DUBLIN-As concerns about Greece continue, Irish woes appear to be looking up. Frank Daly, chairman of the National Asset Management Agency, said at an event this morning that the agency plans to invest $2.5 billion through 2016 to complete construction work of distressed commercial and residential properties and to develop greenfield sites in the country.
The agency was formed by the Irish government in 2009 to shepherd the country’s banks through the debt crisis. Daly said that there are more and more indications that the country, and with it some important segments of the property market, have turned the corner.
The agency, tasked with sorting through about $90 billion in loan assets, has already committed more than $632 million in new working capital and development capital advances for projects located in Ireland. Daly said the agency recently affirmed its expectation that it will meet its core commercial objective of repaying its debts in full by 2020.
The agency will also be lending out another $2.5 billion to buyers of commercial properties, and will fund redevelopments and lease fit-outs for new tenants, he said. “We must invest in the assets securing our loans so as to make them more attractive to purchasers over a medium-term horizon – and thereby enhance their ultimate disposal value,” Daly said. “Part of our role is to respond, not just to current supply and demand conditions, but also to prospective supply and demand over our projected lifespan up to 2020.”
Daly also said the Agency’s loan portfolio has more potential than was originally expected, with 90% of property assets in Ireland located in the greater Dublin area, Cork, Limerick and Galway.
“Our view is that long-term prospects for much of this property are good,” he said. “On that basis, we propose to invest, particularly over the next three years, with a view to ensuring that this property is available to meet commercial and residential demand over the rest of the decade,” he said.
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free ALM Digital Reader.
Once you are an ALM Digital Member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking commercial real estate news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical coverage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
*May exclude premium content© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
