Nama have named Cerberus, the company behind the controversial purchase of the agency’s Northern Ireland loans, as the preferred bidder for another major portfolio.

Cerberus has emerged as the preferred bidder for the 'Project Arrow' loan book - including loans with a paper value of €6.25bn.

The portfolio is made up of almost 2000 small loans among 340 debtors, but NAMA says only one in every forty loans is being repaid in full.

Cerberus were one of two bidders competing for the Proect Arrow lona book, along with Apollo.

Nama’s latest half-year accounts, released earlier this week, reveal the agency has revalued its property portfolio upward for the first time, by €25m. There was also a profit of €473m in the first half of this year.

Independent TD Mick Wallace wanted Cerberus barred from the process - and is urging Michael Noonan to intervene and stop the sale from going ahead.

"There is scope for him to intervene," he said.

"The deal isn’t done, they are the preferred bidder, they have just been nominated as the preferred bidder.

"Michael Noonan is the head of Nama, he is the boss, he could stop this but does he have an appetite for it? I’d like to see it," he added.

Wallace has previously made allegations that one Nama loan book was “”stitched up” to ensure it ended up Cerberus would be the winning bidders.

“At this stage there is a strong belief that Cerberus were earmarked to get this project hail rain or snow, and the whole thing was stitched up so that they would get it, and Nama are involved in that and they cannot distance themselves,” Mr Wallace said in the Dáil on October 7.

Wallace has made other claims regarding Nama, including that one developer paid two installments of €15,000 in cash to exit the agency.

The agency has denied Wallace’s claims and told him to provide proof of any wrongdoing if he has it.