The conduct of Pat McDonagh, the owner of Supermac’s, in a High Court case over the non-payment of rent, was “less than satisfactory,” a judge has said when finding against the fast-food chain.

However, he said the behaviour of McDonagh, who gave evidence to the three-day hearing, did not come close to justifying a suggestion that the court should award aggravated damages against the Galway businessman.

Judge Sean Gillane found against Supermac’s and in favour of businessman Richard Duggan, in a case involving €124,502, plus interest, arising from unpaid rent on a premises on High Street, Kilkenny.

The court heard the premises was owned by Duggan, who acquired it in March 2008 when it was already rented to Supermac’s. In December 2008 an arbitration process fixed the rent at €186,754 each year, to be paid in monthly instalments.

Duggan used the premises, and a number of others, as security for financial arrangements he had with AIB. After he fell into default, the debt was eventually assigned to Everyday Finance which, in 2020, appointed a receiver over the various charged properties, which were put up for sale, according to the judgment.

Meanwhile, the Covid pandemic was under way. Over a period in 2020 and 2021, Supermac’s at times failed to pay the monthly rent, and at other times paid only half of what was due.

At one stage Supermac’s wrote to the agents for the receiver, Madden Property Consultants, seeking a 50 per cent rent reduction, but the request was not acceded to, according to the judgment in the case.

It was submitted during the case that McDonagh’s evidence as to why the rent was not paid was inconsistent with earlier claims he made that the rent was not due or owing. At one stage he said he was not sure who the rent was due to after the receiver was appointed.

In his decision, Gillane said the eventual sale of the Kilkenny premises had little relevance to the issue he had to decide upon, but that McDonagh’s perception that he was excluded from the sales process was “undoubtedly the source of some animus towards [Duggan] on his part”.

An agent of McDonagh’s was told in 2020 that the asking price for the Kilkenny property was €2.4 million, according to the judgment. The property was sold in 2021.

At one stage during the trial, according to the judgment, it was put to McDonagh that “Supermac’s is sitting and has for the last four to five years been sitting on almost €125,000 of money to which, whatever about anyone else, Supermac’s is not entitled. Is that right?”

To which McDonagh replied: “That is 100 per cent correct.”