There's no stopping Paddy Kelly, who is on a non-stop property shopping spree since he made a killing on taxdriven developments in Tallaght and a massive office scheme in Clonskeagh. The Shrewsbury Road-based developer has bought endless Dublin properties over the last year, notably Harcourt Street Hospital, and the former Marlborough HQ in Tara Street.

Last week he was in Sarasota in Florida to gobble up a 50 per cent stake in a £150 million apartment, hotel and retail complex which is to be developed along the seashore. The complex will include a 270-bedroom hotel, 80 apartments and shops. His partners will be a Toronto based company whose directors have been close friends of his for almost two decades. While Paddy was in the US, his son Simon was busy on his behalf paying £6.6 million for the Cablelink building in the centre of Ballsbridge, beside the Herbert Park Hotel. Kelly is expected to form a partnership with Irish Life if planning permission allows him to redevelop this modest two-storey block skywards. The word on the street is that NTL, who bought the Cablelink business for £535 million, will be looking for a more substantial building to capitalise on its new Irish business.