Re: Acquisition

McInerney Holdings PLC
21 May 2004



Friday, 21st May 2004

McINERNEY HOLDINGS plc
ACQUIRES ALEXANDER DEVELOPMENTS LTD
AS PLATFORM FOR FURTHER UK EXPANSION


McInerney Holdings plc ('McInerney' or 'the Group') is pleased to announce that it has acquired 100% of the share 
capital of Alexander Developments (North East) Limited ('Alexander' or 'the Company') with immediate effect.

Alexander Developments was founded in the mid 1980s by its Chief Executive Alex Chaytor and has an established 
reputation as a leading independent house builder in the North East of England.  The Company is based in the Sedgefield 
area of North-East England and operates within an area bounded by Newcastle, Sunderland and Middlesborough with a 
population catchment of over 2 million. Its operations are mainly focused in the key regional commuter towns within this
region.

McInerney's strategy in the UK market is to secure earnings growth both organically and through acquisition. The 
acquisition of Alexander is a further step towards achieving the Group's ambition to grow its UK operations to a scale 
and size similar to McInerney's Irish home building division. A progressive management team is in place at Alexander, 
with experience and vision that will benefit further from McInerney's involvement. The North East of England is 
experiencing strong construction demand with particularly strong growth in the private residential home market. 
Alexander is well positioned to take advantage of this growth under McInerney's ownership.



Barry O'Connor, Managing Director, McInerney Holdings plc commenting today said:
'This acquisition is a significant step forward in our plans to expand our UK
operations. Alexander provides the Group with access to new markets in the North
East of England that will complement our building activities in the North West
of England.  It is a foothold in a new geographic territory with a population of
some 2 million people. The Company represents an excellent corporate and
cultural fit with our existing business. McInerney now has a strong regional
presence in the North of England and this acquisition along with continued
organic growth activities provides a strong platform for the Group to take best
advantage of a buoyant housing market demand in the UK.'

Consideration
The total consideration for the acquisition is £8.75 million (€13.0m) which is payable as follows:

(S)         An initial consideration of £6.25 million (€9.3m) payable in cash at completion
[DEL:(S)         :DEL]Additional earn-out consideration up to a maximum of £2.5million (€3.7m) may become payable by 
McInerney depending on the profit before interest and tax (PBIT) achieved by Alexander in the three year period ending 
30 June 2007. [DEL::DEL]





/.....

-2-

Business
Alexander is an established regional house builder that completed 85 units in the year to 30 June 2003. For the year 
ending 30 June 2004 it is targeting 96 completions. The Company specialises in building quality houses, mainly detached,
based on customers' individual requirements in line with the potential of the land. The Company has a land bank 
sufficient to cover over two years of unit output at current annual building levels. Its key areas of activity are in 
the commuter towns adjacent to large urban centres where demand for out of city locations is favourable.

Results
The Company reported a profit before tax of £0.5 million (€0.7m) for the year ended 30 June 2003. Based on unaudited 
management accounts for the nine month period ended 31 March 2004, the Company generated a profit before tax of £1.0m 
(€1.5m) for the nine months. Net assets at 30 June 2003 were £1.0 million (€1.5m). Based on unaudited management 
accounts for the nine month period ended 31 March 2004, net assets at 31 March 2004 were £1.6m (€2.4m).




                                      ENDS



FOR INFORMATION:

Siobhan Molloy                        Tel: [phone] or (086) 817 50 66

Weber Shandwick FCC



About McInerney Holdings plc

McInerney Holdings plc is one of Ireland's leading development companies, with
divisions specialising in various aspects of the construction market. McInerney
Holdings plc comprises four divisions operating in Ireland, Spain and the United
Kingdom. Established in 1909, the Group is Ireland's largest national
homebuilder, and also undertakes extensive commercial and leisure projects both
in Ireland and abroad. The company is listed on the Dublin and London Stock
Exchanges (ISE: MCI.I/LSE: MCI).



This announcement has been issued through the Companies Announcement Service of
The Irish Stock Exchange


                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange