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THE CORKMAN AT GALLIARD’S HELM
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or a self-confessed avid follower of politics in these islands and across the Atlantic, the office of Donagh O’Sullivan, CEO of Galliard Homes, has an apt setting, on the edge of Westminster in the heart of London and just around the corner from the home of Channel 4 television. The 50-year-old Corkman, who grew up in Cullen, near Millstreet, was one of seven sons of parents who owned a petrol station and bus- hire company in the village. A graduate of UCC, he has lived in the English capital for 28 years and now runs what is the second largest residential developer in the city, with FTSE-listed Berkeley Group ranking number one. With a staff of 650 and employing up to 8,000 indirectly at any one time, Galliard is majority owned by British businessman Stephen Conway and his family, with senior management, including O’Sullivan, sharing a stake. It has £3.8bn (€4.3bn) of developments under way - typically
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including up to a dozen 20 to 40-storey towers at any one time - and is the 17th largest home builder in the UK, but the ninth most profitable, so it punches above its weight. It’s a long way from when he joined the firm as a contracts manager in 2001, when it had only 25 employees, building 75 homes. Mostly focused on London and England’s south-east today, it also has projects under way in Birmingham, Edinburgh, Bristol, Exeter, Cornwall and Bath. Its bread and butter is apartment blocks aimed at investors - many of whom buy off-plan - and first time buyers. Some developments are mixed use, with a bit of commercial space. The firm is planning to do more on a build-to-rent basis, where the firm will retain ownership and have a rental income, he said. There are also two hotels at London landmarks under way. One is a serviced apartment style property at Tower Bridge. The second sees Galliard building
and owning the property, while hotel group Hyatt operates the five-star Great Scotland Yard at the original home of the Metropolitan Police in Whitehall, whose moniker was ‘The Yard.’ The model isn’t unusual. Galliard works with a lot of joint venture partners. The firm usually takes between a 20pc and 40pc stake - the latter being the average in each of its developments. “Our partners are a diverse group; from individual wealthy people, landowners, funds, banks and other developers. We’re very flexible, and the growth of the business has been driven by this way of working,” said O’Sullivan. “Investors who make money in the time that their apartment takes to build usually two to two-and-a-half years - will often return to buy from us again.” Several construction partners are Irishowned, including Toureen, Modebest, JRL Group and the largest, O’Shea, with which Galliard frequently partners, and which has over £1.75bn of developments under way in London.
