Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF), a €7.5 bn sovereign wealth fund, is backing a €100 mln funding platform to support prime office development and construction projects in the reviving market.
Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF), a €7.5 bn sovereign wealth fund, is backing a €100 mln funding platform to support prime office development and construction projects in the reviving market.
The initiative is a joint venture with institutional clients of US-based Quadrant Real Estate Advisors. ISIF, which is controlled and managed by Ireland's National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA), will invest up to €50 mln alongside up to €50 mln from Quadrant’s clients.
'There is a clear lack of comprehensive development finance packages for high-quality office development and construction opportunities and this investment mandate will help deliver commercial premises which meet the growing requirements of the marketplace,' said ISIF director Eugene O’Callaghan.
Quadrant will manage the provision of 'senior stretch' loans, mainly for Grade A office development projects in strong markets which have planning permission but which may not yet have letting or sale agreements in place.
ISIF said that the initiative will accelerate the delivery of urgently required prime office space, improving the attractiveness of Ireland for foreign direct investment. It also has the potential to create in excess of 1,500 full-time construction jobs.
Quadrant, which manages approximately $6 bn of commercial real estate assets, has deployed over €100 mln to finance real estate projects in Dublin, Liverpool and Manchester over the last year. Aside from the joint venture, the US-based company is in discussions with a number of Irish developers in relation to a number of projects including hotels and residential developments in Dublin and other locations which will be financed from Quadrant’s wider client base.
