Marlet agrees €270m financing deal for College Square scheme

Developer Pat Crean's Marlet Property Group is to commence construction immediately on all phases of its College Square scheme in Dublin city centre after striking an agreement for €270 million in development finance facilities from a consortium of funders.

The deal is a significant one representing as it does the largest financing to have been completed in the country since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the largest financing for Marlet since its establishment in 2014.

Funds managed by Apollo Global Management have agreed to provide a €162 million, four-year, floating rate senior construction loan. Apollo is a high-growth, global alternative asset manager with $461 billion (€390.5bn) of assets under management as of March 31st, 2021. Pimco meanwhile has agreed to provide a €108 million mezzanine loan, alongside the senior loan from Apollo.

The funds will be used to finance the development of some 570,000sq ft of office space, 18,000sq ft of retail space and 54 apartments at College Square.

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The residential element of the scheme will be aimed towards the upper end of the private rented sector and distributed across a 10-storey tower positioned over an 11-storey office block. The combined height of the office and residential building will be 78.95m (262ft), making it one of the tallest buildings in Dublin. College Square occupies a prominent position opposite Trinity College on a site bounded by Tara Street, Poolbeg Street and Townsend Street.

Commenting on the financing agreement, Marlet CEO Pat Crean said: "We are delighted to have secured significant funding from Apollo and Pimco and grateful to them for their support of our ambitions for College Square. This development financing is a landmark transaction for Marlet being our largest to date. It is also one of the largest facilities of its type agreed in the Irish market in recent years and is testament to our track record of delivering high-quality buildings for both occupiers and investors. We remain very confident in the future of Dublin's office and residential markets and look forward to this development taking shape over the next couple of years."

Ben Eppley, partner of Apollo and head of European commercial real estate debt, said: "We were thrilled to partner with Marlet to provide financing for the construction of College Square. The property has a strong, central location in the heart of Dublin's central business district, will be easily accessible and will offer unique amenities. We believe the property will be an iconic addition to the city."