What a difference a few years make. From the dizzy heights of the Celtic Tiger era when it led the charge for new development, to the doldrums of the Celtic Tiger bust when it found itself slugging it out with Nama, Ballymore emerged again last week at the top of its game.
The Irish building company owned by Sean Mulryan scooped the honours at the RESI industry awards in London when it won Large Developer of the Year – the first time an Irish company had won this category – and Best Development for its impressive Royal Wharf scheme developed in association with Oxley Holdings.
Mulryan himself took the top award of the evening when he was presented with Personality of the Year. The judges commended Mulryan’s “visionary leadership, passion for quality and commitment to design excellence”. Ballymore, which currently has 3,400 homes under construction in London, has secured forward funding for another 2,800 homes in the city.
Its Royal Wharf scheme, due to complete in 2020, will comprise almost 3,500 homes. The judges awarded the development’s Georgian-influenced design style and contribution to wider placemaking in an area which is set to be revitalised in the coming years. Ballymore’s funding model relied heavily on the Irish banks prior to the property collapse, and its latest recovery has been funded via its partnership with Malaysian backed Eco World Investments to the tune of €2.8 billion.
