Derek M Quinlan (born 4 November 1947) is an Irish businessman prominent in the field of real estate investment and development.
He began his career as an accountant with Coopers & Lybrand (now PwC) before joining the Irish Revenue Commissioners as a tax inspector.
[8] He specialised in investing in tax designated areas in the 1990s in Ireland supporting Irish government policy in relation to property renewal, regeneration and job creation.
[citation needed] From the early 2000s Quinlan Private began to be involved in significant land and asset deals throughout Europe and North America.
[18] The same year, a group of investors led by Quinlan outbid the Abu Dhabi royal family to acquire a £530 million Knightsbridge estate, including retail, hotels, offices and residential properties.
[20] Quinlan Private purchased the €300m Diagonal Mar shopping centre in Barcelona in 2006, representing Spain's largest yet single property transaction.
[22] In the same year, Quinlan was investor in another syndicate that bought the Irish Glass Bottle development site in Dublin's Ringsend for €413 million.
Some months later, Quinlan obtained a €200 million investment in Jurys from the sovereign wealth fund of Oman, as part of a plan for further international expansion of the chain.
[26] In 2008, Quinlan led a consortium that acquired the Bank of Ireland Headquarters (later renamed Miesian Plaza) in Lower Baggot Street, Dublin, for €180 million.
[29] In 2018, Quinlan's wife Siobhán emerged as a joint shareholder of a multimillion-euro prime site in Ballsbridge that was earmarked to become Facebook's international headquarters.