Starwood Capital Group has formed a new €1bn Irish build-to-rent (BTR) platform with Urbeo Residential and the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF).
Starwood Capital said it will invest in the newly created platform, known as Urbeo, through Starwood Global Opportunity Fund XI, the firm’s 11th opportunistic real estate fund.
Urbeo will buy, predominantly via forward purchase and forward funding arrangements, rental accommodation with an element of social and supported tenancies in Dublin and other major Irish cities.
Urbeo will be seeded with a portfolio of 3 assets totalling 334 private and social units in Dublin, with a pipeline of over 2,500 units in negotiation or exclusivity, Starwood said.
Frank Kenny at Urbeo said: “We have identified a rich pipeline of assets to acquire, and expect to be busy in the coming months.
”Our expectation is to grow the fund into the preeminent PRS investment fund in the country in terms of scale, quality of delivery to tenants, and long term returns to investors.”
Matthew Parrott, the vice president at Starwood Capital said: “We are excited to be partnering with Urbeo and ISIF to address the need for high quality and professionally managed rental accommodation in Dublin.
”The Irish multifamily sector, particularly in Dublin, provides our investors exposure to a market exhibiting a structural supply shortage and compelling growth prospects.”
Kieran Bristow, the head of investment strategy at Ireland Strategic Investment Fund said: “ISIF is very pleased to partner with a lead investor of the calibre of Starwood Capital. Starwood Capital, ISIF and Urbeo believe that a long term, sustainable approach to tenancies will be critical to the success of this platform.
“ISIF’s total investment of up to €60m, which includes its share of the Bancroft Tallaght property (one of the seed assets), has been central to the establishment of this new platform.”
ISIF is a sovereign development fund mandated to invest on a commercial basis to support economic activity and employment in Ireland, and currently has €8.9bn under management.
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