British real estate firm to invest €1bn in projects here

A BRITISH property firm with €1bn to invest in buildto-rent and student accommodation has become the latest institutional investor to set up here.

Round Hill, which is based in London, is the latest in a wave of companies, funds and so-called real estate investment trusts (REITS) that are radically changing Ireland’s traditional housing market by buying or building entire blocks of accommodation to be rented long term.

The company has appointed John Vaudin as its managing director for Ireland.

“I’m excited about joining the Round Hill team and helping to bring their extensive international experience to bear in the Irish student accommodation and residential sectors,” Mr Vaudin said.

“We have ambitious plans and over €1bn of capital to deploy in Ireland and setting up a locally staffed office is a sign of our intention to invest for the long term.”

Mr Vaudin joined Round Hill after over 12 years with WK Nowlan real estate advisers in Dublin, where he was a director and shareholder responsible for investment, development and asset management advisory services to international and domestic investors, government agencies and educational and religious institutions.

He previously worked for Thames Water Property, BAA Lynton and Pillar Property in the UK and Treasury Holdings and Harcourt Developments in Ireland.

Round Hill is currently funding more than 7,000 student accommodation beds across the UK, Ireland and continental Europe, with a target to have 20,000 student beds rented in these markets by 2020.

It also has 333,875 sq m of residential and commercial projects under construction across Europe.

Since it was set up in 2002, Round Hill has invested more than €6.5bn in European property assets.

The move into Ireland comes after Round Hill pulled out of an earlier bid that would have seen it fund Irish builder Marlet’s ‘Dublin Living’ scheme, made up of 1,170 apartments spread across four Dublin sites at St Clare’s and Mount Argus in Harold’s Cross in the south side of the city, Carriglea on the Naas road and on the former CIÉ lands in Cabra.

That deal was worth an estimated value of €450m.