Nama to pick glass bottle site partner in early 2020

The National Asset Management Agency (Nama) said it plans to pick a partner to develop the former Irish glass bottle site in Ringsend in first three months of 2020, as the agency reported on Wednesday its profits contracted in the first half of the year as it continued to wind down its assets.

The Irish Times reported earlier this month that Nama secured first-round offers from Sean Mulryan's Ballymore Group and US real estate group Hines, for an 80 per cent stake in the 37 acre site.

Johnny Ronan's Ronan Group Real Estate (RGRE) and Los Angeles property company Colony Capital filed a joint bid, while Marlet Property Group, led by Pat Crean, were also among parties to submit an offer.

Bids

At least some of the bids were for in excess of €130 million, sources said. Nama is retaining a 20 per cent interest in the project.

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“The development of site provides a unique opportunity to make a significant contribution to Dublin’s housing needs as it is one of the few large, centrally located development opportunities in Dublin city,” Nama said on Thursday in its latest quarterly report.

Nama's profit for the first six months of the year came to €48 million, down from €281 million, reflecting an ongoing reduction of its asset portfolio. Cash generated by the agency since its inception at the start of the decade has amounted to €44.7 billion.

The agency, led by chief executive Brendan McDonagh, said in its latest annual statement to Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe that its residual portfolio will amount to €300 million by the end of 2021.

Projects

“The first comprises a number of loans that are unlikely to be resolved by 2021 due to ongoing litigation which is largely outside of NAMA’s control,” it said. “The second category comprises a small number of loans secured by residential development sites mainly in Dublin with significant potential value uplift, which will not have been sold or otherwise finalised by end-2021.”

Nama said that its funding of residential property projects delivered 10,566 homes between January 2014 and August 2019. A further 4,342 units have been built – or are under construction – on sites sold by its debtors or have been refinanced elsewhere.

Nama currently expects to post a lifetime surplus of €4 billion, and that it will start to hand over funds to the exchequer from next year.