Brothers buy up ‘distressed’ properties

Date Published: 22-Nov-2012

BY ENDA CUNNINGHAM

Former Galway billionaire brothers Luke and Brian Comer have gone on a multi-million euro spending spree in the city, buying up to 100 properties at knock-down prices, the Galway City Tribune understands.

It’s believed the brothers have been using their Leixlip-based property investment vehicle Grundy Property Company to make the purchases in Knocknacarra and on the east side of the city.

They have already purchased Kingston Hall in Knocknacarra, a development of more than 30 luxury apartments, and a number of commercial units opposite Joyce’s Supermarket.

That development was launched in 2008 by the previous owners – Michael Burke of Burkeway Construction, city councillor and solicitor Peter Keane and Terry Fahy of Yeats College – but failed to sell because of the collapse of the property market.

Bank of Scotland (Ireland) is understood to have provided the finance for the development and ‘green-lighted’ the sale for an undisclosed sum at the end of last year to the Comers.

Since then, it’s understood the Comers have been working closely with the bank – which has pulled out of the Irish market – to buy up tranches of distressed properties held by developers and investors, which are secured against non-performing loans.

The family is believed to have bought other properties around Knocknacarra, as well as apartments in Doughiska.

The Kingston Hall development is understood to have been their first purchase in the Irish market in 27 years – at the same time, they purchased properties in Kildare.

At the time, the brothers – whose assets were once valued at €1.5 billion – were busy offloading their German property portfolio in order the fund the purchases in Ireland.

They signalled their intention to buy up to 1,000 properties – mainly apartments – from the National Asset Management Agency. Bank of Scotland (Ireland) is not involved in the NAMA bailout.

The Comer brothers are probably most famous for an attempt in 2005 to buy Aston Villa football club for €100m.

For more on this story, see the Galway City Tribune.