Nama will sell O’Flynn loans

Nama will put up for sale €1.8bn of loans belonging to Cork-based property developer Michael O’Flynn, according to reports.

Nama has retained the investment bank UBS to oversee the divestment of the loan portfolio, which is expected to attract bids of over €1bn, said a report in the Sunday Business Post.

It is believed that Nama has received a number of unsolicited bids for the loans, which are among the best performing in the agency’s books.

The loans are understood to be secured against properties in Ireland, Germany, and Britain, which have an annual rent roll of roughly €75m.

International investors have been buying property and loans backing European real estate as the region rebounds from its sovereign debt crisis.

Lenders in the EU sold €29bn of portfolio loans and assets such as bank branches and mortgage-servicing units in the first half of 2013, according to Richard Thompson of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP in London.

The Irish residential and commercial property markets have seen a rebound over the past 12 months, particularly around the Dublin region.

O’Flynn Group’s developments include student housing across Europe and The Elysian apartment tower in Cork.

Nama was set up in 2009 to take over €74bn of risky commercial real estate loans held by Ireland’s banks and sell them over the next decade.

It is expected to redeem the €32bn in senior bonds it issued for the €74bn in loans by 2020. Source: The Irish Examiner