Michael Flatley secures injunction to stop receiver seizing Castlehyde home
Michael Flatley said the appointment of a receiver was injuring his personal and property rights and Castlehyde was his home in Ireland and not a commercial premises. File picture
Lord of the Dance star Michael Flatley has secured a High Court interim injunction to prevent receivers from seizing his Cork mansion.
The court heard the spectacular Castlehyde mansion, located just outside Fermoy and overlooking the Blackwater River, had been put up as security on a €5.6million loan taken out by Mr Flatley's London film company in 2023.
On Tuesday, a receiver was appointed over Castlehyde in a dispute over the repayment of the loan.
A security firm, acting on behalf of the receiver, tried to get into the Fermoy property yesterday but had been blocked by the gardener, the court heard.
Mr Flatley's legal team brought an urgent matter to the High Court yesterday to stop the receivers from moving in again, insisting that all loan repayments had been made by the film company.
In an affidavit, Mr Flatley said Castlehyde is his home in Ireland and not a commercial premises and that the appointment of a receiver injures his personal and property rights.
Mr Flatley and London film company, Blackbird Film Productions Ltd, sought the injunction to prevent the receiver from taking any steps to sell Castlehyde or to take possession of the mansion.
When judge Mark Sanfey was told the security firm had tried to enter Castlehyde yesterday, he granted an interim injunction immediately until further order of the court.
The events relate to a loan from Novellus Finance in 2023 to Blackbird Film Productions.
Mr Flatley, who in court documents has an address in Monaco, was guarantor and the secured property was listed as Castlehyde.
The repayments on the loan were about €66K a month.
In April 2024, according to court documents, it is claimed that Novellus was told Blackbird would be paying the outstanding loan obligations in September.
It is claimed that the chief executive of Novellus Finance, William McManus, allegedly contacted the chief executive of another finance company and said Castlehyde was only worth €8m to €10million.
Mr Flatley said it was wrongfully misrepresented that Blackbird was in default when in fact it was fully up to date on repayments.
In November this year, it is claimed a final attempt to keep the second financial deal alive was made, with a 10% interest in Mr Flatley’s business being offered.
Barrister for Mr Flately, Ronnie Hudson, told the court that Mr Flatley’s business is worth €200million.
The other finance company, at the end of November, withdrew a refinance offer, the court was told.
In his affidavit, Mr Flatley said he allowed Castlehyde to be used as security in circumstances where Blackbird Film Productions required funds in the short term. From time to time, he said he has assisted different business ventures in securing loans by permitting Castlehyde to be used as security.
He said the nature of the film production company necessitates short term working capital.
Mr Flatley said he was appalled at the allegation that Blackbird’s loan was in default when all loan repayment were fully up to date.
He said Castlehyde is valued at €20million and he alleged that the other finance company withdrew its loan offer as a direct result of misstatements.
The case comes back before the court next week.
