For once, the property industry is unanimous: Ross McParland deserves the windfall he's due to get from Sherry FitzGerald for the takeover of his agency. With a majority stake in the new homes agency, McParland stands to make a bigger killing than any of the Sherry FitzGerald directors when they floated their company on the stock exchange earlier this year.

The other winners this week were Brendan Byrne, who handled property advertising for The Irish Times before he joined the company about eight years ago, and Eamonn Foley, who is due at the altar rails in the next fortnight. The trio relaxed last month at the Belgian Grand Prix before the hard bargaining began with the lawyers. A condition of the deal is that all the Ross McParland staff will benefit from take-over. Not surprisingly, Sherry FitzGerald has earmarked new homes as one of the big growth sectors over the next decade. No sooner had the company launched itself on the stock exchange than Mark FitzGerald went calling on his friend Ross with the intention of bringing his company on board. The relationship will obviously pay off for both sides, but Mr FitzGerald side-stepped questions this week on whether he would be shopping for other companies specialising in new homes.