Ballymore Czechs out of Savarin scheme in Prague

Speaking of Clerys, aside from D2’s Deirdre Foley, the main investor in the controversial buyout is Cheyne Capital Management, a UK firm.

A Cheyne-backed company is also on the verge of doing a deal with Sean Mulryan’s National Asset Management Agency-backed Ballymore Group in the Czech Republic, according to an avalanche of local reports.

Ballymore had planned to develop a major scheme known as Savarin, comprising offices and retail units, on land and buildings it had acquired around historic Wenceslas Square in Prague – in an area reportedly commanding some of the highest retail rents in the Czech Republic.

On market for some time

According to the local reports, the scheme has been on the market for some time as part of Ballymore’s workout agreement with Nama. Local estate agents valued the property up for sale at about €75 million.

An agreement has apparently just been struck to sell it to a Czech developer called Crestyl, whose backers include Cheyne and GE Real Estate.

Part of the original Ballymore plan included restoring a network of underground passageways linking the square with nearby parts of town. If the Cheyne-backed buyer revives this part of the plan, it might provide a perfect hideout from all those Clerys workers and concession holders furious at the handling of the closure of the Dublin department store.