Profits down 30% at Ballymore Properties Ltd

Profits at a key part of Irish builder Ballymore’s British business fell 30 per cent last year to £176 million sterling, the latest figures show.

Ballymore, founded and controlled by developer Seán Mulryan, has a range of big commercial and residential projects in Ireland, Britain and Europe.

Accounts for one of its key UK-registered companies, Ballymore Properties Ltd, whose businesses include high-profile projects in London's docklands, show it earned profits of £176.3 million in the 12 months ended March 31st 2018.

The surplus was 30 per cent less than the £251 million that the company generated over the 12 months ended march 31st 2017.

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However, the 2016 figures included a £157 million gain from a boost to its value that resulted from the company clearing debts, including sums due to State assets agency Nama, and restructuring the business.

The 2018 figures show that an improvement in the fortunes of a number of connected companies added to Ballymore Properties Ltd’s profits. The figures include loans of £189 million due to Ballymore Properties from other companies in the group.

Ballymore Properties wrote off those debts during the financial crisis as it seemed unlikely that the associated businesses would be able to repay the money. However, it reversed that as those companies’ performance improved and they again appeared likely to be able to repay the debts.

The accounting exercise left Ballymore Properties Ltd with £176 million in operating profits.

It also helped return the company’s balance sheet to the black. Ballymore Properties Ltd had net assets of £54 million on March 31st, compared to a £121 million deficit 12 months earlier.

The figures also show that it owed other companies within the group £263 million on the same date. Those debts fell due within one year. Its total short-term liabilities were £273 million.

Continue trading

Separate returns for a key Irish business, Ballymore Residential Ltd, show that it owed its group €45 million on March 31st last.

The accounts state that it was depending on its parent and fellow group companies for cash and that these businesses had indicated they would continue to provide this.

“In particular, the group will not seek repayment of amounts owed to it for at least 12 months from the date of approval of the financial statements,” the accounts state. They add that this will allow the company to remain solvent and continue trading.

The group's ultimate parent is the Irish-registered Ballymore Properties Unlimited Company, which is not obliged to publish accounts.

Consequently, the group does not publish results showing its overall financial performance, but does file returns for individual entities that show how elements of the business are doing.

As well as a common ultimate parent, many of the group’s individual businesses are linked through intercompany obligations, as they provide loans and management and construction services to each other.