The Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF), part of the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA), is today announcing the completion of four investment commitments totaling €229m aimed at accelerating the delivery of new homes in Ireland.
The new homes will be delivered for a mix of owner-occupiers, renters, students and people who need social housing.
The four investments bring total ISIF commitments to housing investments to over €1.5bn to date.
Based on ISIF’s model of using its capital to act as a catalyst for attracting third-party co-investment, ISIF anticipates that that these new investments could unlock up to €1bn of homebuilding activity through crowding in third-party capital where possible, with co-investment by domestic and international partners.
ISIF’s wider housing investment programme is targeting the delivery of 25,000 new homes by 2030 through a range of equity and debt investments, of which over 14,200 were delivered by the end of 2023.
The four investment commitments comprise:
- €100m committed to Avenue Capital Group which includes €25m to Avenue Europe Special Situations Fund V, and €75m to a dedicated fund that will support the construction of new homes in Ireland through Avenue’s partnership with Castlehaven Finance. This investment by ISIF, in partnering with Avenue, will significantly enhance the lending capacity of Castlehaven, supporting the construction of new mass market homes nationwide.
- €75m committed to the Ardstone Residential Income Fund (ARIF), an Irish-based investment fund focused on the mid-market rental and social sectors in the Greater Dublin Area. ISIF’s investment alongside that of international pension funds will help to unlock the construction of new homes for rent. ARIF aims to operate to high Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) standards and is an Article 9 Fund under SFDR. ISIF previously invested €30m in Ardstone Residential Partners Fund I which successfully supported the delivery of over 2,500 new homes in Ireland.
- €29m committed to Summix, one of the UK and Ireland's leading master developers and regeneration specialists, delivering 5,700 new homes since inception, with a further 15,000 homes in various stages of planning. The firm seeks to work collaboratively with communities and sustainably deliver places to live, work and play where they are most needed. Since inception, Summix has helped to unlock over 1,000 new residential units in Ireland. ISIF’s investment will help crowd in third-party capital to scale the firm’s Irish activities and provide equity risk capital to unlock sites for Irish homebuilders.
- €25m committed to the recently announced Irish Homebuilding Equity Fund (IHEF) – a new fund by Pearl Property Managers Limited along with co-investor Bank of Ireland, set up to provide housebuilders with equity investment to unlock construction finance for sites with planning permission and sites zoned for residential use. It will support projects of 50-500 homes in urban areas across the country.
Minister for Finance, Jack Chambers TD, said:
“I welcome the announcement by the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF) of its completion of four investment commitments totaling €229m aimed at accelerating the delivery of new homes for a mix of owner-occupiers, renters, students and social housing.
Today’s announcement is the latest in a series of investments demonstrating ISIF’s continuing commitment to the housing sector in Ireland and brings total ISIF commitments to housing investments to over €1.5bn to date.
I am delighted to see that ISIF is on track to meet its target of delivering 25,000 new homes by 2030 and that the four new investments could crowd in €1bn of fresh capital to Irish homebuilding. By doing this ISIF continues to demonstrate its value through catalysing third party investment in support of the delivery of housing in Ireland.”
Nick Ashmore, Director of ISIF, said:
“Housing and enabling investments is one of ISIF’s four key investment themes, reflecting the sector’s strategic importance to the Irish economy and to Irish society.
The investment commitments we are announcing today demonstrate the strength of our continued appetite for commercial investments that will help to deliver more homes and help to alleviate the housing supply shortage in Ireland. The mix of investment types also reflects the diverse forms of capital required in today’s housing market and the different investment opportunities they represent, from senior debt to equity for sites going through the planning process and equity for smaller developers.
We’re on track to meet our target of delivering 25,000 new homes by 2030 through both debt and equity investments, across a range of tenure types, all of which are needed in the market.
It is anticipated that these four new investments could crowd in €1bn of fresh capital to Irish homebuilding, demonstrating the unique role ISIF capital can play in catalysing third-party investment and supporting the construction of new homes in Ireland.