Property Bridges wins further investment to fund all-Ireland expansion
DUBLIN-based peer-to-peer lender Property Bridges has announced plans to expand its business across every county in Ireland, after receiving a new cash injection from a Northern Irish investment firm.
Lagan Investments has taken a ten per cent equity stake in the property-backed lending business, and it has also supplied up to €5m (£4.48m) in additional lending capital to support new housing projects.
“[We] are delighted to partner with Property Bridges, which we consider to be a truly transformational business, helping to deliver much needed homes across Ireland,” said John Lagan, a director at Lagan Investments.
“The highly experienced Property Bridges team have demonstrated a thorough understanding of the fundamentals of property development and lending, providing a simple solution which will help to address residential housing shortages nationwide.”
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Property Bridges has also received support from Ireland’s National Digital Research Centre and Enterprise Ireland, as it aims to become the number one online marketplace for property development investment in Ireland over the next few years.
Property Bridges’ platform allows lenders to invest between €500 and €100,000 in new housing developments across Ireland, and offers target returns of approximately eight per cent per annum.
The platform was launched in September 2018, and it already has more than 2,000 registered lenders, who have helped fund new home builds in Dublin, Kilkenny, Waterford and Limerick.
Its aim is to fund more than 100 new housing development projects in Ireland over the next three years, with loans amounting to €150m.
“Property Bridges is a prime example of an Enterprise Ireland high potential start-up company with global ambition, developing innovative solutions to meet growing demand,” said Michael Browne, senior development advisor at Enterprise Ireland.
“Enterprise Ireland has worked closely with the Property Bridges since inception to develop a platform to address a gap in the market for housing development finance, while simultaneously aiding the creation of much needed homes. Through partnership with international investors, like Lagan Investments, the company has the potential to continue to successfully scale its operations in Ireland and beyond and we look forward to working closely with Property Bridges to optimise the company’s full growth potential.”
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