Goodbody to buy sites in North

Goodbody Stockbrokers' private clients' business is planning to join forces with Northern Irish builder, Taggart, in a €300 million property development venture.

The move will bring its total investment commitments in Northern Ireland to close to €750 million.

Goodbody is already a substantial shareholder in the Banbridge Retail Park, and last summer, bought over 90 acres of development land close to Belfast.

Goodbody and Taggart are planning a joint venture that will see them buy sites close to the city and develop housing there over the next five to seven years.

The overall investment, calculated at £200 million (€295 million), will be funded through a mixture of equity and bank loans.

The stockbroker is seeking £22 million from private backers interested in investing in the development.

The cash will be used to help fund the purchase of three sites within 16 km of Belfast.

Two of the sites are at Templepatrick and Carryduff, while the purchase of a third site is close to being agreed. It is five miles east of the city.

The total bill for the sites will come to £27.5 million. Goodbody investors will pay £22 million, or 80 per cent, while Taggart will pay £5.5 million.

The pair plan to develop 265 houses across the three sites.

The sites have outline planning permission and the joint venture intends to seek full permission for the development of the sites in the new year.

The joint venture will borrow the money to fund the development of the sites. The overall package will consist of about 30 per cent equity and 70 per cent debt.

Commenting on the deal yesterday, Goodbody's head of private clients, Éamonn Glancy, said that the firm believes that Northern Ireland offers good potential for investment.

"We are paying between £1.2 million and £1.3 million an acre, while in Dublin we would be paying around €20 million an acre," he said.

"There's very good value and building costs are much lower."

Mr Glancy added that the rate of house building in the North was well behind that of the Republic.

He said that the rate in Northern Ireland was eight for every 1,000 people, while in the Republic the rate is running at about 20 per 1,000.

Goodbody Stockbrokers is also planning to open an office in Belfast to service its corporate finance and private clients businesses in the North.

Mr Glancy said that it would go ahead with this plan early in the new year.

The stockbroking firm has strong links with the area. It acts for quoted companies like broadcaster UTV energy company Viridian and digital camera manufacturer Andor Technologies.

The company also has a considerable private clients business in Northern Ireland, Mr Glancy added.