Sean Mulryan

Sean Mulryan was born in September 1954,[5] the son of John and Josephine Mulryan.[1] He grew up in rural poverty in the village of Oran, near Castlerea, Co Roscommon,[1][6] in the west of Ireland, in a farming family with seven children.[7]

Mulryan left school at the age of 17, and trained as a bricklayer. Aged 19, he bought his first plot of land.[7] At 26 he set up his own company and shortly afterwards founded Ballymore, which is now considered one Europe's biggest property developers.[8]

Ballymore Group was founded in 1982 by Mulryan, then aged 28, who is the chairman.

Ballymore has become one of the biggest providers of residential space in London.[9] In 2017, it was reported that the previous year's profits at the UK arm of Ballymore had increased almost three-fold to £154.9m (€217.6m).[10] In December 2016, Mulryan announced that the Ballymore Group had exited Nama. In addition, he said Ballymore had paid back “significant borrowings” to RBS, KBC and other institutions.[11]

In 2019, published accounts for one of the group’s key UK-registered companies, Ballymore Properties Ltd, show it earned profits of £176.3 million in the 12 months ended March 31, 2018. Ballymore Properties Ltd had net assets of £54 million on March 31, 2018, compared to a £121 million deficit 12 months earlier.[12]

Ballymore Group works on large-scale projects in London and across Europe, with a particular focus on urban regeneration. In 2016, it was reported that Oran native Sean Mulryan launched the latest development in Dublin, which is a €700 million development in the docklands.[13] The 'Dublin Landings' waterfront regeneration project includes office, residential and retail/leisure accommodation. In 2020, Ballymore was approved to build a large mixed-use scheme on 2.8 hectares at Dublin’s Connolly Station in Dublin’s IFSC.[14]

Several members of the Mulryan family have been involved in Ballymore. John Mulryan is a son of Sean Mulryan and is Group Managing Director at Ballymore, meanwhile, Sean's brother Donal Mulryan used to work for Ballymore before starting his own development company, West Properties, which owns various developments in the UK, including Skyline Central, the tallest apartment complex in Manchester.[15][16]

As of 2012, he is one of the richest men in Ireland.[7] According to London's The Evening Standard, Mulryan owns more land in London than the Duke of Westminster.[7]

On 16 February 2012, Wandsworth Council approved Ballymore Group's plans for the 15 acre development in Nine Elms. Embassy Gardens is set to provide "up to 1,982 new homes alongside shops, cafes, bars, restaurants, business space, a 100 bed hotel, a health centre, children's playgrounds and sports pitches".[17] In 2014, it was reported that Mulryan had engaged Lazard and CBRE Group to raise about €2.5bn to fund the Embassy Gardens development.[18]

At the time of its launch, former Mayor of London Boris Johnson described the Embassy Gardens project as “possibly the most important regeneration story in London and in the UK over the next 20 years”. In 2018, the Embassy of the United States, London relocated from Grosvenor Square to Embassy Gardens. The land on which the new embassy stands was sold to the US government by the Ballymore Group after a deal was reached in 2008.[19]

Outside of his work with Ballymore, Mulryan is set to join the board of the Ireland West Airport Knock in 2017.[20] Knock confirmed the appointment in May 2017, along with two other new Directors. The airport is considered key for regional development and it expects to handle around 750,000 passengers in 2017, making it its busiest year.[21]

Mulryan and his wife Bernadine live at the Ardenode Stud, County Kildare, with five children. They are very active in horse racing and own "somewhere between 50 and 100" racehorses, trained in Ireland and France.[1][6] Among his top horses was Forget the Past, which was a multiple winner at the highest level over jumps and trained by Michael O’Brien, who handled a number of Mulryan-owned horses. He also owned flat horses, including Thewayyouare, which was once considered to be a strong contender for The Derby.[22] In 2017, Mulryan's Ballymore Properties sponsored the headline race on the last day of the Punchestown National Hunt Festival. Worth over €100,000, the Ballymore Handicap Hurdle is run over two and a half miles and is one of the most hotly contested races of the festival.[23]

His friends include the athlete and politician Seb Coe and Bono, the singer in the Irish pop group U2. Debbie Harry, of the pop group Blondie sang at his 50th birthday party.[1]