A €732m financing package for a Dublin build-to-rent portfolio highlights growing institutional confidence in Ireland’s living sector, with Standard Chartered, Affinius Capital and Macquarie Capital Principal Finance providing a new long-term capital structure to a package of six recently completed residential assets.
The portfolio, owned by a client fund of M&G Real Estate and developed and operated by Marlet Property, comprises 1,812 apartments and 12 commercial units. Delivered between 2021 and 2025, the assets are located in established residential and mixed-use areas, including Harold’s Cross, Dundrum, Grand Canal Harbour and Howth.
Standard Chartered provided a €550m senior mortgage facility, acting as sole underwriter and mandated lead arranger, while Affinius Capital and Macquarie Capital Principal Finance jointly provided €182m of preferred equity.
For M&G, the financing helps position the assets for what it describes as “the next phase” of a best-in-class portfolio through the creation of a new long-term capital structure. The senior facility is structured as a Green Loan, with all residential units boasting Building Energy Ratings of A3 or better.
The deal also demonstrates the increasingly flexible capital solutions available to European residential investors, with preferred equity providing an alternative source of leverage alongside traditional senior debt.
“The financing aligns closely with our strategies of providing flexible capital solutions across Europe,” commented Shaun Connery, Managing Director and Head of European Lending at Affinius Capital.
| Recently completed deals | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asset | Asset type | Location | Buyer | Vendor | Size | Price (mln) | Key facts |
| 1-5 Bank Street | office | London | Canary Wharf | Canary Wharf Group affiliates | 700,000sqft | £625 (€731) | The building is the London HQ of SocGen and the ERBD. |
| MegaPark Barakaldo shopping centre | retail | Bizkaja, Spain | NEPI Rockcastle | Le Retail Hiper Ondara | 81,000m2 | €254 | The deal marks NEPI Rockcastle’s entry into Spain and its first investment outside Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). |
| industrial portfolio | logistics | London and the South East | C6 Industrial | NA | six assets | €141 (£120) | C6 is a joint venture between Clipstone and Sixth Street. |
| last mile logistics portfolio | logistics | Germany | Unnamed Canadian REIT | Blackstone | NA | €100 | The assets are in Rhine-Ruhr region, Frankfurt and Berlin. |
| Glass House scheme | living | Dublin | Co-operative Housing Ireland | Lioncor | 176 homes | €82 | CHI will manage the building. |
| St Martins Lane Hotel | hotel | London | Vivion Group | NA | 204 rooms | €42 | The freehold of the St Martins Lane Hotel had previously been sold under a sale-and-leaseback arrangement. |
| Grade A logistics asset | logistics | Rotterdam | Valor Real Estate Partners | Ofi Invest Real Estate | 20,153m2 | €27 | The asset was completed in 2021 and is currently occupied with an unexpired lease term of c. five years. |
| logistics facility | logistics | Bramsche, Germany | LIP Invest | majamo | 10,000m2 | NA | Majamo is also the occupier of the building. |
| Assets on the market | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asset | Asset type | Location | Vendor | Size | Price (mln) | Broker | Key facts |
| co-living development | living | Exeter, UK | Curlew | 361 beds | NA | Savills | The owner is seeking unconditional offers for the long leasehold interest in the scheme, which has planning permission for two co-living blocks. |
| housing-led redevelopment | living | Blackpool, UK | Blackpool Council | 230 homes | NA | NA | The council is looking for a development partner for the £90m regeneration project. |
| Recently completed loans | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lender(s) | Borrower(s) | Asset(s) | Loan Size (mln) | Key facts |
| Standard Chartered | M&G Real Estate, Marlet | build-to-rent portfolio in Dublin | €550 | Standard Chartered was the Sole Underwriter and Mandated Lead Arranger for the senior facility. |
| European Bank for Reconstruction and Development | NEPI Rockcastle | Unsecured | €250 | EBRD has extended the 8-year, senior, unsecured bilateral green loan to finance eligible green projects. |
| Affinius Capital and Macquarie Capital Principal Finance | M&G Real Estate, Marlet | build-to-rent portfolio in Dublin | €182 | The transaction supports a portfolio comprising six private rented sector (PRS) developments across the city. |
| Aareal Bank | Lighthouse Properties | Torre Cárdenas in Almería and Alcalá Magna in Madrid | €128 | The green loan will bring Aareal’s total loan to the Nexus portfolio to €334m. |
| NA | Vivion | six hotels in the UK | £75 (€88) | The five-year facility carries an interest rate indexed to SONIA plus 1.95%. |
| Blue Shield | Private investor | Belfry Shopping Centre in Redhill and the Cascades in Portsmouth | £24 (€28) | The 12-month financing will support the leasing and asset management initiatives to improve the occupancy at the shopping centres and strengthen the income generated. |
| Puma Property Finance | Connaught Care | 95-bed care home in Stratford-upon-Avon | £17.5 (€20.5) | The development loan will fund the delivery of a 95-bed care home in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. |
| New mandates/JVs and funds on the market | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Firm | Fund/mandate/JV | Strategy | Details |
| TPG and Madison International Realty | German student housing JV | Supporting Home & Co’s growth | Madison will acquire a significant minority interest in Home & Co, while TPG will retain a majority stake in the company. |
| Forshaw Land & Property Group and And Capital Ventures | UK residential development fund | Residential development and investment across the North of England. | The £185m closed-ended fund will pursue residential-led development, build-to-sell, private rented sector, and select mixed-use opportunities. |
