Irish investment trust buys Nama apartments for €211m

More than 750 Nama apartments have been sold to an Irish investment trust for €211m — topping the guide price by €51m.

Canadian-backed Irish Residential Properties REIT (I-RES) yesterday announced it had been selected as the preferred bidder for 761 apartments in four Dublin properties.

The purchase, which is part of Nama’s Project Orange, should close in October and is expected to yield significant rental growth opportunities.

“With the closing of this transaction, our property portfolio will grow to a total of 1,202 apartment suites, transforming I-RES into Ireland’s largest non- governmental residential landlord,” said I-RES chief executive officer, David Ehrlich.

“Looking ahead, as we continue to build our size and scale in our targeted strong markets, we expect to see increased cash flows as we benefit from operating synergies and apply our proven property management programmes to these new properties,” added Mr Ehrlich.

The apartments are located in premises in Charlestown, Finglas; Lansdowne Gate in Drimnagh; Beacon South Quarter in Sandyford; and Bakers Yard in Dublin city centre. The residential portfolio comprises 70% two-bed, 17% three-bed and 13% one-bed units.

I-RES — the largest REIT to float on the Irish market in the past 12 months — also announced its maiden set of results for the period to the end of June yesterday.

Its portfolio had a 99.4% occupancy level and generated net operating income of €2.6m — a 75% operating income margin.

The value of its largely -residential property portfolio grew by 27% in the period, to almost €54m, while average rents rose by 19% to €1,070. In June, I-RES bought the Marker Residences in the Grand Canal Dock area of Dublin for €50.1m from Brehon Capital Partners and Midwest Holding.

REITs, for which legislation was introduced by Finance Minister Michael Noonan in 2012, give investors exposure to the property market without acquiring underlying assets.