From bust to boom, developer John Fleming is back building in Cork
Developer John Fleming, one of the most high-profile casualties of the property crash, is back building in Cork, 15 years after he successfully filed for bankruptcy in Britain with debts of about €1bn.The Bandon-born builder/developer, once ranked the 75th richest man in Ireland with an estimated fortune of about €140m, has purchased a number of sites in the Victoria Cross/Dennehy’s Cross area of the city with planning permission for almost 600 student-bed spaces.The return of Mr Fleming to his native Cork, where he oversaw multiple flagship developments such as the €90m Fota Island Hotel and Resort in the noughties, follows his acquisition of three sites from Bellmount Developments Ltd, whose directors are brothers Pádraig and Seamus Kelleher — members of the Kelleher family who ran a successful motor tyre network.Mr Fleming’s company, Furadino Developments (Cork) Ltd, is currently building a €17m multi-storey, 137-bed student accommodation complex called The Haven on the former Kelleher Tyres site, with bookings already being taken for the next academic year. 'The Haven' Student accommodation under construction at Victoria Cross Road, on the site of the former Kellehers' Tyres premises. Picture: Larry CumminsBellmount Developments had already secured planning permission for blocks of student accommodation on each of the three sites when it was purchased by the largely British-based developer last year.The parcels of land include:
A 0.14ha site formerly home to Kelleher Tyres on Victoria Cross Rd;
A nearby 0.22ha site, currently home to Kellehers Auto Centre, in Victoria Cross;
And a 0.29ha site, formerly home to Finbarr Galvin motor dealership, which sits between the other two sites.
Mr Fleming obtained a five-year extension to the planning grant last June for the Kelleher Tyres site, where planning had been due to lapse last August.Planning files show he had already spent close to €4m on the project when he applied for the extension. The files also state that Furadino intends to complete the 137-bed complex “by August, in readiness for the 2026[/2027] academic year”.A student rental management company has been taking bookings since last December.Furadino also owns the nearby Kellehers Auto Centre site, where the auto service business continues to trade. The site has full planning permission since 2021 for a 243-bed student complex. Kellehers Auto Centre at Victoria Cross Road, Cork.The third site, formerly home to the Finbarr Galvin motor dealership, has planning permission for a 206-bed student complex secured by Bellmount in September 2024.The former Finbarr Galvin motor showroom site is in the foreground but is not currently being developed. Picture: Larry Cummins No development has yet taken place on either of these two sites.Mr Fleming’s return to large-scale building projects in Cork follows a steady and impressive rebuilding of his career in Britain, where he was one of the early “bankruptcy tourists” in the wake of the 2008 property/financial crash.Britain’s bankruptcy regime offered a relatively brief discharge period (typically one year) and a swifter return to solvency, compared to stricter jurisdictions like pre-2012 Ireland (up to 12 years).John F Kerr, John Fleming, Bertie Pope, and Séamus O’Mahony at Inchydoney Island Hotel which Fleming Construction completed in 1998.After relocating to Britain in 2010, he filed for bankruptcy, amid debts of roughly €1bn across the wider Fleming group. Among the more notable liabilities was Tivway Ltd, which paid about €245m at the height of the property boom for an 11.3-acre development site in Sandyford, Dublin.Mr Fleming was discharged from bankruptcy a year later, having surrendered most personal assets, and emerged with the prospect of a fresh start — one he certainly hasn’t squandered.These days, his British business empire is positively booming and his companies have received multiple awards for excellence.Among his firms are Vision Modular Systems, one of Britain’s best-known modular building manufacturers, which produces prefabricated units used to build high-rise apartments, student housing, and hotels.He is also owner of London-based contractor Tide Construction, which specialises in large residential schemes that use modular construction.Linked to that is Tide Developments, the property development arm of the Tide Construction Group, with all three companies involved in major modular high rise residential projects in London and other British cities.Indeed, Mr Fleming’s companies have delivered several of the tallest modular residential buildings in Europe, among them the 50-storey Enclave co-living development on College Rd in Croydon, which featured on Grand Designs.Last year, the Enclave scheme — which delivered nearly 1,000 homes across two volumetric towers — won two prestigious honours at the International Property Awards 2025: Best high-rise residential development – London, and best residential high-rise development – UK.Other projects delivered by Mr Fleming’s companies include the Four Seasons Hotel at Ten Trinity Square, which involved converting the existing fabric of the former Port of London Authority headquarters, and adding volumetric units to enable it to become a 98-bed hotel and 38 high-end apartments.Four Seasons, Ten Trinity Square, London, redeveloped by Tide Construction, a UK company founded by John FlemingThe scale of activity is considerable. Tide Construction’s website says that, as of 2023, it had delivered 20,00 volumetric units, 10,000 student beds, and 3,500 homes with a real estate value of €3.5bn. The developer started producing modern methods of construction (MMC) buildings more than two decades ago in Ireland, before bringing the model to Britain 15 years ago.His companies work on behalf of some of the biggest investors in property, including Blackstone, Oaktree Capital Management, and Greystar.Mr Fleming, who started his first building firm in his 20s, in Bandon, in 1973, also has a shipping company called Furadino Shipping Ltd and owns the cargo ship MV Morning Tide.
