Urbeo Residential, the Irish residential investment platform, has invested over €400m in acquisitions in its first year to build a 1,300-unit portfolio of apartments for rent.

The company has made nine acquisitions since Starwood Capital Group backed the platform 12 months ago, joining the Irish Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF) as an investor. Urbeo has a pipeline of opportunities under exclusivity which it aims to complete by March 2020, that will take the business over the 1,900-unit level.

Urbeo’s  portfolio now comprises both inner-Dublin and suburban locations including the City Centre,  Citywest, Hansfield, Finglas, Tallaght and Maynooth.

Commenting on the acquisitions, Richard Ball, Partner at Urbeo, said: “The team has made very significant progress towards our goal of building a €1bn portfolio of build-to-rent assets and establishing the preeminent PRS investment business in the country in terms of scale and quality of units. We expect to complete on several additional acquisitions by March 2020, growing to a portfolio of over 1,900 units. We are currently working on plans to launch our consumer facing brand which will provide an enhanced tenant experience operated by a dedicated professional landlord.”

Urbeo’s strategy seeks to partner with builders or developers to deliver rental housing projects in well-serviced locations with good connectivity to employment centres. Its focus is on the mid-tier of the market in the Greater Dublin Area where there is strong rental demand, with the bulk of the portfolio to come from newly built developments.

Urbeo will be launching consumer-facing brand in the first half of 2020 whichwill help to differentiate its offering with the guarantee to tenants of a professional landlord providing a high quality of service and 24/7 availability. Through a focus on superior design, finishes and furniture Urbeo aims to be the landlord of choice for tenants looking for the best rental experience.