On the waterfront: old sites, new schemes

InvestingintheUK: A company founded by two Irishmen 18 years ago has developed a billion pounds worth of property on waterfront sites around Britain. Now they want more Irish investors to come on board. Kevin O'Connor reports.

"Oh commemorate me where there is water . . . ." Kavanagh's ode to a Dublin's canal is an unlikely mantra for a property company, given the poet lived in meagre "digs" most of his life. But it sums up the philosophy of Dandara, an Irish originated company which is re-shaping waterside sites in Britain.

In Glasgow, Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham and by the milder shores of the Channel isles, the company makes accessible to its clients - and the wider public - modernist "living quarters" over river walks and seascape views.

Since it started in Britain 18 years ago, it has developed - at the last count - a cool billion pounds sterling worth of quality property. That translates into about 5,000 units of accommodation, from studios to three-bedroom apartments, from compact blocks in city centres to high-rises on the skyline with iconic shapes of our time.

It has marked the landscape, north, south, east - but not yet west - in Britain. Along the way, Dandara has scooped award after award for its external design quality and internal fit-out.

Manchester's dominant newspaper gave it "best apartment scheme" for the city, the Daily Telegraph awarded Best First-Time Buyer across the UK, the Daily Mail awarded for apartments in Isle of Man .

Which leaves one asking what The Irish Times might give. Well, Dandara does not "do" Ireland, even though it was founded by a builder from Portlaoise and has a management team driven by graduates of building technology.

Therein lies the insight to its success and la difference from other developers, as ascribed by Dandara director Seamus Nugent to another unlikely source: "When C J Haughey was accused in the 1980s of putting too much money into further education during high emigration he asked 'Would you rather they left with a shovel or a piece of paper'."

Nugent left with a piece of paper, in Construction Engineering from Carlow IT, where a fellow student was Dan Tynan, from Portlaoise. Both had farming and building backgrounds, which is the classic pedigree for émigré developers in Britain. Both had worked for large contractors in Dublin, Nugent for Sisks.

Out of Ireland they developed a personal chemistry and building symmetry that has, over many projects, evolved into a recognisable brand of urban renewal .

Following the durable tradition of the emigrant builder, this time by choice, they found fertile ground in the pressing needs of an over-populated island to provide roofs over heads.

Under political pressure to provide housing in brownfield sites while trying to preserve the vestiges of its green belt, Britain lagged behind most of Europe in new housing.

Dandara is a lead company in reducing the backlog, delivering high output with a recognisable quality mark. Simply put, that means high standards of internal finish, the lot wrapped inside a bold architectural outline.

Glasgow Harbour, for instance, will have a series of copper clad buildings, their exterior glowing in the evening light along the Clyde, across from the grey hulks of Royal Navy carriers, maintained as a political sop to the tail-end of Scottish shipbuilding.

The contrast says it all, a landmark on the cusp of change, a 21st century evolution of the port. Old warships on one side, new life, optimism and apartments on the other .

They design according to context, as seen in Dandara's creation of a compact urban community in St Helier, port capital of Jersey. There, subscribing to a different climate and a different demand for low-rise, they delivered the village feel of cobbled narrow street and women gossiping on balconies. (Actually, twentysomethings coo-ing across the balconies about their first property.)

Roof tiles and stair treads are made from re-cycled car tyres, giving a real hush hush to people traffic.

In another context,walking with Nugent along the ship canal in Manchester, his pride is palpable in the company's renewal of a derelict waterway that became uneconomic as far back as the 19th century infusion of railways into the industrial powerhouse of the English midlands .

Here, the the Lock apartments loom like the hulk of a great cruise ship over the canals, its lower units like deck-level cabins. Dandara integrated with local planners to pursue a common design in renewing parts of one of the great industrial cities of Europe, a centre of flax and cotton spinning whose products were exported along imperial trade routes from this waterway.

Long gone as commodity carrier , the canal will have a new life as a boating amenity for new apartment dwellers - but only because millions are invested in new apartments.

A share of that growth is available to modest investors. Some came aboard with a one-off buy, saw how the company looked after their investment in terms of tenants and investor care - and bought another.

Nugent knows after-care is crucial, with so much overseas investment on offer to Irish investors, who seem to be the target of every builder, worldwide.

"Investor care" fits into Dandara's long-term funding plans which are re-making the British landscape. "We want the investor to buy from us again and again," he says.

"When you buy Dandara you get a strong after-sales service, responsible management of your property. We look after fit-outs for letting.

"We build where there is demand, mainly from young workers and in university cities. If you require it, our financial services people will advise on the best way to structure your purchase for tax and revenue returns."

For the syndicate or company investor, Dandara offers expertise in creating offshore companies in Isle of Man and Jersey. It is, dare one say it, the ideal usage of a shovel and a piece of paper.

www.dandara.com 77 Merrion Square, Dublin 2, 01 6382540