Clúid Housing completes purchase of Dublin apartments in partnership with Legal & General

Clúid Housing today announces the acquisition of a 40-unit apartment development, Blackbanks View, in Raheny, Dublin. The €18.8m scheme is being delivered in partnership with LGIM Real Assets (Legal & General) and forms part of a larger €54m long-term financing agreement. Today’s announcement sees Clúid welcome over 100 residents to their new homes.

Clúid is one of the largest approved housing bodies (AHBs) in Ireland and the first Irish AHB to secure a financing agreement of this scale with an international institutional asset manager. With a portfolio of over 8,300 homes across Ireland, Clúid has an ambitious growth strategy to deliver 3,000 new social homes before the end of 2022.

In December 2020, LGIM Real Assets (Legal & General) announced that it had provided €54 million in long-term financing to Clúid Housing, enabling Clúid to deliver more high-quality social homes, and provide a socially useful home for pension fund capital. Today’s announcement sees the first of circa. 200 new social homes delivered as part of the financing agreement and is Legal & General’s first investment in the Irish social housing sector. Clúid’s acquisition of Blackbanks View also marks the arrival of long-term pension fund capital to the AHB sector.

Some 61,800[1] households are on local authority housing lists in Ireland. Official figures released in March show this figure decreased by 9.9% in 2020 with the Government reconfirming its commitment to ensuring that everyone can access a home, either on their own or with State support. As part of the Government’s ambition to increase the provision of social housing in Ireland, facilitating the evolution of established funding structures for social housing projects, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (DHLGH), and the Housing Agency have recently adapted their funding requirements to support innovation in the AHB sector.

Blackbanks View, developed by Dublin Loft Company (DLC), includes 11 one-bedroom, 24 two-bedroom and five three-bedroom apartments. The new homes have been allocated to people on Dublin City Council’s housing list and are conveniently located close to social, educational, commercial, transport and recreational amenities including St. Anne’s Park and Bull Island.

Clúid is poised to launch its first greening strategy this year and Blackbanks View is an excellent example of Clúid’s commitment to a greener future. “The purpose of this Greening Strategy is to set a clear direction for Clúid over the next decade as we work to reduce our environmental impact, contribute to Ireland’s emission reduction targets, and help create a sustainable future for all. Our greening strategy sets out our commitment to playing a part in this vital Climate Action work and I am pleased to confirm that Blackbanks View has been awarded an impressive BER (Building Energy Rating) of A2.” said Fiona Cormican, Clúid’s New Business Director

“Clúid Housing is committed to delivering good quality social housing and we are delighted to partner with Legal & General to deliver Blackbanks View here in Dublin. This new financing agreement provides a means for Clúid to scale up our ambitious targets and deliver homes for the most vulnerable in our society.” Cormican continued.

“We pride ourselves on being an innovative organisation and by diversifying our funding models, we are achieving greater value for money without compromising the quality of the homes we deliver to our residents.

“Clúid’s vision is ‘a society where everyone has a great place to live’. We are particularly pleased to be able to welcome our newest residents at a time when having a place to call home is so important to us all. The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has once again highlighted the importance of home. We believe that having your own home can be the catalyst for opportunities like seeking out employment, accessing education and other services that enable people to create homes and thriving communities.”

“Clúid relies on partnerships to deliver quality housing and services to our residents. This scheme, delivered in partnership with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Dublin City Council, LGIM Real Assets, and Dublin Loft Company is an excellent example of what can be achieved through effective partnerships.” Cormican concluded.

Steve Bolton, Head of Corporate Debt, Europe, LGIM Real Assets, said: “We’re delighted to continue to expand the LGIM business in Ireland, as well as our investments in affordable housing, bringing much needed long-term pension fund capital to the sector. The delivery of these new homes demonstrates the continued momentum of LGIM Real Assets’ partnership with Clúid. Since announcing the financing in December 2020, Clúid has already delivered the first tranche of new social homes and welcomed over 100 residents. Aligned with our social purpose, we have invested over £1.5 billion to date in affordable housing across the UK and now Ireland. It’s very rewarding to see the tangible impacts that this kind of investment has and our investment with Clúid is testament to this – it matches our extended liabilities and delivers real economic growth and social value.”

[1]https://www.gov.ie/en/press-release/71cfc-99-decrease-in-the-number-of-households-on-social-housing-waiting-list-nationally/
[1] LGIM internal data as at 31 December 2020. The AUM disclosed aggregates the assets managed by LGIM in the UK, LGIMA in the US and LGIM Asia in Hong Kong. The AUM includes the value of securities and derivatives positions.

ENDS

Notes to the Editor:

Interviews available.

Communications Manager – Clúid Housing
+353 87 113 5411

About Clúid Housing
Established in 1994, Clúid Housing is an independent, not-for-profit charity. Clúid is one of the largest approved housing bodies (AHBs) in Ireland with over 8,300 properties in management. Clúid leads the way in delivering social housing solutions to those on local authority housing lists. Our team of over 250 professional employees are committed to providing quality housing and services that enable people to create homes and thriving communities. For more information visit www.cluid.ie

About Legal & General
Established in 1836, Legal & General is one of the UK’s leading financial services groups and a major global investor, with international businesses in the US, Europe, Middle East and Asia. With over €1.43 trillion in total assets under management[2], we are the UK’s largest investment manager for corporate pension schemes and a UK market leader in pension risk transfer, life insurance, workplace pensions and retirement income.

LGIM
Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) has a strong presence in Ireland. The firm has been managing assets for Irish pension investors since 2002. Since 2012 LGIM has grown its Dublin based client team and is now recognised in the Irish pension and institutional market as a leading global asset manager. LGIM (Managers) Europe Limited was authorised in 2018 – LGIM’s European entity to help drive the firm’s growth in Europe – LGIM now has a growing team with 24 members located in Dublin and also has four other locations across Europe.
LGIM Real Assets is a division of Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM), one of Europe’s largest institutional asset managers and a major global investor. LGIM manages €1.43 trillion in assets (as at 31 Dec2020), working with a range of global clients, including pension schemes, sovereign wealth funds, fund distributors and retail investors. LGIM Real Assets has AUM of €36.4bn (as 31 Dec 2020) and is one of the largest private markets investment managers in the UK.
Investing in both debt and equity and across the risk/return spectrum, LGIM Real Assets actively invests in and manages assets across commercial, operational and residential property sectors, as well as infrastructure, real estate, corporate and alternative debt. Taking a long-term view in order to future proof our investments, LGIM Real Assets continues to lead the industry in ESG performance, considering all environmental, social and governance issues at asset level as well as portfolio level. During 2020, we developed a strategy as part of our commitment to net zero carbon emissions across the real estate equity business by 2050 and have also committed to measuring social value across 20% of our platform by the end of the year.