Agri-sector gets dirt rich with property deals
Certainly, the development climate in Ireland has put a new focus on the land banks held by various players in the food sector.
Fruit importer Fyffes has gone one better and set up a separate property development group called Blackrock International.
Already, it has spent over €13 million on investments, and, for seven weeks, returned a rental income of over €700,000. For others who have property banks, the line of approach has been different.
Greencore has outlined a €1.5bn development plan on the site of its former Carlow Sugar factory that will transform the future of the town, while it has also set out a plan for Mallow the last of its sugar plants, closed last year amid bitter recriminations.
IAWS Plc is sitting on a land bank, close to Cork city centre that’s worth an estimated €200m, and which is likely to be snapped up by developers.
IAWS is sitting tight on that land bank and Owen Killian has remarked ruefully that it sold the Boland’s Mill site in Dublin far too cheaply some years ago.
He is in no hurry and can bide his time until the various bodies in Cork come up with a master plan for the site.
Greencore has been pressed into service on the property front by property developer Liam Carroll’s swoop on the group.
He snapped up Dermot Desmond’s stake in the group for €170m last year.
David Dilger, Greencore’s chief executive, would probably have preferred less pressure on the property front, but with Carroll breathing down his neck, the plans for Carlow and Mallow will be quicker than they might have wished.
Dairygold and Glanbia are also smitten, and Glanbia says it expects to see an income stream of €6m a year from its property developments when they start to deliver.
Green energy and waste management group One51 has added to the property intrigue in recent weeks by acquiring a 5% stake in ICG, which runs car ferries and delivers the bulk of our exports by sea, and which has valuable land in Dublin docks.
That could be developed if ICG was moved to the port at Greenore, Co Louth. One51 has a 50% stake in that facility along with Dublin Port.
Already a €25m development is undeway there.
Greenore could house ICG’s operations very adequately and free up the valuable site closer to Dublin for property development — if One51 can leverage a deal with ICG.
It is far form clear, however, what Mr Lynch’s intentions are in relation to Irish Continental Group.
Since then, it has emerged that the Cork shipping firm, Doyle Group, bought 3% of ICG.
Investors in One51 have become increasingly intrigued as to Lynch’s game plan for the group.
After the formation of One51 from IAWS Co-op, the intention was to float the group with strong wind energy and waste management divisions.
Speculation has it, however, that Mr Lynch is more interested in the 30 acre land bank owned by ICG at Dublin port.
No one is quite clear where Lynch or the Doyle brothers are going with their stakes in ICG, but, in the last 12 months, Lynch in particular has given investors and the markets plenty to chew on.
His track record has been second to none in terms of delivering value to farmers, including his phenomenal earlier success with IAWS Plc.
He seems set to deliver another bonanza for investors in One51, but since it mopped up 26% of NTR he has had the markets intrigued.
