Staff exodus could be a sign that Nama will wind up sooner than expected

Hardly a week passes without yet another property advisor exiting Nama. More than 40 have already left this year, and resignations seem to be speeding up as speculation intensifies that, with distressed property portfolios selling faster than expected, the State agency could well be in a position to wind down before the 2016 general election.

Such a scenario would presumably enable the Government to cite the closure of the National Asset Management Agency as another milestone on the road to recovery.

Luckily for those leaving Nama, there are any number of jobs available in the commercial agencies. This is down to the record level of property transactions sales volumes so far this year, which are heading for €3 billion – and the expectation that many of the purchasing funds will in due course flip on properties that don’t sit comfortably in their portfolios.

Nama’s head of asset recovery, Ronnie Hanna, quit earlier this month. He is being followed by the former Aviva property manager Hugh Linehan, who will join Lisney’s investment team.

Also on the move is retail expert Marcus Wren, who is rejoining the increasingly busy Bannon agency, and Mark Carlin, who is moving to international investors Kennedy Wilson. That fund had the good fortune to be on hand to grab some of the early bargains in the big sell-off.

In the early days of Nama, many developers and investors were put under considerable pressure to quickly offload heavily indebted offices and shopping centres. However, property veteran Gerry Gannon has managed to hold out until the market has substantially recovered before moving to shift a greatly varied commercial property portfolio.

This is due to happen in the coming weeks, when Gannon will bring to market a number of investment gems, such as high street banks. Earlier this year, Gannon sold on 80 houses and a 10-acre development site in Robswall, Malahide for €36 million.