Spencer Dock site gains €99.4m in value for Treasury

The value of Treasury Holdings' land at Spencer Dock, Dublin, increased by almost €100 million after a review last year.

The property will be developed along with extensive CIÉ land at Spencer Dock under an agreement which has drawn criticism from senior Government and Opposition figures.

Treasury controls the Spencer Dock Development Company, which secured agreement in 1998 to develop the 42.2-acre site which is mostly owned by CIÉ.

The site is one of the last large-scale development areas available in Dublin.

Despite repeated criticism of the deal, CIÉ's board has claimed the arrangement with Treasury was the "best way" to achieve the highest value for the site.

An Bord Pleanála rejected the initial plan for the site, which embraced a proposal for a national conference centre.

A revised scheme of development prepared by the Dublin Docklands Development Authority (DDDA) has been submitted last August for approval by the Minister for the Environment and Local Government, Mr Dempsey.

The Minister is empowered to approve the scheme without referring to the Cabinet and has not yet indicated publicly whether he will support it or not before the new Government assumes power on June 6th.

If Mr Dempsey signs off on the revised scheme, the DDDA will be empowered to initiate a fast-track planning process for all developments in the docklands area.

According to the Standards and Public Office Commission, Treasury and its associates have made a number of contributions to Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats. Treasury, its associate Castle Market Holdings, and the Spencer Dock Development Company donated €21,432 to Fianna Fáil last year and €63,487 to the PDs. The Spencer Dock company and Castle Market Holdings donated €15,875 to Fianna Fáil in 2000 and €16,637 in 1999.

Treasury is owned by Mr John Ronan and Mr Richard Barrett, who hold slightly more than 66 per cent of the Spencer Dock company through two associate ventures, Littlebeck Ltd and Ardquade Ltd. The remaining stake is held by a company called Follyford Ltd, owned by the businessman Mr Harry Crosbie.

The latest annual accounts filed at the Companies Office by the Spencer Dock Development show its portion of the development property was revalued on March 31st, 2001, at £78.27 million (€99.38 million) by DTZ Sherry FitzGerald. This sum was described in the accounts as an "unrealised revaluation surplus".

A note in the accounts said DTZ Sherry FitzGerald had revalued the property on an open-market basis.

It said: "The valuation assumes the underlying master development agreement is marketable and makes the special assumption that it is capable of special assignment which, in the period to October 6th, 2003, required the consent of the other party."

Treasury Holdings did not respond to a telephone query on Friday when asked about the revaluation. The note in the accounts implied that the company had no plans to sell its portion of the site. It said: "The amount of taxation which, under current legislation, would arise on the sale of the development property at the present time at the value which is stated ... is approximately IR£15,636,265 ... which has not been provided for in the financial statements, as, in the opinion of the directors, no liability to such taxation will arise in the foreseeable future."

According to a legal review provided to CIÉ, the Spencer Dock company owns the campshires on the Liffey bank and another portion of the site known as the wool store. The State group entered the deal because the demolition of the campshires was required for the construction of a national conference centre, which was part of the original plan for the area.

CIÉ will be paid 17.5 per cent of the rents from the buildings on the site. Treasury has already secured the agreement of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to occupy a major building on the site. While rent from the first phase will be reduced by tenant inducements, the pre-let agreement by PwC means it will be essentially risk-free as the income stream from the development is guaranteed.

The total annual rent roll from this initial phase of the development will be about €9.4 million.