Rohan raises €53m in property sales

Property developer Ken Rohan received dividends of €1.9 million from his main company last year after it sold properties worth €53.4 million, according to company accounts just filed.

Property sales at Mr Rohan's development company Airspace Investments more than trebled during the year to November 30th, 2006, from €14.5 million the previous year.

Mr Rohan has turned Airspace into one of the country's largest property development companies. Its turnover grew almost threefold to €62.3 million in its 2006 financial year on the back of the surge in property sales, while pre-tax profit rose to €10.3 million from €7.3 million.

Airspace received rental income of €8.8 million last year, up from €8.6 million in 2005.

Retained profits at the company rose from €36.2 million to €42.6 million at the end of the year. The company valued its reserves at €134.6 million at the end of November 2006.

The firm's properties rose in value from €124.1 million to €143.5 million, while the company had other unspecified investments of €13.6 million, increasing the value of its total fixed assets during the year by 14 per cent to €160.3 million, according to the accounts.

Almost all of the company's turnover came from property sales and rental income in the Republic, while just over 1 per cent of turnover came from the firm's activities in the UK and Barbados.

The company's directors received salaries of €753,000 during the year. The directors, Mr Rohan and Monica Daly, said in the accounts that the company's performance was "in line with expectations".

Ms Daly declined to comment on the accounts, saying Airspace was a private company. The firm employs 11 people and had a salaries bill of €1.67 million.

Mr Rohan was reported to have made up to €40 million this year from the sale of a 75 per cent stake in a warehouse at a business park near Dublin airport to private clients of Goodbody Stockbrokers.

Airspace retains a 25 per cent stake in the DHL industrial unit at Dublin Airport Logistics Park, which was developed by a subsidiary of Airspace, Rohan Holdings.

Cork-born Mr Rohan develops commercial and industrial property. Airspace, through another of its subsidiaries, owns the Grand Canal Plaza office development in Dublin which is home to BT Ireland.

Mr Rohan developed the Furry Park and North Ring business parks in Santry, also near Dublin airport. He has also invested in The Square shopping centre in Tallaght.

He received dividends of more than €7 million from Airspace in the two years to the end of November 2004. No dividends were paid in 2005. Airspace said in its accounts that it would be liable for corporation tax of €15.4 million if it sold its investment properties at their book value.

Mr Rohan, who owns Charleville House in Enniskerry, Co Wicklow, has availed of the tax relief on heritage homes which are opened to the public.

A donor to Fianna Fáil, Mr Rohan also benefited from another tax break introduced by the party that granted tax relief on art collections in historic houses that are opened to members of the public.