Ballymore homes has sold part of the former Westminster Hospital, near the Houses of Parliament in London, to a hotel group for £40 million sterling. The sale, to the Raffles Group, is understood to represent one of the highest prices ever achieved in Britain for a hotel site.

Ballymore Homes, run by Mr Sean Mulryan, bought the total Westminster site two years ago for £28 million sterling. There are three elements to it - the hotel site which has just been sold, an 11-storey block of apartments, and 120,000 square feet of offices. The office and apartments schemes are currently well under way.

Earlier this year Ballymore Homes sold £20 million sterling worth of the Westminster apartments to 50 buyers in just one weekend. Finished to an extremely high standard, they ranged in price from £240,000 to £600,000 sterling.

Known as St John's, the apartments have numerous facilities, including private parking, portering, laundry and chambermaid services. There were also plans for a business suite and a health and fitness centre.

Ballymore has been involved in several schemes in London, including the Millennium Harbour in the Docklands. The company has also carried out a number of housing developments in Ireland.

It has been mooted as the future developers of the Baldoyle Racecourse and adjoining lands which may be rezoned for a major housing and leisure scheme. The lands were owned by two companies controlled by developer Mr John Byrne, an associate of former Taoiseach Mr Charles Haughey.