A HOUSEBUILDER BACKED by US ‘vulture fund’ Oaktree Capital has acquired two massive Irish property portfolios worth a combined €106 million.
Glenveagh Properties announced its acquisition of the portfolios, which have the potential to house 2,235 homes, as part of its annual results this morning.
The land in the two portfolios is spread across seven sites in Dublin, Meath, Wicklow and Galway.
The largest portfolio, which included sites in Donabate in Dublin and Dunboyne and Stamullen in Meath, cost the developer €90 million and has the potential to deliver 1,435 starter homes and apartments.
Sites included as part of the other portfolio acquired include land adjoining The Square Shopping Centre in Tallaght, a site near Galway’s Gateway Retail Park and land beside Bray Retail Park.
These three sites cost a combined €16 million and have the capacity for more than 800 units.
These are the first set published accounts by the housebuilder since it floated on the Irish Stock Exchange last year and cover the last five months of 2017. During those final few months of the year, the company recorded €1.4 million in revenue and an operating loss of €3.7 million.
According to the results, Glenveagh Properties has invested nearly €300 million in the acquisition of development sites since it went public last October and it now has a land bank of over 7,300 units.
Colin Sheridan, analyst with stockbrokers Davy, noted that the developer is in exclusive negotiations for another site valued at €30 million that could house a further 600 units.
“This would see the total land bank increase to more than 8,000 units, up from 3,000 at the time of initial public offering in October. We estimate that despite this investment, Glenveagh still has €200 million left to spend on further land deals,” he said in a briefing note.
Speaking about the annual results, Glenveagh co-founder and chief executive Justin Bickle said the firm will commence construction on over 700 units during its first full-year of operations.
“The current market conditions in Irish residential are among the most attractive I have seen globally in my career to date,” he said.
“The sector in Ireland is in need of institutional quality product. Customers want quality homes and apartments which are well-built and sensibly priced.”
He added that the firm has already sold homes, with over 100 contracts signed since January.
Over half of the its business is focused on the construction of starter homes. The starting price for its two-bed units is €225,000, while it also has four-bed homes for less than €350,000.
According to Glenveagh, it will have over 700 units under construction in 2018. It plans to ramp up construction over the coming years and build 1,000 homes per year in Ireland by 2020.
Written by Killian Woods and posted on Fora.ie
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