Tycoon buys NYC building

A YOUNG Limerick property tycoon has joined forces with JP McManus to buy a Manhattan property which houses one of New York’s most fashionable stores, in a deal worth $80 million (€62m) deal.

Aidan Brooks from Red House Hill, Patrickswell, along with McManus and John Magnier, have purchased a New York building which houses Ralph Lauren’s flagship US store.

Brooks, who is in his 30s, has a property portfolio in Limerick, London and New York.

Sloane Capital Group, a company controlled by Brooks, McManus and Magnier, yesterday finalised a deal to buy one of Manhattan’s architectural landmarks. An agreement was struck to purchase the Rhinelander Mansion for a price close to $80m.

The mansion’s current owner is an American company, TMW Property Funds USA. The deal is expected to close later this week.

The building is located on Madison Avenue and 72nd Street.

Brooks’ Limerick properties include the Howleys Quay complex. He is also completing a development on a city centre site which includes the old Royal George Hotel. He and his Finnish-born wife live mostly abroad.

When they got married three years ago he chartered a plane to fly guests to Finland for the wedding.

Mr Brooks travelled to the US in recent days to finalise the deal.

The Rhinelander Mansion was designed by Kimball & Thompson in the 1890s.

The woman who had asked for it to be built fell into debt during its construction; it was never lived in. The mansion fell into disrepair over the decades.

But it got a new lease of life when Ralph Lauren launched a massive renovation project in the 1980s. The store opened in 1986.

John Magnier has made a fortune through bloodstock, in part because of Ireland’s generous tax laws for stud farms. The secretive Magnier owns the Coolmore Stud in Co Tipperary and is thought to be worth more than $370m (€288m).

JP McManus is a legendary gambler and racehorse owner. His fortune is similar to Magnier’s in size.

The two men also have a significant shareholding in Manchester United.