The £150m, 770-unit complex, on the north bank of the Clyde river, is part of the city's harbour redevelopment plan, dubbed gh2o, and features five tower blocks, from 16 to 20 storeys in height, and an equal number of eightstorey linear blocks. The docklands scheme also includes plans for a concert hall, hotels, shops and a conference centre.

"We've sold 60 units in less than two weeks, and that's without any advertising, " says company sales director Seamus Nugent. "With word-ofmouth sales like that, we're now wondering whether to bother with an official launch."

The Glasgow Harbour scheme is one of three major developments being completed by Dandara, with the award-winning Lock in Manchester and the Spectrum building in Jersey proving equally successful.

The company has focused on Britain because, says Nugent, shortage of supply has led to a surge in the value of property prices in the UK, with an average of 11.3% a year being generated over the last 40 years. This, he believes, is the main factor behind a growing demand from Irish investors for a diversified portfolio.

"Property price returns are the closest you could get to a sure thing in terms of property investment over the past few years; more and more Irish investors are considering the UK."

At Glasgow harbour, some 122 units in the first 16-storey tower block and an adjacent linear block are now available for purchase. The build completion date for the first phase is summer 2007.

Prices start at £92,495 for a studio, from £146,000 for a one-bed and from £159,950 for a two-bed. Studios measure from 308 square feet, one-beds from 476 square feet and two-beds from 596 square feet. One car parking space is included in the price of a two-bed and smaller unit owners can purchase a space for £12,000.

Copper cladding along with extensive use of terracotta and graffiti-resistant dark granite lend the exterior an eye-catching individuality.

The units feature customdesigned fitted kitchens with built-in appliances including Neff cookers and microwaves.

The intelligently-appointed contemporary-style bathrooms have floor to ceiling mirrors and cleverly concealed built-in storage.

"I've seen bathrooms where it was the plumber who decided . . . based on how the piping was installed . . . how the handbasin was positioned. In Dandara, the design team decide every detail, " says Nugent.

Closed-circuit TV cameras have been installed and a 24hour concierge service will be provided. The site is eight minutes from the train station and a 15-minute walk to the middle of the West End.

An area of 7,100 square feet has been reserved for commercial use in the final linear block which will be completed in 2010.

Various economic growth factors identify Glasgow as a wise choice for the property investor, Nugent claims.

The metropolitan area has a population of almost 2.5 million. The city provides over 380,000 jobs in almost 11,000 companies. And in the last five years Glasgow has attracted 15,000 new jobs in financial services and IT.

"Glasgow, we feel, is on the cusp of something big, " Nugent says. "As it moves away from its focus on traditional heavy industry to services, the city is drawing more and more better-paid young graduates, creating a ready market for smart rental accommodation."

Dandara has also launched a portfolio management service aimed at assisting investors interested in UK property to spread the risk of their investment across different locations. Adopting this strategy, the company claims, will allow the investor to benefit from any exceptional growth in a particular market.

Dandara was set up on the Isle of Man in 1987 by Dan Tynan. The Portlaoise man studied architecture and construction engineering in Carlow and Waterford's institutes of technology, where fellow student Seamus Nugent became a close friend. Kildare man Nugent, 49, ran his own local construction company, having previously worked for John Sisk, before joining Dandara in 1989.

"My father had his own construction business and I was driving a dumper when I was 13. There were no health and safety regulations back then, " he says. "I've dug foundations and I know how to plaster and lay bricks. There's no aspect of the building trade I'm not familiar with.

"The advantage of that today is that no carpenter or other tradesman is going to pull the wool over my eyes in relation to costs or quality of work. That's something we pride ourselves on in Dandara. You won't find cracks in the walls or evidence of shoddy workmanship in any of our buildings.

"I remember our first job was a 70-house estate on the Isle of Man, " he says. "There was myself, two others and Dan. Our office was a garden shed with a phone linked up to the telegraph wires outside."

Today the company is the largest developer on the island, responsible for 40% of construction output there.

Dandara is also the biggest developer in Jersey where it builds commercial and residential units. And it is now the largest residential developer in Manchester.

Last week the company released the final 30 units in its award-winning Lock building in Manchester city centre.

The 154-apartment scheme features an architecturally striking 10-storey landscaped atrium with slanted walls and tubular steel and plate glasssided walkways. Last year, the development won the Manchester Evening News apartment of the year award.

The two- and three-bed penthouses and apartments now on sale range in price from £195,000 to £455,000 and measure between 747 square feet and 1,318 square feet.

Also last week, Dandara released the final 40 units in the Spectrum development in St Helier, Jersey. The oneand two-bed apartments range in price from £125,000 to £260,000 and are between 347 square feet and 808 square feet. The units are ready and come with carpets, curtains and a two year rental guarantee of 5% net. The conveyance fee is also included.

Key features of the development include communal rooftop terraces, underground storage and a car pool for residents who don't own their own vehicles.

Building standards are high in Britain, Seamus Nugent says, and regulations are strictly enforced.

"The construction business is policed in a way you don't see in Ireland and build quality is consequently better.

Here in Jersey, for example, every newly-constructed building is inspected by a government official before you can sell a single unit. And if it doesn't meet the exacting standards, no one will ever live there and the building will be condemned."

The Dandara apartments we visited in Manchester, Glasgow and Jersey are finished to a high specification and compare favourably with similarly-priced units in Dublin. They're attractively laid out and seem of relatively robust construction. Internal doors are solid. Limited space is exploited imaginatively . . . for example, boilers are always installed at an elevated level, leaving free space underneath . . . and most of the units have a box room. And the capacious kitchen cupboards afford the kind of storage space some Irish builders would probably regard as sinfully excessive.

Nugent claims to be unconcerned about increased interest in property investments in eastern Europe.

"We tested the water there some years back and decided we didn't like it. We've all heard the stories about properties doubling in value in next to no time. But it's the developers who are setting the prices. And who could you sell your property to, given that local wage rates are low?"

He believes a combination of political stability, strong established land title, cheap conveyancing and purchase costs make the British residential market one of the safest investment options available.