WHEN a bank lends you almost £30m (43m) and doesn't say when it wants its money back, you know you are doing well.

Northern Ireland multimillionaire Michael Herbert has negotiated just such a deal with Anglo Irish Bank, which has lent the property mogul £29.8m on an interest-only basis. A note to the accounts of Herbert's Herbel Restaurants reveals that the loans "do not include any specific repayment terms".

Herbert requires the cash from Anglo and his other backers because the 48-yearold has been scaling up his vast business empire over the past 18 months.

Publicity-shy Herbert originally made his money from owning Kentucky Fried Chicken outlets in the North, but he has diversified into commercial property in a big way while continuing to expand his fast food empire.

Herbel, one of three Herbert-linked companies to file accounts recently, owns and operates at least 56 Kentucky Fried Chicken outlets and is the largest KFC franchisee in Europe. From its base in the North, Herbel has expanded into the Republic, the Isle of Man and most recently Scotland. Last year it opened new outlets in Bray, Co Wicklow, the Clare Hall Shopping Centre in Dublin, the Castlecourt shopping centre in Belfast and the Abbey Centre in Newtownabbey.

The company also bought eight KFC outlets in Scotland last year when it acquired two related Scottish companies for £3.5m;

Herbert has since bought two sites in Scotland and converted one into a KFC outlet.

The directors' report for Herbel noted that Michael Herbert and his wife Lesley "plan to extend the KFC operation by opening further outlets throughout Ireland and Scotland over the coming years".

Lesley Herbert, 41, is a familiar name to commercial property figures in the North as Michael Herbert has a penchant for naming buildings and developments after his wife. Herbel Restaurants is based at Lesley Manor on the Lisburn Road and Herbert also has a property company called Lesley Estates. Hoardings for Herbert-backed developments have proclaimed that 'Lesley Does it Again' or promoted Lesley's new shops and offices.

The growth at Herbel is clearly evident from the company's most recent accounts.

Turnover increased to £39m last year, up from £28m in 2003, while operating profits doubled to £5.4m. Pre-tax profits were £3.8m compared to just £800,000 in 2003 despite the fact that Herbel's interest bill almost doubled to £3.8m.

Aside from the KFC business, Herbel Restaurants also has a larger property arm and Herbert has been very busy on this front in recent months. Retail sales accounted for £34m of Herbel turnover while rental income was £4.5m last year. This is likely to increase given the acquisitions during the year. Herbel bought the Green Lanes Shopping Centre in Devon in 2004, and while no purchase price is indicated, the development is valued in the accounts at £50m. He also acquired a chain of 21 shops owned by fashion retailer New Look in England and Wales, which are valued by the directors at £8.5m.

In the first quarter of this year, Herbel bought the Flagship shopping centre in Bangor, Co Down and the Duncrue Service Centre in Belfast.

At the year end, Herbel had investment properties worth about £105m on its balance sheet. The company owns property throughout Northern Ireland and is also building a portfolio in Britain and the Republic.

Herbel has been on a major buying spree of late, spending £63m to acquire fixed assets last year compared to £46m in 2003. The accounts show that during the year Herbert made a profit of £2.2m on the sale of Loreburn shopping centre in Dumfries, which the company owned for just six months.

Herbert has geared up to expand his Herbel operation, as the company accounts show it had loans of £87m at the end of last year . . . including Anglo's £30m loan . . .compared to £47m in 2003.

Net debt at the year end was £92m.

Herbel Restaurants is now a substantial operation, but it is just one of Michael Herbert's major property companies. He also owns property company Lebreh and a 50% stake in another Northern Ireland property company, Donegall Place Investments, both of which have major portfolios in Ireland and Britain. Lebreh doubled its pre-tax profits of £2.2m last year on turnover of just over £12m. Herbert took a dividend of £300,000 from the business, which had £55m worth of investments at the year end including £50m worth of property in Ireland, Britain and Spain. Lebreh spent just over £10m on new properties last year and paid back £15m worth of bank loans during the period. It had £39m in outstanding loans at the year end, compared to £44m in 2003.

Lebreh has a 50% stake in Donegall Place Investments and also has a joint venture interest in another property company which is no longer trading. The accounts do not reveal the name of this business due to the nature of the other joint venture party's business interests.

"Although this is a departure from company law and financial reporting standard number eight, related party disclosures, it is the opinion of the directors that the departure is necessary on commercial grounds, " a note to the accounts states.

The most recent accounts for Herbert's Donegall Place joint venture show that this company has also been busy expanding its holdings. The other investor in Donegall Place is not revealed in the accounts and their interest in the business is held in trust.

Property sources in the North believe that Herbert's partner in Donegall Place is Pat McCormack. McCormack received a substantial, undisclosed pay off in 2002 when he sold his stake in Wine Inns, which owns the Winemark off licence chain, after a legal dispute with its other shareholders.

Donegall Place had a turnover of £15m and made operating profits of £9.8m.

An interest bill of £9m reduced its pre-tax profits to just under £900,000, compared to £1.54m in the previous 12 months. Dividends paid to Herbert and his unnamed partner doubled to £1m during the year.

At the end of last September Donegall Place had a property portfolio worth just over £240m, with bank borrowings totalling almost £161m, the vast bulk of which is due to be repaid over the next two years.

During the year Donegall Place advanced £720,000 to a related company, which the directors felt was no longer recoverable. The identity of the related company is not revealed and this non-disclosure is a breach of financial reporting standards that the directors argue is "necessary on commercial grounds".

During its financial year to the end of September 2004, Donegall Place bought a £52m portfolio in Belfast city centre through an associate company, Merset, which is a joint venture with Frank Boyd and Andrew Creighton's William Ewart Properties.

Donegall Place has also recently bought the Crossgates Shopping Centre in Leeds and the Park View Shopping Centre in Tyne and Wear. It already owns the Bow Street Mall in Lisburn, Co Antrim, the Bloomfield shopping centre in Bangor and a slew of properties in Britain. Planning permission has already been obtained for a major expansion at the Bow Street Mall and a planned department store at the site has been pre-let.

Herbert is expanding on all fronts and is building a multimillion pound business empire that was founded on chicken and chips in a bucket.