Property fund to seek further deals after €285m credit agreed
In early June, the London-listed Kennedy Wilson Europe Real Estate Fund upped its Irish presence by investing €45m in acquiring former Nama and IBRC assets, via the Liffey Trust Building in Dublin’s docklands, and the 138-bedroom Portmarnock Hotel and Golf Links.
On the back of yesterday’s raise, the fund said proceeds would be used for general corporate purposes; including working capital requirements, the payment of capital expenditures and “acquisitions of certain property and loan assets”.
The company didn’t comment on whether any further purchase plans related to the Irish market.
Indeed, it suggested, in late June, that while it wouldn’t rule out more activity here, it was beginning to turn its focus towards the Spanish and Italian property markets.
“We have a strong investment pipeline and this new unsecured corporate finance facility, which is the company’s first, marks a significant step forward and provides us with additional firepower to capitalise on new investment opportunities and finance further acquisitions quickly, giving us a competitive edge in an active real estate market,” Mary Ricks, the fund’s CEO said in a statement.
Eamonn Hughes of Goodbody Stockbrokers, yesterday, suggested the new unsecured facility — from Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Bank and JP Morgan — potentially accounts for about 25%-35% of the fund’s future investment capacity.
Regarding potential Irish activity for KWE, Davy Stockbrokers yesterday noted: “Nama indicated in March that it will trade a minimum of €250m of deal flow each quarter, in addition to sales through Nama debtors and receivers and any other loan portfolios that may be offered to the market.”
It did note, however, that the Spanish market could make up around 40% of some €40bn of debt-related European-based deals before the end of the year.
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