Green Property firm makes €8.4m profit

GREEN PROPERTY Management, part of the Stephen Vernon-led Green Property group, saw a surge in both turnover and profits in 2009.

The latest accounts for the company, which is one of 83 in the Green Property group, show pretax profits of €8.4 million for the 12 months to June 2009, compared to profits of €825,120 in the previous year.

Over the same period, turnover, which is based on fees for managing “property investment funds” and “property-related management regulated services”, more than doubled from €6.6 million to €13.9 million.

A breakdown of the turnover figure shows the biggest increase over the year came in “fund management fees”, which rose from €5.4 million to €7.7 million. A company spokesman said the firm provided “management services among group companies”.

Green Property is best-known as the owner of the Blanchardstown Centre in west Dublin. The ultimate operating vehicle for the group is Green Property Investment Fund 1 plc, a variable capital investment fund which is not obliged to file accounts publicly.

This structure came into being in 2006 after Merrill Lynch exited the company, having co-funded a management buyout in 2004. The company is now half-owned by Mr Vernon and other management, with the remainder controlled by Bank of Scotland (Ireland).

The 2009 turnover figures for Green Property Management also included income of €4.9 million, not recorded in the previous year, reflecting a “development service management fee”.

The numbers show that the company paid out a dividend of €162,288 in 2009, up from €72,022 in 2008. Shareholders’ funds were boosted by €7 million during the year, closing at €10.9 million.

Green Property has more recently been working on a deal to buy €1 billion investment property assets from Anglo Irish Bank.