Name Stuart Pearson | Role Businessman | |
Manchester united stuart pearson
Stuart Pearson (born c.1984) is an Irish convenience store worker whose name was linked to a number of investment rumours in 2008. All of which turned out to be a hoax.
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Biography
He was born in Arklow where his family lived in Templerainey and owned a Burmah petrol station. By 1998 they moved to Carlow where he claimed to own 'The Foundry' nightclub. (In fact, The Foundry is part of the Dinn Rí Hotel complex owned by the McLoughlin family.) Pearson qualified as an accountant in Portlaoise c.2008. He moved with his wife and two daughters to County Kilkenny, where he rented a house in Goresbridge and worked in a convenience store in Graiguenamanagh. He was attacked in a robbery on the shop in January 2008. 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. The Irish Daily Mail had expressed similar scepticism in December 2008.
Purported investments
According to interviews, Pearson inherited money from relatives' land in 2003. This was held by trustees till 2008, who invested it in property, mostly commercial property, in Ireland and Britain. Pearson Holdings and Acquisitions was reported to have property in counties Carlow, Wicklow, Dublin, and north Kildare. It reportedly paid £340m in 2004 and £600m later for retail property in London; bought some units in Grafton Street, Dublin; and earned €600m or €800m 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 which was in administration with debts reported at €150m. In December 2008, it was reported that he might invest in Aer Lingus, and subsequently that he might launch a takeover offer of up to €900m, funded from a war chest of €1.5–2b. In 2009, he was reported to be planning to build a retirement village in Arklow, and to start an insurance company. 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. All this turned out to be a hoax which Pearson started to get attention.