Glenkerrin turns €3m profit as loan-scheme watchdog report due
Property developer Ray Grehan's Glenkerrin Homes turned in a net profit of €3.1m last year on sales of €62.3m.
The company hit the headlines early last month when it tried to jump-start the moribund housing market by offering buyers an interest-free loan for seven years on 15pc of the value of new houses it is selling.
The Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan has subsequently asked the Financial Regulator to examine the regulatory and legal implications of the scheme, as well as a similar offer from developer Bernard McNamara's firm Radora.
Mr Grehan's offer applies to about 150 homes in three developments in Dublin. It effectively equates to a €60,000 deposit on a €400,000 house at a time when banks are demanding up to 20pc of the price of homes in cash from borrowers.
Glenkerrin's turnover jumped 51pc last year from the €41.2m recorded in 2006, while net profit soared 130pc to €3.14m, despite interest charges rising six-fold to €6m.
The group, founded 20 years ago, saw its net debt mountain balloon 161pc to €155.23m from €59.4m at the end of 2006. Net assets edged up €37.5m from €33.2m.
Staff numbers at the group, which completes about 300 houses a year, rose to 132 people from 106 the previous year. Staff costs, including directors' salaries and pension costs, rose to €8.1m from €6.4m.
Mr Grehan struck a sanguine note when quoted in a 'Washington Post' article over the weekend on Ireland's current property and broader economic woes. He said: "The property business has been cyclical since Adam was a boy. You have to expect ups and downs. But the up always comes."
It is believed that other Irish developers are waiting for the outcome of the Financial Regulator's probe of Mr Grehan's and Mr McNamara's schemes with a view to following suit.
- Joe Brennan
