After receiving a “derisory” offer from daa to buy a crucial land bank at Dublin Airport, a businessman who co-owns the property has announced he will sell it to an international investment fund.

One of the land's co-owners, Ulick McEvaddy, has also vowed to file a lawsuit to defend the right to erect a private terminal there in the future.

Five bidders are still in the running for the land, according to Mr. McEvaddy, who spoke after the owners rejected a daa offer of about €75 million.

According to him, the land is worth more than €205 million, and the offers that other bidders have made so far have exceeded this sum.

Significant interest has been shown, he claimed, “particularly from venture capital funds, pension funds, and people who recognise the value of this strategic land bank.”

He claimed that the landowners thought daa's offer was “derisory” and rejected it.

“These lands are essential for the future expansion of Dublin Airport, but they paid €1.7 million per acre for a parking lot that is not strategically important for the airport's future.”

He stated that he does not anticipate receiving another offer from daa and that he anticipates dealing with a different party in its place.

The area of land is designated for airport use and is regarded as a crucial national asset.

A statement from Mr. McEvaddy, plans to construct airport facilities on the lands were part of daa's submission to the Commission for Aviation Regulation in 2019.

The site could be sold to daa, or a private terminal could be built there, he said, if a private investment fund were to purchase it.

Some of the prospective buyers, he continued, want Mr. McEvaddy to move forward with a legal claim under EU law to gain access to the runways at Dublin Airport to enable the construction of a private terminal on the properties.

He declared that he would be ready to represent the new owners in such a case.

We wanted the daa to own these lands and have the foresight to act in Dublin Airport's best interests, so that wasn't the path we chose.

However, he stated that if daa is no longer involved in the land sale, he is ready to file a lawsuit.

The idea that Mr. McEvaddy was holding the land hostage for daa was denied.

He asserted that daa had rejected his offer to sell them the land exclusively and to enter binding arbitration over a price.

If they have the vision, we would like for them to own the land, but if not, someone else will take it and they will later regret it, he said.

Kenny Jacobs, the chief executive of daa, responded by saying that although the land is an intriguing plot, daa does want it, but only at the right price. A third terminal is not necessary for Dublin Airport, he continued.

He stated that the infrastructure application for the airport that will be submitted to Fingal County Council by the end of the year will include daa's vision to increase the airport's capacity.

That excludes this land, he clarified.

He added that he disagreed with Mr. McEvaddy and claimed that this piece of land would not rank among the top 20 in terms of strategic importance.

“A third terminal will never be constructed on this plot of land. Because we would construct some taxiways and other airport facilities, we are somewhat interested in it. We want to possess it.”

He claimed that daa had conducted independent evaluations of the plot of land twice, that he had also visited it twice, and that he had submitted what he called a reasonable bid for it that was higher than both evaluations.

He advised any potential buyers to get in touch with daa and inquire about the land's potential uses, but nobody has done so. Referring to a potential court case as well as a planning application, he continued by saying that they would have to wait a very long time to do anything on the property.