A team of Irish-based lending executives has launched Cullaun Capital, a new development finance platform to facilitate and accelerate the building of new homes in Ireland.

The new platform is supported by TPG Sixth Street Partners (TSSP), the global credit investment firm partnered with TPG with approximately $20 billion in assets under management.

Cullaun Capital will seek to meet the growing and immediate demand for new housing in Ireland by deploying significant capital to help developers bring new and existing residential projects to fruition. Initially focusing on the major urban areas (Greater Dublin Area, Cork, Galway and Limerick), the new lender will partner with quality homebuilders to provide a range of financing solutions tailored to their individual needs and the nature of their projects.

The firm’s Irish-based founders and management team include:

• Stephen J. Bell, Founder & CEO, is a former Board Director and Chief Risk Officer for Ulster Bank Group and Chief Risk Officer for AIB, whose 30-year career has been spent in property, commercial lending and full service banking in Ireland, UK and across Europe.

• Daire McCarthy, Founder & Head of Origination, is a chartered surveyor and holds a BComm from UCD and an MSc in Real Estate Investment and Finance. He has over 18 years’ experience in banking and finance and spent the early part of his career with Bank of Ireland and Investec, before becoming an equity fundraiser and stretched senior lender for development projects.

• Noel Ross, Founder & Head of Portfolio Management, has extensive experience in residential development finance, with various different roles across the sector spanning 15 years. He previously worked with senior stretched loan providers in Ireland and in the UK.

Cullaun Capital is entering the market with competitive financing of up to 90% of overall project costs for developers who have a track record of delivering quality.  The firm will support small, medium and large sized multi-unit housing developments.

Stephen J. Bell, Co-Founder and CEO of Cullaun Capital, said “Ireland requires more housing and this need will be met through a range of projects, ranging from four to five house schemes, to large scale multi-phase developments. Funding for these projects has been a challenge and we want to support quality developers by helping to bring their business plans to fruition. Backed by TPG Sixth Street Partners, we are confident that we can meet this demand from developers, and together we want to make a meaningful contribution to addressing Ireland’s housing shortage.”

Taking a highly tailored approach to determining the suitability of each application based on the developers own business plan, Cullaun Capital will  consider all sizes of housing developments, whether houses and apartments for private sale, social housing or student accommodation. It will also consider schemes requiring commercial amenities to be delivered. Cullaun Capital invites applications from €2 million upwards from developers.

Pictured above: Noel Ross, Stephen J Bell and Daire McCarthy.