Play Louise Phelan energy firm sued over $23m trade deal dispute
An energy company headed by former PayPal boss Louise Phelan is being sued in London’s High Court by Australia’s Macquarie bank in a $23m (€20m) dispute over foreign exchange deals.
Former meat baron Paschal Phelan is chairman and founder at Phelan Energy, while its chief executive is his sister, Ms Phelan.
Macquarie has sued the firm, claiming the power company has not made payments to the bank for the disputed foreign exchange trades that Macquarie alleges it entered into on behalf of the solar firm.
Macquarie has claimed that the alleged failure to make the payments it says it’s due amounts to a breach of contract. Phelan Energy has denied it breached any contract.
Phelan Energy has also recently argued in defence documents that the two sides must engage in a dispute resolution process in the first instance, before any litigation can proceed.
The energy company has insisted it is not liable for the damages being sought. It has countersued Macquarie for breach of contract and is seeking damages to pay for its legal costs in defending the claim.
Phelan Energy Group was founded by Mr Phelan in 2005.
The company says it has 260MW of installed energy projects, mainly in South Africa, but also in India. In 2019, it also completed a 15MW solar farm in Afghanistan’s Kandahar province. It had also intended to pursue other projects in Afghanistan, which was taken over by the Taliban in August.
Phelan Energy says it has 100MW of projects under construction and a further 2,000MW in development.
Last month, Phelan Energy unveiled plans for a floating solar farm in South Africa using technology it has developed. However, the technology could have broad international appeal, the company expects. It has proposed that its floating solar technology could be used at locations such as hydroelectric dams, where there is already a connection to the power grid.
Mr Phelan and former business partner Zakaria el Taher had established a number of Master Meats entities in the 1980s, and the group was a leading player in the beef sector in Ireland.
Following a dispute between the pair, the company was eventually taken over by Larry Goodman.
But in a High Court action started by Mr Phelan in 1988, he contended he was forced out of Master Meats in 1987 in what was described as an “engineered collapse” of the group.
He had sought €38m in damages from Mr Goodman and Mr el Taher, alleging there was a conspiracy between the two men and others to secure Mr Phelan’s removal from Master Meats and to undermine the companies.
Mr Phelan and Mr Goodman agreed to settle the case between them in 2002. Mr Phelan moved to South Africa the same year, where he has also been involved in the hotel sector.
Ms Phelan joined PayPal in 2006 and rose to become the vice president of global operations for Europe, Middle East and Africa. She left the US company in 2019.
She joined the board of Ryanair in 2012, where she is a non-executive senior independent director.
Phelan Energy did not respond to requests for comment in relation to the case taken against it by Macquarie.
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