A court has ordered the defunct St Philip’s Hospital to settle a long-standing debt of €12 million with HSBC.

Judge Mark Simiana dismissed claims the interest charged by HSBC on the debt, amounting to €5 million, was “excessive”. It ordered Golden Sheperd Limited, the company behind St Philips, to pay the €12 million as well as legal expenses.

Golden Sheperd’s sole director is Frank Portelli, a one-time PN leadership candidate. In 2023, a separate court ordered that Golden Sheperd be dissolved due to the debts.

Portelli had hoped to sell the hospital to the government in 2010 but the deal eventually fell through. He had also offered the use of St Philip’s in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. The offer was not taken up.

Last year, Times of Malta reported how the health ministry was testing the water over a potential purchase of the hospital. 

The St Philip’s director has argued that the land the hospital sits on is worth €35 million alone.

Portelli found himself in the spotlight in 2022 after thousands of medical records were found lying around the abandoned hospital, which had become a haven for squatters.