A property development company with €11 million in assets – and intentions to develop a Dublin 7 site – owned by the Law Society of Ireland has failed to file accounts with the Companies Registration Office (CRO) since 2022.
The Law Society of Ireland is responsible for pursuing solicitors who fail to submit annual accounts to the regulatory body.
Another of its companies hasn’t filed annual returns for more than two years.
‘Responsible for auditing and investigating’
Controlled by the Law Society of Ireland, Benburb Street Property Company Ltd owns a site in Dublin 7 it bought for more than €20 million in 2005, according to its latest annual report.
The company says it is considering developing the one-acre site.
“The Law Society… purchased No. 32- 41A Benburb Street in 2005 and intended at that time to develop some or all of the site. Due to the economic crisis plans for the site had to be put on hold. The Law Society is now considering options for developing the site,” according to the company’s website.
The company hasn’t filed annual returns or accounts with the CRO since September 2022 and missed two filing deadlines in 2023 and 2024.
It had valued the Dublin city centre development site at €20 million in its 2021 accounts. The Law Society’s most recent annual report notes the land was revalued in 2023 and is now worth €11.25 million – almost half its original purchase price.
Another Law Society of Ireland-owned company, Blackhall Technologies Ltd, was founded in 2021 to “design and bring to market an online econveyancing solution, under the project title ‘Project Dawn,’” according to its last financial statements submitted in 2022.
The company, which made a loss of €5,718 in 2021, failed to file annual returns and accounts with the CRO in 2023 and 2024.
The Law Society of Ireland is responsible for auditing and investigating solicitors' compliance with accounting regulations. Solicitors who fail to submit annual accounts to it can be referred to the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal.
A Law Society of Ireland spokesperson said, "We are aware that the fillings are overdue and we are currently in the process of completing the late filing procedures for these two companies. Both companies have being going through changes in structure and strategy which have caused delays and we expect the late filing process to be finalised shortly."
