Kennedy Wilson, the US-based property investment giant, has secured a refinancing deal for $510 million (€472 million) related to debts secured against a portfolio of Irish apartments that were due to mature this year.
The group, which last year sold its stake in Dublin’s five-star Shelbourne Hotel to Archer Hotel Capital for around €260 million, said the new five-year deal replaces an existing $537 million mortgage, which represented around 40 per cent of its total debt maturities for 2025.
The debt is secured against several high-profile apartment schemes in the Republic, primarily in Dublin, comprising 1,689 units, or just under half of Kennedy Wilson’s 3,500-unit Irish portfolio.
The properties – including Clancy Quay in Islandbridge, Dublin 8, the luxury Grange East scheme in Blackrock, as well as the Elysian in Cork – are co-owned by Kennedy Wilson and the investment arm of insurer Axa through a joint venture company.
Occupancy rates across the portfolio are 99.5 per cent and the assets produce an annual operating income of around $40.3 million, Kennedy Wilson said on Monday in US Securities and Exchange (SEC) filings.
The interest rate on the new financing is 4.2 per cent, according to the SEC documents.
In a separate statement, the California-headquartered group said it had secured competitive terms from new lenders Wells Fargo and Deutsche Bank.
“This refinancing process satisfied a large 2025 maturity for Kennedy Wilson and generated extremely strong market interest,” Mike Pegler, president of Kennedy Wilson Europe said.
“We secured competitive terms from a diverse pool of over 30 potential lenders, including both local and international banks, insurers and debt funds. This is a testament to the quality of this portfolio as well as the underlying strength of the apartment market in Ireland, where we have invested since 2012.”
The Irish Times reported in March that Kennedy Wilson was looking to secure upwards of €145 million from the sale of two prime office investments in Dublin’s city centre and docklands.
CBRE and Knight Frank have been tasked by the US property giant with finding a buyer for 20 Kildare Street, which houses tenants includingAra Partners, Consello, Davidson Kempner Capital Management, Dentons, Egon Zehnder and Lanthorn and generates a rent roll of around €4 million annually.
It is also understood to have instructed CBRE and Savills to sell office accommodation at Capital Dock, the landmark mixed-use scheme in Dublin’s south docklands.
