Two crash-era vulture fund entities linked to US investor Cerberus have, for the first time, agreed to sell distressed loans they acquired more than a decade ago.
In 2014, Cerberus acquired the €6 billion loan portfolio Project Aran from Ulster Bank and the following year it was the winning bidder for Nama’s €6.25 billion Project Arrow.
New accounts for Promontoria (Aran) Limited and Promontoria (Arrow) Limited, the Cerberus firms managing these portfolios, have now disclosed for the first time that they have begun to sell some of the distressed loans.
The company has not disclosed the purchaser of the loans, sale price achieved or the carrying value of loans sold.
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Project Aran and Project Arrow were two of the largest and highest-profile distressed loan books sold in Ireland in the aftermath of the 2008 property crash. Some of the debt in these portfolios was linked to well-known individuals, including former TD and former MEP Mick Wallace.
The US investor paid Ulster Bank approximately €1.35 billion for Project Aran, which consisted of around 1,300 borrower groups, and more than 6,200 loans with 5,400 properties. The vast majority of the loans were connected to Irish assets.
In 2015, it paid Nama €739.2 million for Project Arrow, which was made up of loans linked to more than 1,900 properties, 90 per cent of which were based in Ireland.
The company has pursued borrowers since acquiring the non-performing loans and collected a combined €2.4 billion from debtors linked to Project Aran and Project Arrow.
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That means the fund has earned just under €308 million more than it paid for the two loan portfolios, plus whatever it makes from these remaining sales.
Cerberus’s move to sell part of the portfolios has come as the accounts indicate the funds are approaching the end of their lives.
A note in the accounts for the firm that bought Project Aran said the company expects to “resolve” the majority of its remaining borrower connections over the next year, “with the remaining connections being resolved by June 2027″.
At the end of last year, Cerberus said the fair-value carrying amount of the remaining loans from Project Aran was €14.3 million, with a further €3.3 million remaining from Project Arrow.
A further note in each set of filings for Promontoria (Aran) Limited and Promontoria (Arrow) Limited said the companies entered into a portfolio acquisition deed on June 12th, 2026, for “the sale of part of its loan portfolio and related security interests”.
No details of a purchaser, sale price or the carrying value of loans sold was stated.
The financial accounts added the sale, which has not yet been completed, “is not expected to give rise to a realised loss”.
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Further financial filings published by Cerberus’s Irish firm Promontoria (Oyster) Designated Activity Company also disclosed it has entered into a portfolio acquisition deed for the sale of part of its loan portfolio on the same date in June 2026.
That firm has been the Cerberus entity behind controlling loans the fund bought in 2016 from Ulster Bank as part of Project Oyster.
The loans sold as part of this portfolio had a €2.5 billion face value, but were acquired for €612 million. Promontoria (Oyster) previously sold loans it acquired from Ulster Bank to Morgan Stanley, Everyday Finance and Ruis Residential.
Since it acquired Project Oyster, Cerberus has made €777.5 million of collections from loans in the portfolio. At the end of last year it said the remaining loan assets had a carrying value of €19.9 million.
Cerberus did not respond to a request for comment.
