LONDON and DUBLIN, September 27 /PRNewswire/ --     Ballymore, the leading international property development and
investment group, announces that it has acquired the site to develop Europe's
tallest residential building next to Manchester Piccadilly station.
Construction on the 60 storey building will start early next year.

Ballymore has taken a 95% interest in the Piccadilly Tower
project, a 1 million square feet (93,000 square m) mixed use development. In
addition to the Piccadilly Tower, there will be two lower buildings on the
site. The project has been designed by Woods Bagot architects. The project
was previously jointly owned by Merepark and M2Evolve which obtained detailed
planning approval. Merepark is exiting to concentrate on other schemes in the
region while M2Evolve will retain a 5% interest.

The Piccadilly Tower will have 430 residential units in phase
one. The second development phase will see a further 267 residential units
added and a luxury hotel. The site is beside the Ashton Canal Basin and will
have direct access to Manchester Piccadilly station.

Sean Mulryan, Chairman and Chief Executive of Ballymore said:

"The Piccadilly Tower is an important project and we are
delighted to have acquired a majority interest. Ballymore places enormous
emphasis on using state of the art architecture and technical excellence in
order to consistently develop our commercial, residential and mixed-use
properties to the highest possible standards. Designing and developing the
tallest residential tower in Europe will further underline our position as a
leading developer and trusted partner.

"Our focus remains on the regeneration of inner-city sites
close to good transport links and this canalside project is a perfect
example. Manchester is an international, dynamic and cosmopolitan City and a
development like this will be a great addition to both industry and the local
community. It is a great tribute to the vendors of the Piccadilly project
that they had the vision for this site and secured the land and the necessary
permissions."

Sir Howard Bernstein, Chief Executive of Manchester City
Council said:

"This is an important scheme for the City in general and,
especially, for the Piccadilly area in the heart of the City which is
transforming itself into an exciting destination quarter. We look forward to
a new relationship with Ballymore, a leading international developer, which
will bring longstanding benefit to the City."

About Ballymore

Ballymore is one of Europe's largest property developers and investors.
Its most significant interests are in the UK, Ireland and the countries of
Central and Eastern Europe. It currently has 58 major projects under
construction or in planning. The total built areas of its projects is over 4
million square metres (43 million square feet). It is a privately-owned
business with principal offices in London and Dublin.

For further information visit: http://www.ballymore.co.uk