A joint venture between Tristan Capital Partners and SW3 Capital is acquiring a residential development project at the former Dún Laoghaire golf course in south Dublin for €72.5 mln.
The site is currently being developed by Cosgrave Property Group, with the backing of Irish bad bank, the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA).
Tristan's opportunity fund, European Property Investors Special Opportunities IV (Episo 4), will buy the 16,815 m2 Neptune Building upon completion in the second quarter of 2017. The property will consist mostly of two bedroom apartments and is being built in Cosgrove's broader Honeypark redevelopment of the former golf course, the rest of which is not included in the transaction.
SW3 Capital, a London-based alternative investment manager, is Episo's operating partner and investment adviser in the joint venture, is also take a minority interest in the completed property.
The purchase marks the first acquisition for the newly established joint venture between Tristan Capital and SW3, which plans to create prime residential schemes in Dublin under its 'build-to-rent' Vert brand.
Peter Mather, managing director of investments at Tristan Capital, said: 'Residential development shut down during the financial crisis, which has left Dublin with an acute shortage of housing as the Irish economy recovers and its population grows.' He added: 'The fund intends to rent out the 197 apartments in the Neptune Building to capture the high level of tenant demand for modern living space in a specifically designed “build to rent” development delivered by one of Ireland's leading homebuilders.'
Figures from the Central Statistics Office suggest that the population of Greater Dublin may grow by as much as 20% in the next 15 years. Ireland was the fastest growing of the 19 eurozone economies in 2015.
Dillon Eustace provided legal and structuring advice to the fund.
