Latest news with #JohnnyRonan
Irish Times
25-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Mary Ronan, separated wife of developer Johnny Ronan, leaves estate valued at €5.6 million
Mary Ronan, separated wife of property developer Johnny Ronan , left an estate valued at €5.6 million, according to documents published by the State's Probate Office in May. Ms Ronan, born Mary Tilson and originally from Newtown, Co Waterford, died at Dublin's Blackrock Clinic on August 14th last year. She and developer Johnny Ronan had three children and while they separated, according to reports, they never divorced. Ms Ronan's address was listed at Leeson Park, Dublin 6 and formerly Dargle, Enniskerry. READ MORE The Probate Office has also published a grant of probate for Pat Veale, former managing director of the property company PJ Walls Group. Mr Veale with an address at Church Road in Killiney, died unexpectedly on 1st of June 2023. He left an estate valued at €6.9 million. During his career at PJ Walls the business became one of the most recognisable names in construction in Ireland. The company was the subject of a management buyout in 2015. Estate agent and interior designer Judith Giltinane of Donnybrook and formerly of Ballyboughal, Dublin, left an estate valued at €28.6 million, according to the grant of probate in connection with her will. Ms Giltinane who whose business Hollybrook Estates dealt in interior design and property in the Ballyboughal and Ashbourne areas, died on January 28th, 2024, at St Vincent's hospital, Elm Park, after a short illness. She was predeceased by her husband John Mullen of Donnybrook and formerly of Ballinasloe, Co Galway. In other wills, Martin St John O'Gara of Hollybrook Road, Clontarf, who died at the Beacon Hospital on August 7th last, left an estate valued at €4.06 million. John James Hurley of Clonpadden, Arklow, Co Wicklow, who died on May 24th, 2023, left an estate valued at €3.29 million. Patrick Brian Timothy Buckley of Oakley Road, Ranelagh, Dublin, who died on October 28th, 2024, left an estate valued at €2.9 million. Michael McCaffrey of Cavangarden, Ballyshannon, Co Donegal, who died on May 30th, 2022, left an estate valued at €2.8 million. Dennis Woods of Military Road, Killiney, Co Dublin, left an estate valued at €2.56 million when he died on October 24th, 2024. Mary Donohoe of Sandycove Road, Dún Laoghaire, who died on July 4th, 2024, at the Dargle Vale Nursing Home, Enniskerry, Co Wicklow, left an estate of €2.49 million. Michael Conneely of Brighton Square, Rathgar, who died on May 21st, 2024, left an estate valued at €2.235 million. Stephen Brown of Granitefield, Rochestown Avenue, Co Dublin, left an estate valued at €2.32 million when he died on February 9th, 2024. The sums referred to in files are gross values of estates, which include all of a person's assets. This would typically include the value of the family home or farm.
Irish Times
11-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Concerns over cost of Johnny Ronan's affordable housing plans at former Glass Bottle site in Dublin
Concerns are mounting over the provision of affordable housing at the former Irish Glass Bottle site in Ringsend with no deal on cost reached between Dublin City Council and a Johnny Ronan -fronted development consortium. Pembroke Beach is close to completing construction of the first 570 homes at the former industrial lands on the Poolbeg Peninsula, designated for an urban quarter with up to 3,800 apartments. However, in an email to Sinn Féin housing spokesman Eoin Ó Broin , the council has said there is 'no agreement in place for the delivery of 'affordable homes' in phase one' of the development, with the costs making a deal 'very challenging' to achieve. It was indicated last year that the apartments in the scheme would cost €495,000 for a one-bed and €675,000 for a two-bed. READ MORE While eligible affordable house purchasers are given a State subsidised discount on market rates, the high indicative cost of the apartments would still put them out of reach of most low- to middle-income buyers. The land on the peninsula at the east end of the city has been vacant for more than 20 years following the closure of the Glass Bottle Company in 2002. [ Johnny Ronan venture to seek planning permission for 20-storey tower on Irish Glass Bottle site Opens in new window ] The site was bought in 2006 for €412 million by a consortium involving developer Bernard McNamara and the Dublin Docklands Development Authority. The National Asset Management Agency ( Nama ) bought the debt associated with the site from the now defunct Anglo Irish Bank after the property crash. The council drafted plans, approved by the cabinet in 2016, for a strategic development zone designation for the land in order to speed up the regeneration of the area, particularly for housing. In May 2017, the council, Nama and the Department of Housing reached agreement that 15 per cent of the apartments would be used for affordable housing. The council initially entered into negotiations with Nama in relation to the affordable homes and said it would be willing to buy plots of land from the State agency. However, Nama instead offered the site to the market with the Ronan-led consortium confirmed as the preferred bidder in December 2020. The council has since been in negotiations with Pembroke Beach but has been unable to finalise a deal. Sinn Féin senator Chris Andrews , previously a TD for the area, said the community had 'fought for nearly a decade' to secure homes which could be bought at affordable prices '[The council] has informed us that the delivery of these affordable homes is in doubt, and that it is unlikely that any social or affordable homes will be included in phase one of this development,' Mr Andrews said. 'This is entirely unacceptable for local residents, who have had to endure skyrocketing housing prices, insufficient social housing and years of broken promises from the Government.' The council told Sinn Féin there was no requirement for affordable housing to be part of any particular phase, and that the developer was working on a proposal to deliver the 'affordable component across the full development' but there was 'no defined time frame for this as yet'. The council has confirmed there 'is not yet an agreement in place for the delivery of 'affordable homes' in phase 1' and has told the Irish Times the 'affordable housing component is subject to a commercial agreement being reached with the developer that takes account of funding and value for money considerations'. Pembroke Beach, which includes Lioncor and Oaktree Capital , as well as Ronan Group Real Estate , declined to comment. However, it is understood the developer intends to allocate an apartment block in the first phase for social and affordable housing, pending agreement on the affordable element.
RTÉ News
28-04-2025
- Business
- RTÉ News
Johnny Ronan firm records €33m loss in 2024
A Johnny Ronan firm involved in a long running legal dispute concerning €1m Harry Clarke stained glass windows at Bewley's Cafe on Grafton Street in Dublin recorded post tax losses of €33.17m last year. New accounts filed by RGRE Grafton Ltd show that €9.45m of last year's €33.17m post tax loss concerned receivership costs. Last month, the Ronan Group confirmed that the company had emerged out of receivership as part of a deal that allowed the Ronan Group take back what it called "the jewels in the crown" of the portfolio, namely: 70 Grafton Street, home to PTSB and City Break Apartments, and 78-79 Grafton Street, the location of Bewley's Café, in Dublin 2. A note attached to the new accounts for RGRE Grafton Ltd show that included in the €33.17m loss was a €15.54m loss on the disposal of investment properties and a latent Capital Gains Tax (CGT) charge of €4.5m. The loss also takes account of a €2.9m gain in the value of the property portfolio. The note states that the company owes €38.59m to a credit institution and €67.25m to group companies of which €39.75m is reflected as subordinated loans. The note adds that in November 2023, as a result of high interest rates and a significant decrease in commercial property values, which gave rise to bank covenant issues, the directors invited its senior lenders, the Bank of Ireland to appoint a receiver over the secured assets. The note states that during 2024, the receiver marketed the company's investment properties for sale and following this process two properties were sold for €18.45m. The note states that in addition, the company acquired a property in 2024 for €10.3m from a company within the same corporate group and subsequently sold it to a third party. The note states that the "combined sale proceeds were used to part repay the senior lender's loans and pay receiver and sales costs". The note states that in November 2024, the receiver entered into an agreement with another entity within the same corporate group for the sale of the company's shares. It states: "Upon completion, the company had no further obligations to its previous lenders and successfully exited receivership." The directors believe that following the completion of the share sale, the new financing arrangement, cessation of receivership the company will be able to meet its obligations as they fall due. The book value of the company's investment properties at the start of 2024 totalled €61.19m and was valued at €30.1m at the end of December 2024. This was after disposals of €44.2m during the year and additions of €10.3m and the €2.9m gain in book value. In February, the Supreme Court agreed to hear another appeal over the ownership of the Harry Clarke stained glass windows in Bewley's Cafe in Grafton Street, Dublin. It followed a 2-1 decision of the Court of Appeal (CoA) last July that all six of the windows belong to the owner of the premises, RGRE Grafton Ltd. A dissenting judgment found that two of the windows were owned by Bewley's and the other four were "tenant's fixtures". That decision differed from a 2023 High Court decision that only four of the windows belonged to RGRE while the other two were the property of the tenant, Bewley's Café Grafton Street (BCGS) Ltd and its subsidiary Bewley's Ltd.
Irish Examiner
28-04-2025
- Business
- Irish Examiner
Investment property spend triples to €548m during opening months of 2025
The value of investment property transactions during the first quarter of the year rose to €548m, three times higher than the same period in 2024, on the back of a large transaction involving the sale of a portfolio of retail parks, a report by estate agent Sherry FitzGerald shows. The report shows there were 27 transactions completed during this period, the largest of which was the sale of Oaktree Capital Management's portfolio of eight retail parks — located in Bray, Drogheda, Galway, Limerick, Naas, Navan, Sligo, and Waterford — for €220m to US investor Realty Income Reit. During the same quarter in 2024, there were 20 deals completed — valued at a combined €163m. However, when compared to the long-term average for the first quarter of the year, both the value and volume of transactions were both down by 20% and 26% respectively. During the early part of 2024, the European Central Bank still had very high interest rates — which made borrowing money, potentially for investment, very expensive. Rates have been steadily declining since June of last year and, as of the start of the year, were significantly lower. Retail was the main driver of investment activity during the period January to March, accounting for half of turnover in the market. In total, €272m was invested in retail space. Aside from Oaktree Capital Management's retail park portfolio sale, other retail assets that transacted during the quarter included three receivership assets that were bought back by Johnny Ronan's property company RGRE. All three properties were located on Grafton St, Dublin — including 78-79 Grafton St, the flagship premises of Bewleys Café; 70 Grafton St, which is let to PTSB and City Break Apartments; and 116 Grafton St, which is leased to cosmetics company Lush. Total investor spend on office, industrial, and residential assets remained below the long-term quarterly averages. Industrial and logistics Office space accounted for €87m of total investor spending. The largest transaction in this sector involved the sale of Central Quay — a six-storey, over-basement modern office building at South Docks — by Hibernia Real Estate Group to French investor Atland Voisin for approximately €42m. Hotel asset investment accounted for €86m of the overall spend while healthcare investments stood at €43m. Industrial and logistics transactions totalled just over €41m during the first three months of the year, while residential assets saw the lowest quarterly level of investment activity since the second quarter of 2017 — reaching just €11m. Overseas investors accounted for 78% of total investment spend during the quarter. Approximately 47% of turnover during the period was located in Dublin. Cork absorbed a further 6% of capital spend in three transactions, while Galway, Limerick, and Meath each saw one transaction during the period. In the report's outlook for the rest of the year, it said that the current international trade tensions and uncertainty across the global economy is likely to 'have some impact on the investment market in the short- to medium-term'. 'That said, given the current underlying strength of the domestic economy with robust employment, unemployment close to full employment, low inflation and strong consumer spending, investors in a position to move may take advantage of favourably priced assets,' the report said. Read More Fota Island Resort owner posts €1.2m loss despite turnover rise
