France/from €151,000: A new apartment complex on the Côte d'Azur in the south of France is promising investors a guaranteed four per cent return. The development, Cannes Rivage, comprises studio and one and two-bedroom apartments close to the beach a few kilometres away from Cannes.

The 36 new and refurbished apartments are on an island site in Mandelieu in the heart of the French Riviera. The development is surrounded by gardens and has a swimming-pool.

The development also has private mooring for a boat. It is being developed to four-star French Residence de Tourisme standards and will be leased back from the owners on completion for 11 years.

The commercial leases provide a fixed annual rental yield of four per cent guaranteed by the tenant company and index linked for the period.

Prices net of VAT range from €151,000 to €375,000 for the three apartment types. All units come fully furnished with air conditioning and a car-parking space.

Mandelieu has marinas, beaches, a large harbour and two golf courses. Cannes Rivage is about a kilometre from the beach.

Sherry FitzGerald and World Homes and Investments are joint agents for the development here, according to Mr Philip Sherry, who described it as "an exciting opportunity for Irish investors to get exposure to one of Europe's prime markets at attractive prices with strong capital growth potential". The company has already privately placed a similar development in Eze, currently under construction through the same developer.

Each purchaser will receive a service which covers the legal and financial aspects of the purchase and buyers may also avail of a one-to-one tax consultation with Grant Thornton Chartered Accountants on the tax considerations that apply to investment in French property.