BUSINESSMAN Denis O’Brien is seldom out of the news these days. Though the recession continues to be deeply felt in most of Spain’s holiday destinations, one of O’Brien’s companies has hit the jackpot with the launch of newly built holiday homes at his Catalunya golf resort near Girona.

With a third showhouse just completed, the sales campaign has already yielded 14 sales, eight reservations and a further 15 contracts under negotiation.

The most recently built villa, at €625,000 was bought by an Irish investor Joe Thomas who describes himself as “an avid sun worshipper, golfer, skier and football mad”. For golfers reluctant to spend that kind of money, the club also has apartments from €325,000.

However, the main interest is in sites along the fairways, particularly those overlooking the two golf courses. Sites for villas start at €325,000 but the bigger plots, of around half an acre, will cost considerably more. The plan is to have around 350 homes on the 741-acre estate. Promoters expect most overseas buyers are likely to come from Scandinavia, the UK and Ireland.

One of the two golf courses, The Stadium, has been rated among the top 100 European courses by Golf World, having hosted 11 European tour championships including the 2009 Spanish Open.

O’Brien’s golf interests also extend to Portugal where he operates the Quinta do Lago resort on the Algarve and the Kungsangen in Stockholm.