Oaktree Capital Management, part of consortium that bought site from Nama, seeks equity partner
The 37-acre plot on a strategic site in Irishtown, just south of the Dublin docks and close to the Aviva Stadium, is among the largest residential developments in the country, with 3,800 homes due to be built in a number of phases on the “brownfield” former industrial area.
The Bloomberg news agency reported yesterday that Oaktree Capital Management, a partner in the consortium that bought the site from Nama in 2020, plans to seek an equity partner to help develop the project, citing sources.
No formal process has been launched at this stage but there has been interest from investors, the Bloomberg report said.
Oaktree, along with Dublin-based Alanis Capital, is an investor in Lioncor which has partnered with Johnny Ronan’s Ronan Group to develop the site. They bought a majority stake in the site from Nama in 2020 in a deal understood to have valued the plot at €200m – well above expectations – and then acquired the remaining minority interest last year.
Oaktree is the main equity investor while another global investor, Blackstone, is providing debt financing.
Any shift within that consortium is likely to generate wider interest given the size and importance of the site but also because of its long history of delays before being acquired by the current developers.
The former glass factory was first earmarked for development in 2006, when it was bought for over €400m by a consortium of boom-era developers and the state-backed Dublin Docklands Development Authority (DDDA).
After the crash, it ended up in state hands via Nama for almost a decade, with progress on site very slow despite political pressure for housing in the area.
The very strong price achieved by Nama also means there is pressure on the developers to generate a return in a challenging housing market, where demand is high but where rising costs can erode viability for apartments in particular.
Work on site has stepped up since the development was sold. Building is progressing on just under 900 units in the Phase 1 and Phase 1b elements of the overall development, with “topping out” of Phase 1 completed in July.
These phases are fully funded and on course for completion over the next two years, including the first homes by next summer.
It is understood the “topping out” milestone, a traditional marker a scheme is shifting from the relatively risky development phase, was a trigger for inbound investor interest in recent weeks.
Oaktree, Lioncor and Ronan Group all declined to comment.
The mid-rise Glass Bottle scheme is made up of a series of apartment blocks and is scheduled to include 900 social and affordable homes and one million sq ft of commercial development, as well as educational facilities, public open spaces, civic spaces and other community amenities.