This fresh entrant to the housebuilding market has splashed out €120m on land in Dublin and Cork
Glenveagh Properties said the four sites could deliver as many as 2,780 houses and apartments.
HOUSEBUILDER GLENVEAGH PROPERTIES has snapped up four more building sites to the tune of €120 million.
The Dublin- and London-listed group announced the acquisitions – capable of delivering a combined 2,780 housing units – ahead of its annual general meeting today, its first since becoming a public company in October.
The outfit, which is backed by US ‘vulture fund’ Oaktree Capital, now has a land bank of more than 10,000 residential units.
One of the sites purchased by Glenveagh is located in Cork’s docklands area and has the potential to deliver as many as 1,000 houses and apartments. The deal is estimated to be worth in excess of €15 million and the acquisition is expected to be completed by the end of September.
The group bought two sites in the greater Dublin area. One site, dubbed ‘Project Bill’, could deliver roughly 400 units if construction is given the green light. The exact price was not disclosed but exceeded €20 million.
The third site, christened ‘Project Hector’, is also subject to planning approval and could provide as many as 700 homes. The deal was worth more than €9 million.
The fourth project is located in Castleforbes Business Park in Dublin’s North Docklands.
According to Glenveagh Properties, its subsidiary ‘Living’ intends to take control of the site having acquired 100% of the shares in its associated management company through a so-called ‘loan-to-own’ transaction.
Once the intended takeover is completed, the Castleforbes site could deliver more than 650 units if the local authority approves. The purchase price wasn’t disclosed but is “in the region of €60 million”.
‘Strong’ sales
Glenveagh Properties has spent more than €400 million on land since its initial public offering (IPO) last October.
Construction has started on roughly 700 houses and apartments under its ‘Homes’ brand. Another 800 are expected to be underway by the end of the year.
The company said sales activity so far has been “strong” with 234 units signed or reserved since the start of 2018.
Glenveagh has also added more people to its payroll, from 85 full-time employees at the time of its IPO to more than 200 staff today.
It said the market “remains very favourable with significant demand for housing, particularly starter homes, clearly evident across the group’s selling sites”.
“Land acquisition conditions remain attractive for the group. A number of significant land opportunities are expected to be brought to market by various parties over the summer months.”
Analysts at asset management group Investec noted that Glenveagh is close to delivering its target of around €500 million of land acquisitions the 12 months after listing on the Dublin and London stock exchanges.
“Significantly, the land acquired to date looks to have come at reasonable cost. Given the group’s still-significant cash resources and strong competitive position we expect it to meet its target in the coming months,” economist Ronan Dunphy wrote in a morning briefing note.
