Hutch Spanish hideaway could become his main home in future

Gerard Couzens

Gerard ‘The Monk’ Hutch owns a €350,000 hideaway in Spain, which could end up becoming his main home if as expected he makes it back to the country in the near future.

The freed gangland figure bought the penthouse about two years before he was arrested in the resort of Fuengirola in August 2021 and extradited to Ireland to face trial for the Regency Hotel murder of Kinahan lieutenant David Byrne.

The 60-year-old, dramatically acquitted last Monday at the Special Criminal Court in Dublin, is reportedly looking to “zig-zag around Eastern Europe” before settling in Spain to manage his bulging business portfolio.

He was spending most of his time in the lead-up to his arrest in Lanzarote, where he still owns a villa with wife Patricia.

However, his property assets include a top-floor apartment where he could try to go incognito and stay out of reach of enemies.

The swish three-bedroom, two-bathroom flat on the top floor of a modern six-storey apartment block is a short drive away from the property he bunkered down in ahead of his arrest at an Italian restaurant, Limoncello.

Its immaculate state makes it stand out from some of the more dated buildings surrounding it.

A sign in Spanish above the glass-plated front door warns: “Area controlled by security cameras.”

It leads into a short corridor lined with a large mirror above a grey-marble chip floor and a lift beyond it giving access to the five floors of residential flats above shops and other commercial premises on the ground floor.

Hutch is the sole owner of the property. No-one was answering the street intercom buzzer, thought to be connected to a camera, on Monday or the buzzers for the floor immediately below.

Locals said they thought the apartment was usually empty and the metal shutters on the windows overlooking a large terrace the flat boasts with stunning views of the Mediterranean, were pulled down.

One said: “I’d be lying if I told you I had any idea who the owner is.

“I think someone may have stayed in the flat briefly last year but I never saw them.”

As well as the penthouse, which measures around 135 square metres with the 38 square metre terrace included, Hutch also owns an underground car parking space in a communal garage at the end of the road.

Records show he purchased it a couple of months after he bought the apartment. It is not known how much he paid for it.

Nearby amenities mean the multi-millionaire will never have to stray too far from the property if he wants to lie low but stay stocked up on food and groceries.

An insider said: “Everything Gerry might need is on his doorstep but at the same time it’s in a more Spanish part of town so not the sort of place where he’s going to be instantly recognised if he doesn’t stray too far.”

The Kinahan feud with the rival Hutch gang has been blamed for the deaths of at least 18 people in Ireland and Spain.