A consortium of Irish investors has paid €41 million for a prime retail site in Sotogrande, southern Spain, where 41 shops and an underground car park are currently being built.
The deal is led by Galdavar, an Irish property development company headed by Gavin Gallagher, an architect and cousin of deceased property tycoon Patrick Gallagher. Galdavar's directors include Gerry McCaughey, an executive with Kingspan Century Homes, Matthew Gallagher, vice-president of the Construction Industry Federation, and Jim Osborne, co-owner of Castleway Developments.
The Earlsfort Group, which owns 20 per cent of the Conrad Hotel and developed the East Point business park in Dublin, is also an investor, along with individuals sourced by Peter O'Reilly, formerly of NCB and founder of the Finance Business in Naas, Co Kildare.
Mr Gallagher said the investors were paying €12 million in equity, with Royal Bank of Scotland providing €30 million of debt.
Called Blue Sotogrande, the retail development overlooks a new 1,400-berth marina.
Sotogrande is close to Valderrama, which hosted the Ryder Cup, and has benefited from new motorways and the opening of Gibraltar airport to international traffic. The investors expect the development to be worth €80-100 million on completion.
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