Aberdeen Investments Chooses Dublin For First European Refinancing Deal
In another boost to overseas liquidity in Ireland’s real estate market, Aberdeen Investments has chosen Dublin for its first European commercial real estate loan with the €33M financing of an unnamed Grade A office property.
It is the initial step in its planned expansion of its platform to support European borrowers.
The company said it will focus on the Irish and Dutch markets initially as it widens its financing business.
Aberdeen Investments’ commercial real estate lending team has operated in the UK since 2013 and has deployed more than €3B to date. While the company said that the details of the Dublin building it financed will remain private, it confirmed it is an investment asset.
“This initial investment demonstrates our ability to source, underwrite and execute high quality loans in Europe as well as the UK,” Aberdeen Investments Head of Commercial Real Estate Lending Martin Barnewell said in a statement.
“We have a strong pipeline of opportunities in Europe and look forward to securing attractive investments for our clients while providing an important source of alternative capital for real estate investors across Europe. We have been upgrading our house view on real estate for the past few quarters and continue to believe the sector has turned a corner, entering a new growth phrase.”
Aberdeen has made several investments in Dublin in recent years. Aberdeen’s Pan European Residential Property Fund bought the multifamily/build-to-rent Roselawn scheme in Dublin for €70M in 2023 from Richmond Homes.
Meanwhile, in 2021 its European Long Income Real Estate Fund purchased a 39-unit apartment block at 19-20 Blackhall Street for €20M.
The Aberdeen financing deal comes after Kennedy Wilson and AXA IM Alts completed the refinancing of circa €447M of maturing debt secured against five apartment assets in Dublin and Cork in April.
The five-year facility was secured from Wells Fargo and Deutsche Bank following a process run by Eastdil Secured that received strong interest from lenders, according to the joint venture partners.
