Nama sells Dundrum Town Centre and loans on other Dublin shopping centres

The National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) has announced the sale of its Project Jewel loan portfolio.

It has sold the loans linked to Dundrum Town Centre and other major retail assets in Dublin.

They have been sold to a joint venture of the UK property company Hamerson, and Allianz Real Estate - the property division of the giant German insurance company.

The loans had a nominal value of €2.6bn, but a price of just under €1.85bn has been paid.

The transaction is the largest to date for Nama.

It also includes loans relating to 50% of the ILAC Centre in north central Dublin, the Pavilions Shopping Centre in Swords and a number of development properties at the northern end of O'Connell Street.

The agency says it follows an "extensive and competitive sales process" involving bidders from Europe, the Middle East and the United States.

The transaction is expected to complete before the end of October.

Nama chief executive Brendan McDonagh said: "We are very pleased with the successful outcome of this competitive loan sale which represents NAMA’s biggest single transaction to date.

"The competitive tension throughout the loan sales process is continuing evidence of the strong investor appetite for property-related loans in Ireland."