Westpac lending revelation emerges at Irelands Angus cattle ownership hearing
A shocking revelation about Westpac’s lending practices has emerged in the NSW Supreme Court during a hearing about ownership of Angus cattle.
WESTPAC Bank lent more than $3 million to Angus breeders Corey and Prue Ireland in 2015 on the back of security over 1654 stud and commercial cattle but had no evidence the animals actually existed.
The revelation has emerged in a NSW Supreme Court hearing in Sydney yesterday before Justice John Sackar in a dispute over ownership of Angus cattle held on the Irelands’ Ivydell property at Kyeamba south of Wagga Wagga when their business collapsed in November, 2019, with losses of more than $13 million to creditors.
A number of parties laid claim to some of the 440 Ireland Angus cattle held at Ivydell when the Irelands Angus business failed, and more than $2 million generated from their sale in recent months.
They include the Four O Eight Angus established by late Australian test cricketer Phil Hughes, Wagga Wagga farm owners Kerry and Cynthia Podmore and the Irelands’ business partners Henk and Helma Van Den Heuval.
But Westpac’s barrister Elisa Holmes disputed the claims.
“Our position is that all of the cattle, all of the sale proceeds and all of the genetic material remain subject to Westpac’s security interests …,” Ms Holmes told the court.
She said Westpac began discussion with the Irelands in about June 2015 over the refinancing of their Angus business.
Documents presented in court showed the Irelands ran about 800 stud and breeding female cattle and marketed up to 350 bulls a year through two sales at Ivydell and by private treaty.
The Irelands claimed 85 per cent of the bulls sold for between $3000 and $5000 each.
Ms Holmes said Westpac struck a deal to finance the Irelands later in 2015, with a special security agreement held over 1654 cattle.
“But nowhere is there a document which lists any identification — at least nowhere we have seen — of those 1654 cattle,” she said.
“It’s merely by (general) description in the (bank) documents.”
Justice Sackar questioned whether Mr Ireland kept records identifying cattle through eartags.
Ms Holmes replied: “It’s the receivers’ evidence that the record keeping was less than complete.”
Justice Sackar asked whether anyone from Westpac or the valuer it relied upon before signing the refinancing contract identified that 1654 cattle existed.
Ms Holmes replied the bank had no specific evidence there were that many cattle at Ivydell.
She disputed Four O Eight Angus’s claim over 55 Angus cattle.
“These cattle just aren’t identified,” she said.
“They were purchased in 2014, so they were not young.
“There’s a real possibility some could be dead or transferred to other people or subject to claims by IAB (Irelands Angus Breeding, jointly owned by the Irelands and Van Den Heuvals) or others in these proceedings.”
The hearing in the Supreme Court continues today.
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