Initiative Ireland Announces Plans to Expand Operations in Ireland and UK and Appoints New Staff
- Over €25 million in social and affordable housing development loans have been co-funded by company’s impact investor community
- Bryan Scannell appointed as new Director of Property Lending
Initiative Ireland, the property finance and impact investment specialist, today announced that it plans to expand operations to fund the construction of additional energy efficient, social and affordable houses across Ireland and into the UK market.
As part of its expansion strategy Initiative Ireland is growing its team and today also announced the appointment of Bryan Scannell as the company’s new Director of Property Lending. Initiative Ireland will be making a number of additional senior appointments during the year.
Initiative Ireland is a private company which was founded in 2015 and operates Ireland’s largest property lending marketplace. The company, headquartered at NovaUCD, the Centre for New Ventures and Entrepreneurs at University College Dublin, is supported by Enterprise Ireland as a high-potential start-up.
Initiative Ireland manages an impact investor community, comprising of funds, Irish businesses and investors, who co-fund construction projects to build social and affordable houses by providing experienced developers with short-term, senior, secured property loans.
To date over €25 million in loans has been co-funded by Initiative Ireland’s investor community to support such housing projects nationwide. The company now plans to expand its investor community into the UK in 2020, in addition to expanding into the Northern Ireland lending market.
Padraig W. Rushe, CEO, Initiative Ireland, said, “At Initiative Ireland we support smaller development projects, providing a good return for our clients while also helping to deliver much needed social and affordable housing.”
“To date we have seen the positive impact our model and in 2020 we will be looking to expand our offering into the UK market, in addition to scaling up our impact across Ireland, including Northern Ireland.”
Bryan Scannell has over 12 years of lending experience within the Irish, US and UK markets. Having previously held roles with Ulster Bank and AIB, he joins Initiative Ireland from WebBank, a US chartered industrial bank which specialises in niche financing solutions and syndicated loans.
Padraig W. Rushe added, “We are delighted to have Bryan join the team. He brings a wealth of specialist lending knowledge to the role. He also understands and shares our values as an impact finance provider. It is essential for us as a company that our team is committed to delivering ethical and financially inclusive solutions that deliver a clear measurable social impact.”
Bryan Scannell, Director of Property Lending, Initiative Ireland, said,” It’s an exciting time to join the company. Having worked for many years in financial services and across many markets, Initiative Ireland stands out as a socially committed and value driven company.”
“As an impact finance provider Initiative Ireland focuses on supporting smaller scale, energy-efficient developments to provide increased diversification to its impact investor community while also helping to deliver homes at speed, supporting community needs. As such I am delighted to join the Initiative Ireland team as it plans to scale operations across Ireland and into the UK.”
Initiative Ireland enables private investors to co-fund property-backed loans, committing as little as €500 per loan alongside its institutional credit partners. This hybrid model promotes financial inclusion and also provides surety of funding to the company’s borrowers.
Initiative Ireland’s lending team originate and manage each loan from end-to-end on behalf of investors. Each loan is secured with a first legal charge over the property.
ENDS
4 February 2020
For more information contact Miceal Whelan, University College Dublin, Communications Manager, UCD Research and Innovation, t: + 353 1 716 3712, e: miceal.whelan@ucd.ie or Padraig W. Rushe, CEO, Initiative Ireland, t: +353 1 685 9259 or e: team@initiativeireland.ie.
Editors Notes
Initiative Financial Services trading as Initiative Ireland is a private (Irish owned) financial services company focused on delivering social impact. It acts as Loan Agent on all loans. As a Private, Pension or Corporate Lender with the company, clients can lend as part of a Private Lending Syndicate, in return for a share of the issued loan and interest income. Members are able to tailor their loan portfolio in line with their own risk-reward appetite, choosing which pre-approved loans to fund to achieve their financial and social goals. www.initiativeireland.ie
Initiative Ireland Nominees Limited is a trust and company service provider, authorised by the Department of Justice and Equality of Ireland. It acts as the Security Agent, holding a first legal charge over the funded properties in trust for the Private Lending Syndicate Members. www.iin.ie
Initiative Ireland is a partner of MANGOPAY, a public limited liability company incorporated in Luxembourg (Number B173459) and approved as an electronic money institution by the Financial Sector Regulator (CSSF), Luxembourg.
At NovaUCD, the hub for new ventures and entrepreneurs at University College Dublin, we nurture and support new high-tech companies as part of UCD's mission. At NovaUCD we provide purpose-built, state-of-the-art incubation facilities alongside a comprehensive business support programme for client companies such as Initiative Ireland. NovaUCD has supported over 360 companies and early-stage ventures. Supported companies have attracted over €760 million of investment and currently employ over 1,040 people directly. NovaUCD has been funded through a unique public-private partnership that includes AIB Bank, Arthur Cox, Deloitte, Enterprise Ireland, Ericsson, Goodbody Stockbrokers, UCD and Xilinx. www.novaucd.ie