Ires Reit rules out sale of company after receiving no offers during firm's strategic review  

Landlord said it would dispose of 8% of its total portfolio as part of a capital recycling programme

Ires Reit, which reported half-year financial results on Thursday, said its board has “unanimously concluded that, following rigorous market testing, a sale of the company or its assets is unlikely to maximise shareholder value”. Photograph: Sam Boal / RollingNews.ie

Ireland's largest private landlord, Ires Reit has ruled out the sale of the group or its assets, with no offers being made to buy the company during its long-awaited strategic review.

The review, which is now concluded, was undertaken following pressure from dissident shareholders who had mounted a campaign criticising the board's running of the company and its low share price.

However, the board committed to a “capital recycling programme”, which it said would include the disposal of some 315 apartments over a three to five-year period, reflecting around 8% of the company's total portfolio. The initiative is expected to generate between €110m and €115m, Ires said.

Ires Reit, which reported half-year financial results on Thursday, said its board has “unanimously concluded that, following rigorous market testing, a sale of the company or its assets is unlikely to maximise shareholder value”.

"Additionally, no proposals were received to acquire the Company during the course of the Review. The Strategic Review has identified a number of initiatives or actions which the Board believes will drive value maximisation for shareholders over the medium term," the company added.

Earlier this year, international investment group, Vision Capital, which is a 5% shareholder in Ires Reit, issued an open letter to IRES shareholders urging them to vote against certain directors at the company's 2023 AGM.

It said the company had "increasingly become an ineffective platform and continues to poorly address the interests of both its shareholders and the critical needs of the Irish housing market."

Vision Capital also urged Ires to cease operations as a public company and continue to operate privately with a different corporate and capital structure.

However, a truce was reached in April when the Canadian firm was offered two seats on the company's board.

Publishing its financial results for the first half of 2024, Ires Reit reported like-for-like revenue growth of 2.1%, driven by both organic rental growth across the existing portfolio and enhanced ancillary revenue generation.

The group's reported a revenue of €42.8m in the six month period, which was down compared to the previous year following the earlier sale of some units. The occupancy rate it its portfolio at the end of June was 99.6%, as demand continues to outpace the supply of homes.

Commenting on the results, recently appointed Chief executive Eddie Byrne said his first set of results as head of Ires come at an "active period for the company with the delivery of another strong operational performance and the completion of our Strategic Review."

"I joined the Company at a very exciting time and it is clear that significant opportunities exist for I-RES in an exceptionally strong Irish PRS market,” he said.

"Looking ahead, we will focus on implementing the operational initiatives identified by the Strategic Review which will help to optimise our portfolio, drive value maximisation for shareholders, and improve our financial performance over the medium-term.”