SEAN MULRYAN’S Ballymore Group seems to have hit the jackpot with the overseas launch of its latest high-end apartment development at Nine Elms near Battersea Power Station in south London.

The Irish developer sold 160 homes off the plans over two weekends in Hong Kong and Singapore and is now planning a “soft” launch in London in the coming weeks. Like so many other developers, Ballymore will be relying on Nama to fund the development once it has completed sales contracts. Prices generally are running at around €1,245 per sq ft – a long way ahead of values for even the best pads in Dublin. The early success of the sales campaign is being attributed not only to the location – it overlooks the River Thames towards Westminster and Chelsea – but also its choice of more traditional style of apartment blocks, not unlike those in the Meat Packing district of New York.

Mulryan assembled the 18-acre site over a long period and was lucky enough to have sold five acres at the height of the property market to the US Government for a new American Embassy which is about to be built.

Ballymore has secured planning permission to develop 1,982 homes on the remaining acreage at Embassy Gardens as well as a 100-bedroom hotel, shops, cafes, restaurants, bars and office space as well as a public park.

Let’s hope that a few more builders in Nama will get back on their feet over the summer months.