South Africa: An Irish company is behind one of the biggest developments in South Africa's Western Cape, writes Bill Corcoran in Cape Town

Eurocape Investments Ltd, an Irish company focusing on investment and development in South Africa, has secured around €40 million from owner-occupiers and investors eager to own one of the 180 luxury apartments the company is building in Cape Town.

The company began construction on the biggest mixed-use development in the Western Cape around four months ago and, according to the company's chief executive officer, Martin Kearns, around two-thirds of the apartments have been sold from the plans to date.

"We are only four months in to the 20-month construction project and there are only about 60 apartments left, although very few of these will be put up for sale," said Mr Kearns.

The company is a spin-off from Irish and UK-based Howard Holdings plc which has over €1 billion in ongoing development mainly in Dublin, Cork and London.

The prices of the luxury apartments, which are located in the heart of Cape Town city centre, range from €150,000 for a large one-bedroom unit to €900,000 for the top penthouse.

These are record prices for the city centre although the apartments are located in a very upmarket area.

Property prices are continuing to rise in South Africa, and Cape Town in particular, but Mr Kearns believes there is still significant room for growth for investors as prime city centre sites in top European cities would be up to three times the equivalent prices.

Mr Kearns said the vast majority of the investors who had bought their properties off the plans were from Ireland and South Africa, and they included many "prominent property investors" of note. The scheme has not been launched in any other country but a limited release is planned in the UK in the coming weeks.

As well as the luxury apartments, the city centre development will include 18,580 sq m (200,000 sq ft) of retail space, 18,580 sq m (250,000 sq ft) of office space and a luxury five-star 200-bedroom hotel that is being designed with the local architecture in mind.

Negotiations are at an advanced stage with an operator for the hotel, although the group will not be made public until the deal has been finalised.

Eurocape purchased eight buildings on three historic city blocks in order to build the massive development and this is seen as the catalyst that started the rejuvenation of Cape Town's city centre.

The entire development is within the UDZ, an area designated for special tax breaks along the lines of the schemes for inner city regeneration in Irish cities.

Located within the residential block of the development will be a range of restaurants, bars, food halls, delicatessens and the old town's first winery.

There also will be a state-of-the-art rooftop wellness centre with outdoor pool, a clinic, food hall, numerous restaurants, gymnasium and in-house car-parking.