Two more prominent Johnny Ronan properties brought to the market by receivers

The latest two include a development site in Dublin city and another in the Bray-Enniskerry area of Wicklow. They are being offered by receivers Declan McDonald and Ken Tyrrell of PWC.

Property consultancy CBRE is guiding €2.75m for each site. One is located on the corner of Appian Way and Leeson St in Dublin 4, and the other overlooks the M11 with access from Enniskerry Road, near Bray.

Yesterday receivers at Grant Thornton brought a further 11 Ronan commercial and residential properties – including Bewley’s on Dublin’s Grafton Street – to the market with an overall guide price of €150m.

Today's News in 90 seconds - 18th April 2024

Last month, PWC receivers offered a Ronan house at 65 Fitzwilliam Square, Dublin 2, for sale and agents Savills are guiding €2.85m for it.

The two further properties are part of a different receivership process, this one involving Fortress Investments Group, a junior lender to the Ronan Group on a portfolio of high-value assets. RGRE declined to comment yesterday.

In 2018, Mr Ronan was refused planning permission for a €50m ‘sports’ hotel on the Enniskerry site known as St Valery’s, which would have been a 141-bedroom four-storey over-basement hotel targeting sports tourism with a bias towards one of Mr Ronan’s favourite activities, cycling.

The site now for sale extends to 12.4 acres just 2.5km from Enniskerry and 3km from Bray town centre. It includes St Valery’s house, a protected structure which was built in 1810 but which needs significant redevelopment. Zoning offers potential for existing residential, open space and tourism, with a portion of the site unzoned.

The second site at Appian Way, Dublin 4, extends to 0.23 acres. While Mr Ronan had applied for planning permission for an apartment development, the site does not currently have planning permission.

Darragh Deasy of CBRE points out that it has a positive planning history as permission had previously been granted in 2016 for 16 apartments in six storeys.

A feasibility study indicates potential for a seven-storey over-basement development providing 22 apartments.

Developers may be attracted by the absence of any obligation to provide a portion of units for Part V social and affordable homes.