultimately gazumped by Irish-born, US-based construction magnate Maurice Regan, who offered €22.25m, and was made the preferred bidder.

Mr Magnier wants the court to enforce the €15m deal he claims he sealed with Mr Thomson-Moore in an alleged hand-shake agreement for the 751ac on 22 August 2023.

The Barne defendants say there was never any such agreement, as they needed the consent of the trustees to finalise any agreement.

Stalling

On Tuesday, Mrs Thomson-Moore told Paul Gallagher SC, for the Magniers, that the family were not deliberately “stalling” on a deal with Mr Magnier for the property because Mr Regan had outbid Mr Magnier.

Barne and the Magniers entered into an exclusivity agreement stipulating that the estate or its representatives would not solicit or encourage any expression of interest, inquiry or offer from anyone other than Mr Magnier between 31 August to 30 September 2023.

However, during September 2023, Mrs Thomson-Moore said, Mr Regan offered around €20m for the estate. She became increasingly frustrated when the trustees recommended honouring the exclusivity agreement with Mr Magnier and refused to consider the new bid.

Mr Gallagher asked why the Thomson-Moores did not tell the trustees of the brown envelopes until a month later.An emotional Mrs Thomson-Moore said she was “incredibly uncomfortable” about the money being in her house and that it gave her a “incredibly dirty and tainted” feeling.

A text from Mr Regan to Mr Thomson-Moore was read in court by Mr Gallagher, in which Mr Regan described the Coolmore side as “professional bullies”.

Mrs Thomson-Moore denied holding back information needed to complete the deal with the Magniers so that a higher bid from Mr Regan could be preferred once exclusivity expired. She also denied that tax concerns were a deliberate ploy to delay the deal.