Octopus Real Estate, part of Octopus Investments and a leading UK specialist real estate lender and investor, has provided a commercial bridging loan of over €1m for a site in Dublin 8 with planning consent for an aparthotel.
The loan, provided to established Irish real estate investor and developer Peninsula Suite Property Holdings Limited, will help finance the delivery of a 19-bedroom aparthotel – including a café and community space – on Francis Street.
Growing in popularity, particularly in busy city centres, aparthotels are a type of hotel providing self-catering apartments as well as typical hotel facilities.
The site is in The Liberties in D8, just 3km west of the city centre. The Liberties is famed for some of Dublin’s most popular bars, live music, and tourist destinations. Francis Street itself is well known for its antiques shops.
The loan will facilitate the regeneration and repurpose of more than 68,000 sq.ft. of disused brownfield land.
James Nunn, Commercial Fund Manager, Octopus Real Estate, commented:
“This exemplifies exactly the kind of loan we specialise in here at Octopus. As a non-bank lender, we were able to provide speedy, bespoke finance for this borrower, which will have a positive impact by regenerating disused brownfield land whilst bolstering the local economy.
“Although borrowers in commercial real estate are experiencing funding challenges at the moment, there are still opportunities for them to secure loans through alternative lenders who have discretionary capital and can be nimble in their approach. As we’re seeing, there are opportunities for lenders too; given the established Irish economy, many sectors within the local market here offer strong security.”
The loan term is 24 months.
Ciarán Shanahan at Cardinal Capital brokered the loan.
