8 hours ago
Irish real estate investment firm Lugus Capital to expand into UK
Irish real estate investment firm
Lugus Capital
is expanding into the UK and has appointed a new UK managing partner, in order to facilitate further growth.
The Irish investment firm behind the
Blackpool Shopping Centre
in Cork, manages a €900 million portfolio across residential, commercial and healthcare assets. Within that portfolio, the firm manages 2,000 residential units, with assets in Northern Cross, Rathmines House, and Liberties House.
David Hickey, partner at Lugus Capital, said the expansion Was an 'exciting new chapter' for the company and said entering the UK market is a 'natural next step' for the company's growth.
'We're proud to enter the UK market with a strong foundation, a great team, and a clear sense of purpose and ambition,' he said.
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Leading up the UK wing of the investment firm will be James Ghent, formerly of Goldman Sachs, who has experience in both the UK and Irish real estate markets and covered European Energy Infrastructure investing.
Commenting on the appointment, Mr Ghent said he was delighted to join the investment firm at a 'critical time'.
[
US investor to offload Cork's Blackpool Shopping Centre at heavily discounted €49.5m
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'The team have a strong track record in building and growing real estate platforms in Ireland,' he said, noting the firm is seeking to 'leverage those existing businesses and replicate that success in the UK with existing and new capital partners.'
'We believe the market's current macro environment provides opportunities for Lugus and our clients to invest in or create assets that deliver resilient real income on an attractive basis,' he said.
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Among the commercial assets under its management are Blackpool Shopping Centre and Retail Park and a further 500,000 sq ft of industrial assets in Dublin.
Lugus Capital, alongside London-headquartered Patron Capital, acquired Blackpool Shopping Centre in Cork as part of an off-market sale in September 2024.
The completion of the sale came following reports by The Irish Times that the partners had agreed to purchase the centre from US-based investor Varde Partners for about €49.5 million. A 57 per cent discount on the €115 million Varde paid to secure ownership of the scheme in 2014.
