RBS sells Irish loan book tranche at 80% discount

A subsidiary of US private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management has bought a significant proportion of Royal Bank of Scotland’s remaining Irish property loan portfolio for £1.1bn (€1.38bn), a near 80% discount on the combined gross value of the assets.

In a short stock exchange statement yesterday, RBS said it had reached agreement to sell the portfolio, known as ‘Project Aran’, to “an entity controlled by Cerberus”.

Completion of the sale is expected during the first quarter of 2015 and that the proceeds will be used “for general corporate purposes”.