Ex-Nama director joins IPUT board

A former director of Nama has been appointed to the board of one of the country’s leading commercial real estate funds.

Former head of asset management at Nama, John Mulcahy will join the Irish Property Unit Trust (IPUT) next month following his retirement from the state agency in January.

Trust chairman Frank Close said Mr Mulcahy’s experience will be valuable to the fund’s continued expansion.

“I believe John’s wealth of knowledge and experience of commercial property will significantly contribute to the Irish Property Unite Trust’s continued evolution, and will assist us in enhancing the growth and value of the company in the interests of our shareholders.

“[Mr Mulcahy] played a significant role in the establishment of Nama, overseeing the management of the portfolio of impaired and systematically significant real estate loans it acquired from a damaged Irish banking system.”

Mr Mulcahy had been chairman and chief executive of global real estate services firm, Jones Lang LaSalle’s Irish business before leaving in 2010.

The trust controls approximately €1bn in debt-free commercial property assets, predominantly in Dublin city centre.

Among the assets managed are a number of high-profile properties, including the Pavilions Shopping Centre in Swords, Co Dublin; Citywest Business Campus; the retail unit occupied by Brown Thomas on Grafton St in Dublin, and Cork’s Opera Lane.

Over the past 18 months, it has also invested heavily in the Dublin office sector — to the tune of €400m of investor capital.

The value of shares in the company has also increased steadily in recent times. Its net asset value — which is the total value of the fund’s assets divided by its outstanding shares — rose from €586 in March 2013 to €659.50 in the corresponding month of this year.