Derek Quinlan

Derek M Quinlan is an Irish businessman prominent in the field of real estate investment and development. A former tax inspector at the Irish Revenue Commission, he formed investment syndicates of high-net-worth individuals and to buy properties across the world. His principal investment vehicle was Quinlan Private, a private equity firm with offices in Dublin, London and New York. Quinlan's period of greatest prominence and success coincided with the peak of the global real estate bubble in 2004-7. In 2009, he resigned from Quinlan Private and moved to Switzerland on the advice of KPMG. His loans have since been transferred to Nama (National Asset Management Agency of Ireland) and various assets have been sold, including artwork from his private collection. In September, 2014, it was reported that he had reduced his debts by more than €3bn through a series of asset sales over the prior 5 years. In 2017 Quinlan returned to the European property market acting as an adviser for several deals, including one of the largest property bids in European history worth an estimated €1.3 billion.

Quinlan was born in Dublin in 1947, the son of an Army Officer. He attended Blackrock College and University College, Dublin. He began his career as an accountant with Coopers & Lybrand before joining the Irish Revenue Commissioners as a tax inspector. In 1989 he went into private practice, founding Quinlan Private as an asset management firm for high-net-worth individuals. He specialised in investing in tax designated areas in the 1990s in Ireland supporting Irish government policy in relation to property renewal, regeneration and job creation.

In 2003, Quinlan’s car parking company Park Rite saw a turnover increase of 60% from €876,995 to €1.4m. Founded in 1975, Park Rite managed approximately 25,000 spaces in Dublin, Wicklow and Galway. It operated many of Dublin’s biggest city centre car parks, including Arnotts, Irish Life and Drury Street.

In 2004, Quinlan gained 1% ownership of Wentworth, one of the most exclusive gold courses in Britain, through the Savoy deal. Also in 2004, Quinlan headed an investment syndicate that bought The Savoy Group for £750 million, giving it control of landmark London hotels including Claridges, The Connaught Hotel and The Savoy Hotel. Quinlan outbid competing buyers, including Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal. Some months later, Quinlan sold The Savoy Hotel to the Saudi prince for £250 million, while retaining the other hotels in the group, subsequently renamed The Maybourne Hotel Group.

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