Park Developments exits Nama after repaying its loans

Irish property group Park Developments has exited Nama after repaying its loans and arranging a refinancing with AIB and Bank of Ireland.

The size of the refinancing has not been disclosed but is believed to be about €300 million. Deloitte advised Park on the deal.

Park confirmed to The Irish Times that it had repaid in full all of the capital and interest on its outstanding loans with Nama.

These were acquired by Nama in 2010 after the agency was set up by the State to take toxic property loans off the balance sheets of the domestic banks.

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The most accounts for Park Developments (Dublin) Ltd, one of the main operating entities in the group’s corporate structure, shows that it made a pretax profit of €6 million on turnover of €45.7 million in 2016.

The accounts stated that Park had agreed “funding arrangements” with Nama until December 2018.

Company chairman Michael Cotter said the refinancing "further demonstrates Park Development's longevity in the house-building sector, and positions us well to deliver more large-scale projects into the future".

He said the group had maintained a “strong relationship” with Nama in spite of a number of “challenging years” in the property sector in Ireland.

Projects

Park is a third-generation family-owned business that has built more than 20,000 houses and apartments, and 3 million sq ft in commercial property.

Projects currently under construction in Dublin include Clay Farm, Hamilton Park, Fernbank, The Reflector and The Park in Carrickmines. Sites in the planning pipeline are expected to deliver another 2,500 residential units over the coming years.

In May, Park sold a development of 262 apartments in Churchtown, south Dublin to Irish Life Investment Managers for more than €100 million.

Commenting on the refinancing, Donall O’Shea, head of real estate finance at AIB, said: “We are delighted to support one of the country’s most reputable and long-standing development companies. This collaborative funding provides an opportunity for AIB to support Park Developments to deliver much needed residential units.”

Paul McDonnell, head of property finance group at Bank of Ireland Corporate Banking, said: “Funding the delivery of new homes is of strategic importance to the bank as we help facilitate the delivery of critical social infrastructure for continued sustainable economic growth in Ireland.”

Cardinal Capital provided funding in relation to The Reflector, a large-scale office project at Dublin’s Grand Canal Dock.