Ulick and Desmond McEvaddy, who sold aviation business Omega Air in recent weeks, have repaid debts linked to a large site they own between Dublin Airport’s two runways.
Defence industry investor Augustus Global last month confirmed its acquisition of the McEvaddy brothers’ Omega Air, which has supplied mid-air refuelling services to the US military for more than 25 years.
Based on comparable deals in the sector recently, mergers and acquisition transaction database Dealert estimated the company was sold by the Irish businessmen for between €19.7 million and €26.7 million.
Following the sale, a McEvaddy-controlled business that co-owns a large parcel of land beside Dublin Airport has now published new financial accounts that show it has cleared its debts with Bain Capital Credit.
At the end of 2024, D.A. Terminal 3 Limited owed €56.1 million to the US group, compared to €46.3 million at the end of the previous year.
The debts were linked to the businessmen’s share in a 105-hectare development site, which they co-own with three other farmers.
The company accounts added that €31.6 million of interest had built up on the McEvaddys’ debt linked to the land bank by the end of 2024.
A note in the directors report said the McEvaddy brothers “reached a settlement in September 2026 with the external funding providers and that funding plus all accrued interest and charges has now been repaid in full”.
The accounts did not disclose the final settlement payment.
It added they are now funding the company directly and are “committed to providing continued funding as is required for the foreseeable future”.
In 2023, the McEvaddy brothers and three other landowners put their combined sites, spanning 105 hectares, on the market. A reported €75 million bid by Dublin Airport operator DAA for the lands was rejected.
Ulick McEvaddy told RTÉ in September 2023 that the Dublin Airport operator’s bid for the land, which he said was worth more than €205 million, was “derisory”.
A spokesman for Desmond and Ulick McEvaddy told The Irish Times that following the repayment of the debt, they remain focused on exploring future development opportunities for the lands.
He added the lands remain suitable to form a key part of Dublin Airport’s expansion plans. In December 2023, Dublin Aiport asked Fingal County Council for permission to develop 11 infrastructure projects and increase its passenger capacity from 32 million to 40 million passengers per annum.
“It makes little sense to spend an estimated €5.7 billion increasing the capacity of Terminals 1 and 2 to approximately 45 million passengers per annum when a Terminal 3 development on the lands could increase Dublin Airport’s overall capacity to approximately 70 million passengers for an estimated €3.5 billion,” he said.