Initiative Ireland Secures €1.5 million Investment and Launches UK Subsidiary
- Subsidiary to enable UK investment firms to deploy funds into the Irish property development market
Initiative Ireland, a social impact finance firm specialising in the provision of lower-cost alternative finance loans to experienced developers, today announced that it has secured a €1.5 million investment.
The investment will support the strategic growth of Initiative Ireland over the next 3-years. As part of its expansion strategy the company has also announced the establishment of Initiative Financial Services UK Ltd, the firm’s new UK subsidiary. The subsidiary will enable UK investment firms to deploy funds into the Irish property development market.
Initiative Ireland, headquartered at NovaUCD, the Centre for New Ventures and Entrepreneurs at University College Dublin, was co-founded in 2015 by Padraig W. Rushe, Padraig M. Rushe, and Rory McEntee, and is supported by Enterprise Ireland as a High-Potential Start-Up.
Padraig W. Rushe, CEO, Initiative Ireland said, “Our offering already enables clients to co-fund secured property loans, leveraging our local lending expertise. In addition to the strong demand we’ve experienced within the Irish market we have had significant interest from the UK, where investors are keen to deploy their funds into euro denominated, institutional grade, Irish property backed loans.”
“Through our new UK subsidiary and the investment secured, we are now in a position to promote our offering in the UK to meet that demand.”
Today’s announcements follow on from the recent launch of the Initiative Financial Senior Credit Property Sub-Fund I (The Fund), a sub-fund of The Davy Platform ICAV.
As an appointed representative of Thornbridge Investment Management LLP which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, Initiative Financial Services UK will promote both the company’s Fund Offering as well as its peer-to-peer Corporate Lending Accounts across the UK Market.
Targeting institutional and corporate investors within the UK, the firm will provide UK companies with the ability to invest directly into Irish Property Backed Loans, supporting the construction of new social, affordable and min-market housing across Ireland.
ENDS
12 April 2019
For further information contact Micéal Whelan, Communications Manager, UCD Research and Innovation, e: miceal.whelan@ucd.ie, t: + 353 1 716 3712, Padraig W. Rushe, Initiative Ireland, e: finance@InitiativeIreland.com or t:+353 1 685 9259.
Editors Notes
Initiative Financial Services trading as Initiative Ireland is a financial services company. It acts as Loan Agent on all loans. With a Secured Lending Account from Initiative Ireland, clients can lend as part of a Syndicate, in return for a share of the issued loan and interest income. The company has financed over €7.5 million in property backed loans over the last year and has repaid over €3 million already to lenders, with 100% of loan performing, supporting the construction of 100+ social and affordable homes to date.
All loans are secured with a first charge over the property deeds. Clients can tailor their loan portfolio in line with their own risk-reward appetite, choosing which pre-approved loans to fund and opting to finance senior and/or subordinate debt, to achieve their financial goals. www.initiativeireland.ie
Initiative Financial Services UK Ltd is an appointed representative of Thornbridge Investment Management LLP which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (of the UK).
The Davy Group is one of Ireland’s leading financial services groups, providing a broad range of services to institutional investors, corporations and private clients. The group was established in 1926 and has evolved to include core businesses of wealth and asset management, capital markets, corporate finance and research.
At NovaUCD, the hub for new ventures and entrepreneurs at University College Dublin, we nurture and support new high-tech and knowledge-intensive companies, such as Initiative Ireland, as part of UCD’s research and innovation mission. NovaUCD has supported over 360 companies and early-stage ventures. Supported companies have attracted over €760 million of investment and currently employ over 1,040 people directly. NovaUCD has been funded through a unique public-private partnership that includes AIB Bank, Arthur Cox, Deloitte, Enterprise Ireland, Ericsson, Goodbody Stockbrokers, UCD and Xilinx. www.novaucd.ie