Quinlan Private (´QP´), the leading international property and
private equity investment group, today announced that it will form a
50/50 joint-venture partnership with Hungarian real estate development
company, SCD Group (´SCD´), to lead a significant real-estate
development programme at Lake Balaton in Hungary.
The investment programme, which is valued at approximately EUR 450
million, will be led by SCD and QP´s development arm in Central and
Eastern Europe, Quinlan Private Golub (´QPG´)
Lake Balaton Development
Lake Balaton is located in the western half of Hungary, south-west
of Budapest, and is Europe´s largest lake. The lake is a popular
tourist destination and SCD has identified a unique development
opportunity for significant tourism related and residential properties
on Lake Balaton.
QPG and SCD will develop a 178 hectare landbank around the lake.
This landbank comprises 21 separate development sites and the
investment programme will primarily focus on developing hotels,
leisure parks and other tourism related and residential properties.
The entire investment programme is expected to take 7 years and will
commence in 2008.
Mr Gellert Jaszai, SCD Chairman, commented, "In January 2007, we
identified the need to bring on board a significant joint-venture
partner to lead the Lake Balaton project with SCD. We are delighted
today to announce our partnership with Quinlan Private and their
development arm, Quinlan Private Golub. These two partners provide us
with internationally renowned investment and development expertise and
we are excited about working with them to bring the Lake Balaton
project to market."
He added, "Both Quinlan Private and Quinlan Private Golub have
unparalleled expertise in the tourism and hospitality sectors. Their
assets include the Gresham Palace in Budapest, the Four Seasons and
Yasmin Hotels in Prague, the Maybourne Hotel Group in London, 47 four
and five-star Marriott hotels in the UK and the Jurys Inns chain in
Ireland and the UK. Their expertise will build on the skill-set and
reputation that SCD has developed over the past seven years as one of
the leading real estate development and tourism companies in Hungary."
Thomas Dowd, Partner, Quinlan Private commented, "We are pleased
to announce our joint-venture agreement with SCD Group who have
rapidly established themselves as one of the leading real estate
development firms in Hungary. QP has strong track record of delivering
superior returns and we believe that this project will again deliver
an attractive return for our investor group."
Peter Donnelly, Partner, Quinlan Private concluded, "We have,
through Quinlan Private Golub, an unparalleled footprint in the fast
growing markets of Central and Eastern Europe. We continue to enhance
our presence in the region and are excited about working with SCD
Group on this unique development."
About Quinlan Private
Quinlan Private is a leading international private equity and real
estate group. Quinlan Private acts as a principal and advisor in
originating, structuring, financing, developing and managing a
diversified portfolio of assets. It has effective distribution
capacity and partners with major international banking groups to place
private equity in real estate investments. Total assets under
management exceed EUR 11.5 billion in Ireland, the UK, Western,
Central and Eastern Europe and the US. These assets include hotels,
shopping centres, commercial office blocks, residential developments
and others. Quinlan Private has principal offices in Dublin, New York
and London as well as in Central and Eastern Europe.
About Quinlan Private Golub
Quinlan Private Golub is one of the leading real estate developers
active in Central and Eastern Europe. The company is the full-service
development arm of Quinlan Private. Quinlan Private Golub acts as a
principal and advisor in originating, structuring, financing,
developing and managing a diversified portfolio of assets. QPG has a
track record of successfully identifying and developing investment
opportunities in the CEE region, particularly in the office, retail,
mixed-use and residential sectors, and a reputation for high quality
projects, which include the prestigious office buildings Warsaw
Financial Center, IBC I & II, and Charles Square Center, shopping
centres Forum in Gliwice and Mall of Sofia, and residential
developments Sunny Hill in Prague and Oakland Park near Warsaw. The
company has completed numerous prestigious projects in the CEE region
and is currently developing, managing or leasing real estate with a
total area of over 2.2 million m2.
About SCD Group
Founded in 2000, SCD Group is one of the leading real estate
development and tourism companies in Hungary. To date, SCD Group has
developed a total of 181,500 sqm of residential, commercial and
leisure properties with a total investment value of EUR 210 million.
Developing three four-star wellness hotels and the largest aquapark,
in the past 4 years SCD Group has become the leading hospitality
development company in Hungary. SCD Group incorporates a total of 24
affiliated companies with more than 1,200 employees.