On the face of it, it would appear that the first developer business plans will be due at NAMA within the next week. It is odd that although NAMA, through the NTMA, have issued an invitation to tender document for an outside company for the “provision of advisory services in connect with the review and evaluation of Borrowers’ Business Plans to the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA)” no firm or firms appear to have been appointed yet. As reported last week the Construction Employers Federation in the North has urged its members to develop plans promptly and not bury their heads. It is to be hoped that CIF is urging its members along similar lines as there is a pot of up to €5bn available for economically sound developments, and this €5bn may be the tip of the iceberg if public-private money is added to the pot and if NAMA pursues a role of marrying investors with distressed developers as it indicated at the Oireachtas last week.
The issue of business plans comes into focus with a speculative article in today’s Irish Times which examines the future of a site in Cherrywood where the lead owner is Dunloe Ewart in which the developer Liam Carroll is claimed to hold interests. The article cites a government spokesman suggesting that the site may be transferred to NAMA and that it may become a top priority for development What might make this controversial is that the site competes with a planned development at neighbouring Carrickmines. Also of interest is that the government might even at this stage when only 1/15th of the NAMA loans have been transferred, be talking about top priorities. Lastly it is interesting that the government appear to be taking for granted that the site will end up with NAMA, remembering that the draft NAMA business plan predicted that 80% of loans would be repaid with the assumption that in those cases NAMA would not be handling the assets.
Expect to hear a lot more about developers’ business plans in the coming days.
NAMA Wine Lake 