I-Res Reit targets 'regional' expansion with €700m warchest
The country's largest property landlord Irish Residential Properties Reit - or I-Res - is looking to broaden its portfolio nationwide with €70m available to it for acquisition purposes.
The company agreed its first property purchase outside of the capital - a 50-house development at Harty's Quay on Cork's Rochestown Road - in June. That was part of a larger €285m deal also including 815 houses in Dublin.
"The company continues to seek accretive acquisitions and pre-purchase commitments within key urban centres in Ireland in order to grow its portfolio," I-Res said.
"Whilst the focus of the group's acquisition and development activity to date has been on the Dublin and Dublin commuter belt markets, the company continues to explore opportunities in the regional markets," the company added on the back of posting financial results for the first half of the year.
Those results saw a near 18% year-on-year rise in net rental income to €22.7m, but I-Res' first half profits fell by 51% on the same period last year to €34.1m.
The addition of new rental units, rent growth and high occupancy rates helped I-Res boost its first-half revenues by nearly €4m to €27.8m. Average monthly rents rose by 3.8% year-on-year.
I-Res spent €45.7m in the first six months of the year on acquisitions and development and maintenance work on its existing property portfolio.
The company said it was upbeat over its prospects based on Ireland remaining one of the fastest growing economies in the EU and a consistently high demand for quality rental properties here.
