Stuart Pearson (businessman)

Stuart Pearson (born c.1984)[1] is an Irish convenience store worker[2] whose name was linked to a number of investment rumours in 2008. All of which turned out to be a hoax.[3]

Biography

He was born in Arklow where his family lived in Templerainey[4] and owned a Burmah petrol station.[5] By 1998 they moved to Carlow where he claimed to own 'The Foundry' nightclub.[5] (In fact, The Foundry is part of the Dinn Rí Hotel complex[6] owned by the McLoughlin family.[7]) Pearson qualified as an accountant in Portlaoise c.2008.[4] He moved with his wife and two daughters to County Kilkenny,[8] where he rented a house in Goresbridge[9] and worked in a convenience store in Graiguenamanagh.[8][9] He was attacked in a robbery on the shop in January 2008.[10][11] In May 2009, The Irish Times reported that he had separated from his wife, who claimed to have no knowledge of his business dealings; and that locals in Goresbridge were surprised by and sceptical of the reports of Pearson's extreme claim of wealth.[9] The Irish Daily Mail had expressed similar scepticism in December 2008.[12]

Purported investments

According to interviews, Pearson inherited money from relatives' land in 2003.[5][8][13] This was held by trustees till 2008,[8] who invested it in property, mostly commercial property, in Ireland and Britain.[1][8][14] Pearson Holdings and Acquisitions was reported to have property in counties Carlow, Wicklow, Dublin, and north Kildare.[15] It reportedly paid £340m in 2004 and £600m later for retail property in London;[13] bought some units in Grafton Street, Dublin;[13] and earned €600m[16] or €800m[17] from an investment in New York City.

In October 2008, Pearson was reported to have been negotiating to buy Taggart Holdings, a housebuilding firm based in Northern Ireland[16] which was in administration with debts reported at €150m.[1][8][14] In December 2008, it was reported that he might invest in Aer Lingus,[17] and subsequently that he might launch a takeover offer of up to €900m, funded from a war chest of €1.5–2b.[18] In 2009, he was reported to be planning to build a retirement village in Arklow, and to start an insurance company.[4] He is reported to support many charities in Carlow and Kilkenny, and in April 2009 was producing a DVD showcasing investment opportunities in the region.[19][20] All this turned out to be a hoax which Pearson started to get attention.

References

  1. 1 2 3 O'Halloran, Barry (30 October 2008). "Interest shown in Taggart properties". The Irish Times.
  2. ↑ Parsons, Michael (15 May 2009). "'Billionaire investor' is sweet-shop owner". Irish Times. Retrieved 17 May 2009.
  3. ↑ McKittrick, David (20 May 2009). "'Sweet Shop Swizzler Claimed He Had Billions'". The Independent. Retrieved 3 August 2010.
  4. 1 2 3 Coleman, Deborah (24 December 2008). "Arklow highflyer in Aer Lingus bid". Wicklow People. Retrieved 15 May 2009.
  5. 1 2 3 "Arklow C.B.S.: Not all doom and gloom". Wicklow People. 21 January 2009. p. 1. Retrieved 15 May 2009.
  6. ↑ "Dinn Rí Entertainment Complex – profile". Retrieved 15 May 2009.
  7. ↑ "Days of town- centre parking at Plás na Saoirse numbered". Carlow Nationalist. 27 February 2008. Retrieved 15 May 2009.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Keys, Laura (29 October 2008). "Young gun investor eyes property giant". Kilkenny People. Retrieved 15 May 2009.
  9. 1 2 3 Parsons, Michael (15 May 2009). "'Billionaire investor' is sweet-shop owner". The Irish Times. Retrieved 15 May 2009.
  10. ↑ "Shopkeeper attacked in terrifying robbery". Carlow People. 9 January 2008. Retrieved 15 May 2009.
  11. ↑ "'Give us €10,000... we have your wife and two daughters'". Carlow Nationalist. 16 January 2008. Retrieved 15 May 2009.
  12. ↑ "Isaac Bickerstaffe". Irish Daily Mail. 19 December 2008. p. 17. Stuart Pearson is the reputed multi-millionaire in question, but quite how he made his fortune is hardly clear – until recently, he has been running his own convenience store in the town.
  13. 1 2 3 Mulligan, John (25 October 2008). "Hotshot developer eyes Taggart businesses". Irish Independent.
  14. 1 2 O'Halloran, Barry (7 November 2008). "Potential Taggart buyer contacts PwC". The Irish Times.
  15. ↑ "Bid for Taggart Holdings". Carlow People. 28 October 2008.
  16. 1 2 Mulligan, John (13 November 2008). "Pearson to bid soon for Taggart". Irish Independent.
  17. 1 2 O'Halloran, Barry (18 December 2008). "Pearson Holdings emerges as possible Aer Lingus investor". The Irish Times.
  18. ↑ Mulligan, John (20 December 2008). "Pearson to battle Ryanair in outright bid for Aer Lingus". Irish Independent.
  19. ↑ Coogan, Naoise (17 April 2009). "Millionaire businessman to make DVD to attract new business". Carlow First. Galway Advertiser. Retrieved 15 May 2009.
  20. ↑ Hurley, Sean (27 April 2009). "Worldwide promotion for Kilkenny". Kilkenny Alive. Retrieved 15 May 2009.
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