Bloodstock magnates and Manchester United shareholders Mr John Magnier and Mr JP McManus have emerged as backers of the latest Irish property coup in London. It is understood that both men are behind last week's €250 million purchase of the Unilever Building in the UK capital. Barry O'Halloran reports.
Limerick-based Sloane Capital, headed by Mr Aidan Brooks, completed the deal last week. He reportedly beat off competition from British Land, German giant CGI Deutsche Bank and the Royal Bank of Scotland.
Mr Magnier, who is master of Coolmore Stud in Co Tipperary, and Mr McManus, whose main activity is currency speculation but who is best-known for his ownership of high-profile national hunt racehorses, have emerged as the main backers of the deal. Mr McManus is based in Geneva, but like Mr Brooks is originally from Limerick. Sources suggested yesterday that this may have led to the trio's business relationship.
Mr Magnier and Mr McManus are also the shareholders in Cubic Expression, which owns 29 per cent of Manchester United plc, the company that owns the lucrative English Premiership football club.
Unilever, the Anglo-Dutch group behind a range of well-known household and food brands like Persil and Cif detergents, Flora, Lipton Teas and Walls Ice Cream, has agreed a sale and lease agreement with the Irish purchasers. Under its terms, Unilever will take a 25-year lease on the property with set annual rent increases. It is estimated that it will initially yield about 5.75 per cent to the new investors.
The building itself is located at Blackfriars on the Embankment in central London. It is an art deco structure, and is considered to be of architectural importance. It has grade two listed status, which means inter alia that the facade has to be preserved.
The two Irishmen have a number of business interests in the UK. Their other large investment is residential nursing home group Barchester.
This is their first reported major property venture in the UK, but it is one of a string of such deals done by Irish people in both Britain and Europe during the year.
A consortium of Irish investors led by the Quinlan Partnership, bought the Savoy Hotel Group in London for €1.13 billion last April. Quinlan Partnership is led by accountant and tax adviser Mr Derek Quinlan who was one of the investors. None of the others has been named.
The Savoy Group is one of Britain's best-known hotel businesses. The chain includes the Savoy itself, as well as the Berkeley, Connaught and Claridge's, all in central London.
In January, the Seán Quinn-controlled Quinn Group announced that it had bought the Prague Hilton for €145 million. At the time it was the biggest property deal ever done in the eastern European country.
Unilever's Irish chief executive, Mr Niall Fitzgerald, is on the verge of stepping down from the group and taking up the chairmanship of Reuters.
