The sale and leaseback scheme is just five minutes from the airport at Roissyen-France. Charles de Gaulle is Europe's second busiest airport and the apartments are designed so that business travellers can use them for both residential use as well as an office suite.

The four-star development consists of 121 apartments set over six storeys with two underground parking levels.

They are fitted out to luxurious standards. On-site facilities include 24-hour reception, lounge, bar, business and "tness centre which will enable residents to meet business clients in what France First managing director, Peter Woods, describes as a prestigious and very accessible setting.

The leaseback agents are Maisons de Biarritz, a leading French developer and letting agency which for the past 10 years has provided secure, high yield packages for investors.

This development consists of one- and two-bed units from 36sq m to 73sq m which are priced from 174,600 to 365,300. They have a 5% guaranteed income for 11 years. All units come with their own parking.

Peter Woods says the lease is renewable after 11 years but if you decide to sell then, you must refund ninetwentieths of the VAT. The full VAT refund provided under the sale and leaseback scheme run by the French government is only available if you hold onto the property for 20 years. Capital appreciation in the Paris area was 9.1% last year and has averaged at 11.7% a year over the past five years.

The units are laid out to cater for the business tourism market, says Woods.

The living space is multipurpose so that it can be arranged according to need.

The centre of Paris is a half-hour away, while there is a TGV station five minutes from the building.

Approximately 51 million passengers pass through Charles de Gaulle airport every year, but the real market here is the fact that there are 1,000 companies employing over 75,000 people in the airport business park zone.

"A lot of these are international companies who would bring executives over for short periods of time from a matter of days to a couple of months, so these apartments are designed to cater for them, " says Woods.

They are launching in the Burlington Hotel, Dublin on 21 and 22 January; in the Prince of Wales Hotel, Athlone on 24 January; the Radisson Galway on 25 and 26 January and in Cork on 28 and 29 January France First: 01 6694777 www. francefirst. ie