Irish real estate investment group Iput has raised €175 million in new equity investment from CBRE Investment Management (IM).
Iput said the additional funding would be used to grow its Dublin office portfolio, which already comprises 30 assets worth €2.7 billion.
The capital raised is the first step in a planned €500 million expansion of Iput’s prime office portfolio in Dublin’s city centre, a spokesman said.
Iput is planning to double its lifestyle-led flexible leasing platform Studio and to commence the development of 350,000 sq ft city centre office pipeline, which includes two office sites at Earlsfort Terrace and Harcourt Street.
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“CBRE IM is one of the world’s leading real estate investment managers,” Iput chief executive Niall Gaffney said.
“Increasing its investment in Iput by a further €175 million is a testament to our workplace investment strategy, which generates market-leading returns through the cycle.
“We offer exposure to the prime end of the real estate market in a euro zone gateway city that continues to outperform its peers across the continent.”
Mr Gaffney added: “As we enter the growth phase of the next real estate cycle, we are proud to have strengthened our relationship with CBRE IM. We have the capacity to deploy over €500 million across our development pipeline, and this new investment provides the capital to kick-start that programme.”
“This will enable us to continue to deliver market-leading, amenitised workplaces to occupiers in the undersupplied prime Dublin office market.”
CBRE IM director Nathalie Bruijn said: “We are committed to the prime end of the Irish real estate market and are long-standing investors in Iput with strong conviction in their investment strategy and team.”
This is not the first time CRBE has invested in Iput. In March of last year, Iput raised €230 million in new capital, equally from CBRE and the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund for a sub-fund invested in logistics facilities.
Some €115 million was earmarked to develop the first 1.5 million sq ft of Nexus Logistics Park, a warehousing hub located near Dublin Airport.
The remaining €115 million is being invested by Iput through a combination of capital and its zoned logistics land bank.
At the time, Iput said it planned to capitalise on the “absence of meaningful large-scale institutional investment in Irish logistics parks, and the pent-up demand from major global and domestic occupiers looking to establish modern distribution hubs, particularly in the Dublin region”.
Iput’s existing office developments include the 600,000 sq ft scheme at Wilton Park in Dublin 2, which includes a neighbouring park. The office complex is home to LinkedIn, Stripe and EY (which is moving its head office to the location from its current base at Harcourt Street).
