UK-listed Dev Sec plans 300 new homes in Malahide

Development Securities, the British listed fund which plans to invest up to £20 million (about €25 million) in equity into Irish property details, has updated the stock market on its progress here.

It said it had acquired 85 residential units and a nine-acre residential development site in Malahide, north Dublin, for €36 million. It said it planned to build 300 homes on the site, called Robswall, split between houses and apartments.

Dev Sec said the site had already planning permission to build 154 residential units.

Opportunities

"The 85 residential units offer opportunities for asset management and enhancement in order to add value, and a number of options are under consideration with respect to the delivery of the development site over the near to medium-term," the property firm said. The project was formerly owned by Gerry Gannon with debts owed to the National Asset Management Agency (Nama). Mr Gannon is not expected in the market to develop this site as his attention is on building larger housing schemes for Nama in north Dublin.

‘Still deciding’

Dev Sec said it was “still deciding” its exact strategy for the site when asked who it was going to appoint to develop the residential project for it.

The UK company also updated its shareholders on positive events post its acquisition of a 1.7-acre site on Burlington Road in Dublin 4 in a joint venture with American investment fund Colony and developers Paddy McKillen and Jonny Ronan. Dev Sec described Mr McKillen and Mr Ronan to its shareholders as "two of Ireland's most experienced real estate developers".