Irish Residential Properties REIT is closing in on the purchase of a 282-unit Dublin build-to-rent scheme for more than €115M, a deal that would mark a significant step up in the listed landlord’s return to the acquisition market.
IRES has been selected as preferred bidder for Two Three North in Clongriffin after private equity investor Tristan Capital Partners brought the scheme to market, Green Street News reported.
The transaction is expected to close in the coming weeks, and the deal would add roughly 8% to IRES’ residential portfolio, which stood at 3,611 homes at the end of June, valued at about €1.3B.
Two Three North consists of 236 private rented sector apartments and 46 units leased to Dublin City Council on a 25-year agreement, with more than 21 years remaining.
The scheme was launched with a €120M guide price, reflecting a net initial yield of 4.83% on the private rental component and 4.5% on the council income, giving a blended net initial yield of 4.79%. Around 13% of the PRS apartments were identified as being under-rented, according to Tristan.
The property was originally developed by Twinlite with funding from Tristan and completed in 2022. It forms part of the wider Clongriffin development, alongside One Three North, a 376-unit BTR scheme also funded by Tristan.
The acquisition would be a notable step up in pace for IRES, which has spent much of the past several years concentrating on portfolio management, asset sales, balance-sheet strengthening and navigating Ireland’s former rent-control regime, plus combatting an activist investor.
The company has been progressively repositioning itself to take advantage of a reopening residential investment market.
In August, IRES CEO Eddie Byrne told Bisnow that the company remained selective about acquisitions and was instead looking for opportunities where the size and quality of the asset made sense rather than targeting a particular portfolio size.
“We will definitely look to do more forward-funding, because that’s an easy process for us using our own capital, and it enables developers to get on with construction and move forwards with their next projects,” he said.
IRES reported adjusted earnings of €33M for 2025, up 7.4%, while net rental income increased 2% to €67M. Net loan-to-value fell to 44% at year-end.
The company has also been recycling capital from sales of individual apartments, with disposals generating premiums to book value that have helped fund new investment. Byrne told Bisnow that IRES has been actively selling C and D-rated properties at yields of around 4% and buying A-rated assets at roughly 5.25%.
That strategy was already beginning to translate into acquisitions before the potential Clongriffin deal. In February, IRES announced the forward purchase of 77 apartments for €32M, expected to generate an initial yield of around 5.25% once fully leased, with Byrne predicting more such deals going forwards.
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