By Joe Dermody
People in the construction sector are ready to hit the ground running, according to Property Bridges, the peer-to-peer finance provider for the property sector.
Property Bridges has launched two new projects in the build-up to the initial steps to get Ireland ‘back to work’ from Monday, May 18. One of these is a fund to develop more than 60 new houses in the seaside town of Tramore, Co Waterford.
The PropertyBridges.com platform is currently hosting the first €750,000 tranche of an overall €2m property development loan to a well known local Waterford private construction firm.
The money will allow the firm to build these new homes. Lenders can invest from as little as €500 to €100,000 in each project to make secured returns of between 7%-9%.
The development went live on the Property Bridges lending platform on Wednesday and was fully funded with €750,000 invested in less than 24 hours by 156 lenders.
To-date, Property Bridges and its lenders have lent more than €5m to new home development projects in eight counties throughout the country. The plan is to lend over €25m in 2020 to help finance 500 new homes nationwide in the coming months.
David Jelly, CEO of Property Bridges, said: “With the help of the National Digital Research Centre (NDRC) and Enterprise Ireland, we have the technology, research, contacts and business model in place to be a disruptive platform in the sector.
“Raising development finance has never been tougher for small-to-medium sized property developers. By investing in secure property loans, Irish savers can fund bright hard-working local property developers to undertake construction projects, provide much needed new homes and actually see their money at work in local communities.”
In the Tramore project, the borrower has built and sold over 90 houses in the estate since 2015. The family-run construction firm has been operating in the Waterford area since the 1970s.
PropertyBridges.com was launched last year with a plan to re-energise the small development and construction industry in Ireland and with the support of the Irish public believe the finalise can be readily and quickly available.
The company’s founders brought significant experience in Irish and overseas property and finance sectors. The plan is to act as a conduit to encourage members of the public to use some of the €100bn sitting in deposit and savings accounts doing nothing, making next to zero return, to invest in property. The model has proven hugely popular with investors.
