Park Developments profit surges to €11.3m

Builder nearly doubles profits in year in which it borrows to pay off debt to Nama

Fernbank, a Park Developments project: the builder has taken fresh borrowings from Bank of Ireland and AIB, secured on the group’s assets.
Fernbank, a Park Developments project: the builder has taken fresh borrowings from Bank of Ireland and AIB, secured on the group’s assets.

Profits at builder Park Developments' main business almost doubled to €11.3 million last year, according to the latest figures.

Park exited Nama in June by paying off a reported €300 million-plus debt to the State assets agency with fresh borrowings from Bank of Ireland and AIB secured on the group's assets.

The group is building new homes on sites in Clay Farm, Hamilton Park, Fernbank and The Park in Carrickmines in south Dublin.

Park is also the developer behind the Reflector office and apartment complex on the capital’s Grand Canal Dock.

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Accounts just filed for Park Developments (Dublin) Ltd, one of its main operating entities, show that sales rose two-thirds last year to €75.6 million from €45.7 million in 2016.

Park generated a profit before tax of €11.3 million in 2017, close to twice the €6 million surplus that the company earned the previous year. Profit after tax in 2017 was €10.5 million.

Net assets

Net assets stood at €84 million on December 30th last year, 9 per cent ahead of the €73.3 million recorded 12 months earlier.

Total assets were €482 million, while the company owed €406 million to its creditors, which included €363 million due to its parent, Quorn Securities Unlimited. Other group companies owed Park Developments (Dublin) €406 million.

The accounts note that Park’s assets and those of other group businesses support guarantees given to AIB and Bank of Ireland for a new loan to Quorn Securities.

Park, chaired by well-known developer Michael Cotter, states it exited Nama on June 22nd this year by refinancing debts to the agency with new lenders.

“The group repaid in full all capital, interest and fees due on the original loan facilities that were transferred to Nama in November 2010, in addition to all new facilities provided by Nama to fund new developments,” the accounts say.

New loans

The accounts confirm that AIB and Bank of Ireland agreed to give the group new loans on June 22nd.

The accounts do not state how much the banks loaned the group, but it is understood that it owed Nama more than €300 million.

The company describes all loans as “fully performing”, which means that it was repaying any sums that fell due during the year.

In May, the group sold 262 apartments in Churchtown, south Dublin, to Irish Life Investment Managers for more than €100 million.

Park is a third-generation family-owned business that has built more than 20,000 houses and apartments, and three million square feet in commercial property.

Barry O'Halloran

Barry O'Halloran

Barry O’Halloran covers energy, construction, insolvency, and gaming and betting, among other areas