Revenue seeks to wind up Clifden coffee house backed by former Central Bank director and tech high-flyer
Upmarket shop was operated by firm owned by John Nagle and Bernard Somers
John Nagle. Photo: Collins
Bernard Somers. Photo: Eamon Farrell
The Revenue Commissioners are seeking to wind up a company behind an upmarket coffee shop in Clifden that was backed by former tech entrepreneur John Nagle and ex-AIB and Central Bank director Bernard Somers.
The firm operated the Galway venue, called 12 Pins Coffee, up until recent months. The shop is now listed online as being closed permanently.
Mr Nagle did not respond to a request for comment. His son, Johnny, was also involved in the business. Shareholders included other family members, while Mr Somers owned a very small stake in the company behind it.
In early 2008 he was unceremoniously sacked from the company – by email
Revenue petitioned the High Court last week to have 12 Pins Coffee Company Ltd wound up. The petition is due to be heard next month.
In 1989, Mr Nagle was the founder of the electronic payments firm Alphyra.
In 2002, he teamed up with financier Barry Maloney to take full control of the business in what was a landmark management buyout.
Alphyra grew into one of the tech success stories of the decade. In 2005, the company was valued at around €450m, and 33pc of the shares were owned by the then CEO Mr Nagle and his management team. But in 2007, as the economy faltered, so did the company.
A reverse takeover of UK rival Cardpoint couldn’t stop the rot – and within a year Mr Nagle was ousted from his own company, now trading as Payzone.
In early 2008 he was unceremoniously sacked from the company, by email.
Bernard Somers. Photo: Eamon Farrell
Details of the dismissal were eventually aired in the courts – and the removal of the Payzone CEO remains one of the most spectacular boardroom coups ever witnessed here.
In 2017, the former marital home of Mr Nagle and his wife Joan – in Shankill, Co Dublin – was repossessed by Bank of Ireland.
A court heard that the total debt on the mortgage stood at €5.7m, including arrears of €1.8m. The court was told that none of the monthly repayments of €22,600 had been made against the mortgage since 2010.
Mr Nagle had taken out a €5m loan against the Shankill property so he and his wife could build a lavish Miami-style home, once worth €12m, on Killiney Hill Road in Dalkey, Co Dublin.
The Nagles bought a property on Killiney Hill Road in 2004 for almost €4.9m and demolished it, replacing it with the mansion.
In 2018, a summary judgment application for €1.7m against Mr Somers was struck out in the Commercial Court, after an agreement was reached.
It related to a loan secured on various assets, including his home in Foxrock, Co Dublin.
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