Ely group refinances its €18m debt

ELY PROPERTY, the student accommodation specialist that was bought out of the defunct Newcourt group before it was wound up last year, recently refinanced its remaining €18 million debts.

Chief executive Philip Marley bought Ely back from Newcourt early last year in a deal where no money changed hands but where he agreed to take on its €40 million debt burden.

The company, which has just taken over the management of a complex in Limerick University, has since cleaned up its balance sheet through a combination of disposals and administratorships in the UK.

Mr Marley said yesterday that the company disposed of projects that were either uneconomic or that it could not fund to clean up its balance sheet.

He said debts had been cut to €19 million, €17.9 million of which had been refinanced. He added that the firm had returned to profit.

Ely announced yesterday that it is taking over the management of the 180-bedroom Troy Student Village at University of Limerick.

Clare developer Bellisle Properties, to which AIB appointed Gearóid Costelloe of Grant Thornton as receiver last May, built the complex.

Ely had a small stake in the property and the company has taken on the management with a view to stabilising the business and adding it to its portfolio in the long term.

Mr Marley said that it was working with a group of institutional investors which was interested in taking over student accommodation properties that were delivering a stable income.

The company is in talks with banks in Britain in relation to a number of student accommodation properties that are in a similar situation.

It is also preparing to move on to a site in London’s East End where it plans to build a new facility across the street from the English capital’s school of ballet. It recently agreed a bank loan to finance this project.