Castlehaven Finance is lending €65.8 million to developer Eastwise to build more than 370 apartments on a key Dublin site.
Specialist lender Castlehaven, which has financed the construction of 3,500 new homes since 2014, confirmed it would fund the Kieran Gannon-led Eastwise’s Hartfield Place project on the city’s northside.
The US-backed firm has agreed to lend Eastwise €65.8 million for the construction of 374 apartments on the site at Swords Road, Drumcondra, between the city centre and airport.
Eastwise hopes to cash in on demand for housing in the area, which is close to Eastpoint Business Park and Dublin City University, as well as being on one of the main routes into the city centre.
The builder bought the 6.8 acre site in 2018 for €30 million and has since got planning permission for the Hartfield Place project, comprising seven apartment blocks, a childcare facility and commercial space. Building is due to start there in coming weeks.
The deal is the third struck by the pair. Castlehaven previously lent cash to Eastwise to build 118 houses at its Rahillion development in Donabate, Co Dublin, and 35 dwellings in Daneswell Place, Glasnevin.
Castlehaven partner Will Aylmer pointed out that Eastwise was an existing client. Mr Gannon said his company was happy to have firm's backing on a significant development.
Mr Aylmer noted that Castlehaven had seen strong sales over the past two months from projects it was already financing.
Construction close
The government shut down construction along with many other industries in the spring as it moved to contain Covid-19’s spread, hitting both building and property.
Castlehaven has lent €127.7 million to builders to fund eight projects since the original lockdown restrictions kicked in.
Mr Aylmer and business partner Clark McCann set up Castlehaven in 2014 to fill a gap in demand for finance that banks were unable to provide as they emerged from the recession.
Since then it has lent €855 million to fund residential and some commercial building.
The company, originally backed by UK fund Pollen, financed smaller schemes, many including social housing.
Last year Pollen sold its stake in Castlehaven to US fund Avenue, which pledged to loan €2 billion, or €500 million annually over four years, to building projects here.
“The backing of Avenue has given us the ability to do larger transactions,” Mr Aylmer said yesterday.
Castlehaven finds the builders and projects to which Avenue loans the cash, and also manages the loans and deals with the clients.
New York-based Avenue manages more than $10 billion (€8.45 billion) for its clients.
