Ires Reit founding chief makes €4m profit on sale of shares in company

David Ehrlich, the founding chief executive of the Republic's biggest landlord, has earned a €4 million profit on the sale of 11.8 million shares in the company to its main investor.

Mr Ehrlich stood down in October as chief executive of Irish Residential Properties Real Estate Investment Trust (Ires Reit), which owns 2,450 apartments in Dublin.

According to notices issued to the Irish Stock Exchange on Tuesday, Mr Ehrlich sold 11.79 million shares in the company, for €1.3773 each, to its biggest shareholder, Canada's Capreit.

Mr Ehrlich exercised options over the shares at an average of €1.02 each or a total of €12.02 million. The sale price valued the tranche at €16.24 million, leaving a surplus of €4.2 million.

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A second notice confirmed that Toronto-listed Capreit, the founder and largest investor in Ires Reit, bought the shares.

The purchase increased Capreit’s holding in the Irish company to 78 million shares. This transaction grew its stake Ires Reit to 18.13 per cent from 15.67 per cent.

Mr Ehrlich agreed to sell a further 716,667 shares in the future also at €1.3773, or a total of more than €987,000.

The company’s annual report for 2017 shows Mr Ehrlich had options over 12.51 million Ires Reit shares. Once he has sold the remaining 716,667 shares, he will have disposed of his entire holding in the Irish company.

The annual report shows that, last year, Ires Reit paid Mr Ehrlich a total of €587,000. This included a €287,000 basic salary and a €286,000 bonus.

He received €708,000 the year before, but was employed as chief executive for only 10 months in 2017.

Rents on apartments that Ires Reit owns vary from about €1,200 a month for its cheapest properties to €2,600 for those in Dublin’s city centre. Its net rental income last year was €36 million.

Margaret Sweeney succeeded Mr Ehrlich as chief executive.