Ballymore holding posts losses of £223.8m

BALLYMORE Properties Ltd, a UK holding company within Seán Mulryan’s Ballymore Group, lost £223.8 million (€265.4 million) in the year to the end of March 2010, according to accounts filed recently in London.

The Oxford-based company and its subsidiaries suffered a loss of £12 million the previous year. The company is ultimately owned by Mr Mulryan’s unlimited Irish company, Ballymore Properties.

The directors’ report signed at the end of December 2010 said the group was in advanced discussions with the National Asset Management Agency in relation to its business plan.

It said group loans with banks involved with Nama were transferred in March 2010 and that a “significant proportion” of the group’s debt was now with Nama.

As of March 31st, 2010, the group had debts of £650 million and a property portfolio with a carrying value of £478 million.

The directors said they believed there was more value in some of the group’s assets than was recognised under accounting conventions. The company and its subsidiaries bank with AIB, Anglo Irish Bank, Fortis Bank, Irish Nationwide (Belfast), Barclays Bank and Nama, according to the accounts.

Asset disposals allowed the group to pay off debt totalling £135 million in the financial year.

The accounts include a diminution in the value of stock of £47 million and an impairment on fixed assets of £33.9 million.

The directors said they were confident Nama would approve the group’s plan and that the primary focus would be on ensuring the plan was delivered upon. “The actions contained within the plan include refinancing, joint ventures and disposals of non-core assets where appropriate.”

Turnover for Ballymore Properties and its subsidiaries was £114.6 million in the 2010 financial year, including joint ventures. The equivalent figure the previous year was £269.7 million.

The accounts state that since the balance sheet date, the group has successfully renewed £110.4 million in bank facilities falling due before March 2011.

Figures in the accounts show the fall in turnover came largely from the fall in sales of properties and construction income. All turnover is located in the UK.

During the year, the group employed 285 people, down from 319 the previous year, at a cost of £15.58 million. Directors’ remuneration was £566,000, less than half of the previous year’s figure.

Mr Mulryan bought 15 apartments at the group’s New Providence Wharf development in London in the previous financial year. The total consideration was £6.34 million, according to the accounts.

The accounts state the company owns 75 per cent of Vitely Ltd, which owns a property with a value of £27.9 million. Vitely owns a company that is under the control of developer Paddy Kelly.