Article: Catholic priest strikes £20MILLION deal to transform office block into homes in England

By Tara Brady

                

A Catholic priest who juggles his job with property developing has landed a £20million deal - and will donate all the spare profits to church charity projects.

Father Gregory Grant, 63, went into business with a parishioner in 1998 and now runs the PG Group from a converted office above his Bristol church.

The company has built up a large portfolio by buying dilapidated city centre buildings and turning them into much-needed accommodation.

Father Gregory Grant, 63, went into business with a parishioner in 1998 and now runs the PG Group from a converted office above his Bristol church

But now they have moved into the big league by buying a 13-storey office block which they plan to convert into 120 new homes.

Father Gregory has always considered God to be the 'third partner' in the business and as such gives a third of the profits to church projects.

To date the company has handed out more than £1million to charity and he expects the new deal - his biggest to date - to raise that figure even further.

The parish priest of St Patrick’s Church, in Redfield, Bristol, said: 'God gives you money simply so that you can give it away again.

+6

New project: Lewins Mead in Bristol which is being developed by Father Gregory Grant

'My idea of fun is working out the best way to make money so that we can find a way of giving it away. It’s very satisfying.

'The work of the priest is often cyclical, with the same services coming around again each year.

'But the world of property management has projects, which have a beginning, a middle and an end.'

After being ordained in 1977, Father Gregory spent four years as curate at Corpus Christi Church, Weston-super-Mare, where he became involved in his first development project.

The church had an old Scout hall facing the sea and Father Gregory made £40,000 by selling it for redevelopment and using the money to build a meeting room.

Later he was appointed parish priest of St Patrick’s in Bristol, which was scheduled for closure because of its decaying 65-year old church and dwindling 200 congregation.

Father Gregory opted to rebuild the church, which now has a new building, convent, 22 retirement homes and a 67-bed nursing home - and its congregation has grown to 600.

He officially launched the business in 1998 with parishioner and friend Peter Bradley in a bid to raise a small amount for their local community.

Mr Bradley died from a brain tumour a year later aged 43 and his wife Fiona took over his role as trustee.

In 2002, Father Gregory launched The Grant Bradley Trust, which helps to fight poverty in the Third World by providing housing and building schools.

Property dealer and priest Father Gregory Grant at his church in Bristol

Father Gregory works from 7.30am to 11pm Monday to Friday in a converted office above his church, but is still able to tend to his parishioners in the evening and weekends.

The PG Group’s latest deal is worth more than £20m alone for the firm.

The block of old offices will be transformed into flats for more than 120 families and will include roof gardens, a gymnasium, a cafe and a shop. 

Director Stuart Gaiger said: 'We already have permitted development rights for all internal works but now we are seeking permission to provide all the apartments with balconies and also to replace large areas of the building’s concrete cladding with glass.

'This work will considerably enhance the slightly austere appearance of Lewins Place and boost the cityscape of which it is an integral part.

'Following on from the sell out success of The Eye, our iconic eye shaped apartments complex close to Temple Meads, this will be our largest city redevelopment project to date.'