Property tycoon Paddy McKillen disputes claim he sought 'non-gay' manager to run Claridge's hotel

The allegation was made in one of the several lawsuits currently under way linked to a dispute between Mr McKillen and members of the Qatari royal family over a deferred payment potentially worth billions of euro to the Belfast-born businessman.

Documents filed with the High Court in London claimed Mr McKillen also described a female contractor as a "Spanish c***".

The allegations mark the latest twist in a row between Mr McKillen and the Qatari royal Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber al-Thani, who controls the Maybourne Hotel Group, which owns Claridge's as well as the Berkeley and The Connaught hotels.

Mr McKillen ran Maybourne Hotel Group on behalf of Sheikh Hamad but they have since fallen out.

Contacted by the Irish Independent for comment, Mr McKillen said the claims were untrue and defamatory.

“It is an attempt to scare me from claiming my 20 years’ equity in Claridge’s and our five other hotels in the Maybourne Group. Payment is due and they will pay every penny I’m owed,” he said.

In the High Court documents, Sheikh Hamad’s side alleges that Maybourne was made aware in March 2022 of a number of allegations against Mr McKillen and two of his associates, Frank Sinton and Ronnie Delany.

The three men were accused of “bullying and other inappropriate behaviour” towards staff and contractors, according to the court filings.

The trio allegedly “persistently referred” to Eleanora Bassi, a contractor, as a “Spanish c***”. Mr Sinton also called her “the b**** in the system”, it is claimed.

Mr McKillen, meanwhile, allegedly expressed a wish to hire a “non-gay and British general manager at Claridge’s”.

The claims have come out in a defence document submitted to the court by Maybourne, which is being sued by Mr Sinton for defamation. It denies defaming him.

Mr McKillen was removed from the board of Maybourne Hotels 13 months ago amid an argument over a deferred payment claimed by the Irish property tycoon.

This payment dates back to Sheikh Hamad's acquisition of the hotel group in 2015, when he teamed up with Mr McKillen to buy the business.

Mr McKillen is claiming the payment – based on the estimated value of the business – for running the hotel group on behalf of its new owners.

Filings suggest the two sides are “billions of pounds” apart on what the company is worth. Valuations are believed to vary between £1bn and £5bn.

Mr Sinton was brought in by Mr McKillen as a project manager for a number of Maybourne’s properties.

The pair were denied access to Claridge’s after falling out with the Qataris, a decision that marked “a further escalation of hostility towards Mr McKillen” after he was fired from the board of the hotels group according to court documents filed by Mr Sinton’s lawyers.

It was part of a strategy to “shore up the Al Thanis' negotiating position” in relation to the deferred payment owed to Mr McKillen, the lawyers claim.

Lawyers for Mr Sinton said: “Our client, who is completely innocent of any wrongdoing, is determined to seek vindication of his reputation at the earliest possible opportunity.

“He hopes and believes this claim will reveal the true motivation on the part of the defendants for making defamatory statements about him.”

The defendants declined to comment.

Mr McKillen is one of Ireland’s best-known property tycoons. The Belfast-born entrepreneur's initial fortune was based on building one of Northern Ireland’s first garage chains. He diversified into retail in the 1990s before teaming up with Irish investor Derek Quinlan to buy what was then called the Savoy Hotel Group in 2004.

Mr McKillen was involved in a renovation of Claridge’s that has led to the hotel being able to charge £100,000 a night for its penthouse suite.