Photo: GettyLarge, well-connected and influential firms dominate the list of developers that have received loans from the taxpayer-funded HBFI [Home Building Finance Ireland] scheme, new analysis by the Sunday Independent shows. But numerous sources in private-sector development funding firms say that HBFI’s focus on big players is skewing the market and discouraging international lenders from funding the Irish residential sector. Another loan recipient, Clerking Property, is linked to well-known developer Cannon Kirk, which exited ‘bad bank’ Nama following a €100m investment by US private equity giant Oaktree. “That is killing off the private equity competition and so now there’s a reluctance for new entrants to come into the market. “Private equity wants to transact but the Government is just undercutting private equity and taking the risk on to the State for deals and giving more money to developers.”

Source: Irish Independent November 24, 2024 17:31 UTC