Ballymore takes first prize at London award ceremony

Hot on the heels of winning Large Developer of the Year at the Resi Awards, Ballymore has been heralded as Property Developer of the Year at the inaugural Evening Standard Business Awards last night (Thursday, June 30) for projects which “add to the quality of life in the capital and make it a better place to live.” The judges chose Ballymore over six national rivals in a year in which the property developer is heavily involved in some of the most ambitious urban regeneration schemes in London, most notably Embassy Gardens in Nine Elms, London City Island, Royal Wharf in the Royal Docks and Wardian in Canary Wharf. The accolade comes hot on the heels of Ballymore winning the award for Large Developer of the Year at the prestigious Resi Awards 2016 just last month. John Mulryan, Ballymore UK MD, commented: “This award is a real triumph for Ballymore and we are thrilled with the result. It’s a big year for Ballymore, following a complete rebrand of the company and with number of very exciting projects in development. Our schemes at London City Island and Royal Wharf will welcome their first residents later this year and Embassy Gardens is quickly becoming a true destination to live, work and play. This awards recognises our commitment to placemaking and we will continue to deliver places that people want to be” At the ES Business Award, special praise was given to London City Island, a 12-acre residential development of 1,700 properties under construction on the Leamouth Peninsula in east London, where Ballymore has vowed to “bring the arts to a new audience” by creating a number of dedicated performance spaces, including one for English National Ballet. John Mulryan added: “It is really important to us that our developments are not just residential and there is a lot on offer to those who live there and in the surrounding area. We would like City Island to become a cultural hub that can contribute to the London arts scene — especially now that we will host English National Ballet from 2018. That will help us really put the island on the cultural map.” Ballymore beat rivals Taylor Wimpey, Almacantar, Land Securities, Berkeley Homes, Crown Estate and Lendlease to take the award at a high-profile awards dinner at Tobacco Dock. John Mulryan was presented with the award on the winners’ podium where he was joined by easyjet boss Dame Carolyn McCall, who won Personality of the Year, Jo Malone, Entrepreneur of the Year, Lloyds Banking Group, for Financial Services Business of the Year and online takeaway group, Deliveroo, who won Tech Company of the Year. Photo credit: Nigel Howard / London Evening Standard