The McGinnis Group, a Derry based property developer, has confirmed it has re-financed previous Nama/Cerberus controlled assets as part of a new deal arranged by Dublin based Earlsfort Capital Partners.
The exact financial details of the deal have not been publicly disclosed.
The family-run Eglinton headquartered property group, which was founded in 1978, is a leading house builder in the North and is currently developing several large scale residential sites in Belfast.
John McGinnis, chief executive of the McGinnis Group, said today the new finance deal with Earlsfort was a “hugely positive development” not just for his company but also for the wider Northern Ireland economy.
“It is a clear indication of the increased optimism and confidence in the local construction sector and the expanding potential within the marketplace,” Mr McGinnis said.
He said although trading conditions had been “recessionary” over the last five years the group had continued to “trade successfully”.
But he believes the new refinancing deal will help strengthen McGinnis’s position in the local housing market.
“Although the Nama assets only formed part of the McGinnis Group interests, this refinancing deal now provides a more positive platform from which to advance. In the most challenging of business conditions McGinnis has been able to maintain much-needed jobs throughout the region but now will have greater opportunity to not only secure these jobs longer term but create more.
“The deal also leaves McGinnis Group better placed to undertake new projects and create fresh developments to meet enhanced demand in a resurgent economy,” Mr McGinnis added.
The funding for the refinancing will come from Garrison Earlsfort Investments Limited - a funding vehicle of Dublin based Earlsfort Capital Partners.
The investment manager is in turn backed by Garrison Investment Group an American-based $4 billion investment fund which operates in Ireland and the UK.
In a statement today Earlsfort Garrison said the deal arranged “will unlock the potential of the assets involved and also provide an opportunity for the original holding company to actively participate in the planned long-term development and disposal of these interests”.
