Property partnership to invest €1bn in rental platform.

 A global private investment firm has partnered with an Irish property company and the Irish Strategic Investment Fund to build hundreds of private and social rental homes in Dublin and other major cities here.

US based Starwood Capital Group is to work with Urbeo Residential and ISIF (Ireland Strategic Investment Fund) to create a €1 billion build to rent residential platform here.

The platform, called Urbeo, will partner with builders, developers, and housing associations to deliver new rental housing projects in well-serviced locations, with good connectivity to employment centres.

The rental units will be bought through forward purchase and forward funding arrangements.

They will include an element of social and supported tenancies.

Initially the partnership will start with three properties which together have 334 private and social units on offer in Dublin.

But Urbeo says it has a pipeline of more than 2,500 other units which at this point are either in negotiation or exclusivity arrangements.

Starwood Capital, which has invested in over 30 countries globally and has 74,000 units under management, will make the investment via an affiliate called Starwood Global Opportunity Fund XI.

Urbeo was founded by Frank Kenny and Bill Nowlan and says its aim is to match investor need for long-term stable return with those of rental tenants.

Source: RTE.ie 17/12/2018