Chartered Land
November 2007

Deeny’s background lies in commercial property development, which he has been involved in since the end of the 1980s, working on large retail schemes primarily in Northern Ireland, but also in England and Scotland. This background has ideally positioned him as the driving force in delivering major projects for Chartered Land.

“My most pressing priority right now,” says Deeny, “is to build a team of experienced people with the necessary skills. It is a difficult job but the quality of the schemes that we are involved in is a big attraction; the people that I am talking to are much like myself, they are primarily interested in the quality of the product — there is a certain kudos in working on projects such as ours. This is a factor that is making my job a lot easier.”

This ‘kudos’ is epitomised by such landmark developments as South King Street in Dublin, a €100M development that comprises a five-storey-over-basement 86,703sq ft block of luxury office suites and retail, with international fashion retailers Zara and H&M amongst its high-profile tenants; the €60M refurbishment of Dublin’s ILAC Centre, a joint project with Irish Life Assurance Plc, and Grand Canal Square in the heart of Dublin's Docklands, a development that includes a new square designed by Martha Schwartz and a diamond-shaped, West End-style 2,000-seat theatre. Designed by Daniel Libeskind, the theatre will be complemented by 325,000sq ft of prime commercial office space.

“We are also on site with Pavilions Phase 2, a 65,000sq ft retail expansion of the Pavilions Centre, bought by Chartered Land in 2006,” says Deeny. The centre will now total some 380,000sq ft of retail space and Phase 3 plans, which the company is presently working on, will bring the scheme up to over one million square feet.

Chartered Land is also developing a six-acre mixed-use development off O’Connell Street in Dublin, where it proposes a major regeneration of the area, comprising of just over 750,000sq ft of retail, restaurants, residential and a major tourist attraction, details of which are yet to be announced. With so much happening in and around Dublin, does Deeny hope to enter any new markets in the near future?
“We are certainly interested in expansion,” he replies. “We will be looking at the UK and Europe for new product going forward. We would be very comfortable, given the team’s experience, looking into the UK market; Europe will require close scrutiny — like all new markets, it would probably be better for us to enter on a joint venture basis with a local operator.

For the full article please see the RLI Nov 2007 issue

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