One of the island’s largest property developers is locked in a multi-million legal battle with its former Managing Director, alleging that he owes £6.4 million – for unpaid loans, wrongfully collected rent, and a Range Rover – while he claims to be owed £11m in unpaid bonuses.

Court documents obtained by Express have shown that Dandara Jersey Limited initiated the legal action, claiming that Martin Clancy, who had been employed there since 1991, abruptly left the business in June 2023 – around the same time that a financial shortfall of between £30m and £40m was discovered. Shortly after, Mr Clancy set up a rival firm, the company said.

Mr Clancy, however, maintains that he was constructively dismissed, forced out of the company through a breach of trust and unfair treatment, and is owed £11m in unpaid bonuses under agreements dating back to 2001. Dandara says Mr Clancy’s financial claims are unfounded.

The disputed properties

A significant part of the row revolves around several properties developed by Dandara, which Mr Clancy alleges were meant to be transferred to him as part of his annual bonuses.

According to Mr Clancy, Dandara had a system in which senior executives could receive property instead of cash bonuses, and he claims that this arrangement was an accepted practice within the company.

He asserts that the properties, which he later collected rent on, were allocated to him as part of his earned bonuses but that Dandara failed to complete the transfer, leaving him without either the properties or the equivalent monetary value.

Dandara, however, strongly denies this, arguing that Clancy was never entitled to ownership of these properties and had wrongfully collected rent from them despite not legally owning them.

The company is demanding repayment of £43,200 in rental income that Mr Clancy allegedly received from tenants of these flats.

Bonus fight

In his counterclaim, Mr Clancy further argues that Dandara’s owner and founder Daniel Tynan agreed to pay him an annual bonus equivalent to 2% of Dandara Holdings Annual Profits before tax deductions and dividends.

He also claims he was promised a £5 million “loyalty bonus” due in January 2023, which remains unpaid. His annual bonus arrangements, he said, were understood to be in lieu of him taking an equity stake in the business.

But much of Mr Clancy’s argument has been dismissed by Dandara, which said that bonus payments are discretionary, rather than contractual and that approval wasn’t given for a £5m loyalty bonus.

Dismissal… or resignation?

In their response to Mr Clancy’s counterclaim, the company was firm that Mr Clancy resigned – and did so “having not raised any grievance or complaint beforehand” – and made a number of other explosive statements about their former Director.

Stating that it “reserves its right” to seek evidence on why he might have resigned, Dandara raised that Mr Clancy may have been seeking to “avoid… scrutiny regarding his past and/or future performance”.

They said he had “failed to fulfil his responsibility for forecasting and managing cashflow”. In February 2023, Mr Clancy was said to have “assured” the company’s owner that cashflow was “no cause for concern”.

However, “a shortfall of between £30,000,000 and £40,000,000, which raised significant concerns” was said to have been discovered in later months.

A rival business?

Dandara also said Mr Clancy set up a rival company, Eastleigh Developments Limited, shortly after leaving the business. They also said they reserve the right to question whether he attempted to use confidential business information to his advantage.

In total, Dandara is asking that Mr Clancy repay over £6.4m, which it says is made up of £3.8m in loans, in addition to rent received on the disputed properties, and £27,000 for a Range Rover he took ownership of in 2020.

Further papers filed by Mr Clancy in response obtained by Express included financial breakdowns of the bonuses, and an argument that Dandara held back bonuses to improve its financial performance, leading to delayed payments, and that the alleged “loans” were in fact advances against accrued bonuses, not separate debts.

Both parties were in the Royal Court this morning for an injunction application to be heard by the Deputy Bailiff, Robert MacRae, sitting as a single judge.

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