Cairn Homes points to PRS potential amid strong results

Irish housebuilder Cairn Homes said its apartment pipeline could satisfy more than €1bn in PRS opportunities, in its results for the year ended 31 December 2018. It estimated that 2,500-3,000 units from the 4,400 apartment portfolio could meet this demand. Cairn owns a 15,100-unit land bank across 32 residential sites. The housebuilder is currently building on 13 sites, which it said will deliver more than 4,750 new homes. It will commence four PRS schemes this year, which it may bring to the market as forward sales opportunities. This includes 280 apartments in Citywest (Dublin 24), which will launch this month. Cairn reported revenue of €337m for 2018, up 125% on the previous year, including €294.2m from new home sales. It sold 804 homes at an average selling price of €366,000. Its operating profit rose to €53.2m, up from £14.5m the previous year. Its margin increased to 15.8%, up from 9.7%. Michael Stanley, co-founder and chief executive, said: “The strong performance in 2018 reflects the continuing success of our strategy, as we capitalise on the recovery of the Irish residential property market by establishing our reputation for high-quality, competitively priced new homes.” Stanley pointed to the “substantial quantum of international institutional capital” seeking PRS as an asset class. He said: “Our strategy is to integrate multifamily PRS into our apartment delivery pipeline in a measured and balanced manner to provide us with the flexibility and option to accelerate multifamily PRS delivery plans so as to maximise shareholder returns.” To send feedback, e-mail emma.rosser@egi.co.uk or tweet @EmmaARosser or @estatesgazette