Westlife's Shane Filan Declared Bankrupt

As a popstar, Shane Filan has sold 43 million records worldwide as a member of the boyband Westlife.

But the 32-year-old singer has become the latest - and possibly the most famous - victim of Ireland's property boom and bust.

A company he set up with his brother Finbarr, called Shafin Developments, went into receivership last month, owing more than €5.5 million to Bank of Ireland and Ulster Bank.

The firm, which was set up in 2004, developed properties in his home county of Sligo and neighboring Leitrim in the north west of Ireland.

But having exhausted all other options, Shane Filan went to Kingston County Court in west London, where he now lives with his wife and three children, and filed for bankruptcy.

He took the step in the UK, because British laws allow for a state of bankruptcy to end after one year, whereas in Ireland it can be up to 12 years.

"Following increasing financial difficulties, and having exhausted all other options, I was declared bankrupt," he said in a statement.

"It was a very difficult decision to take, but the most responsible course of action, given the debts I owe to banks on property investments.

"Together with a team of financial and legal experts I have spent months exploring all possible alternatives to bankruptcy but to no avail. I have worked long and hard to try to reduce my debts, and I am devastated that it came to this conclusion."

Filan is currently completing a farewell tour with Westlife, that includes some final concerts at Dublin's Croke Park.

He will then try to build a solo career - but must wait at least a year before he can release any material.

"I now intend to focus on the remaining dates of the Westlife tour and my commitments to the band before looking to rebuild a future for my wife, my three children and myself," he said.

There is huge sympathy for Filan in Ireland.

He is an extremely likeable person with a great singing voice, whose only error was to gamble on the property bubble like thousands of others.

The massive fortune he earned for himself from Westlife may be gone, but his manager Louis Walsh is confidence that the future can still be bright for him.

"Shane is going to have a great solo career and make millions," said Walsh.

"He'll start all over again and remake the riches in no time at all. He had no money when he started off before Westlife, and now he'll make it all back."