Ires REIT registered a period of extraordinarily high demand within the first quarter of the year as it undergoes a strategic review and restructuring of its operations. The company, noted as the largest private landlord in the country, disclosed a 99.5 per cent occupancy rate for the first quarter of the year in an announcement made public prior to their AGM on the upcoming Friday. This figure denotes a marginal rise of 0.1 percentage point since closing on 2023, indicating that they were effectively at full capacity with regards to rentals.
Late 2023 saw a 3.9 percent reduction in revenue following asset sales, while the margin of net rental income remained comparable to figures reported for the previous year’s first quarter. Ires also highlighted that over 99 percent of the total amount due was successfully collected.
Pressure from activist investor Vision Capital triggered a strategic evaluation earlier this year, calling for an organisational disaggregation or disinvestment of the REIT. This scrutiny is still ongoing, confirmed by the company. A deal was settled on with Vision Capital the previous month which will result in them acquiring two seats on the board.
New CEO, Eddie Byrne provided an optimistic perspective for both Ireland’s PRS sector and the standing I-RES portfolio, attributing it to the herculean strength of demand that amounts noticeably higher than supply. Byrne commented, “In an attempt to realise potential gains dormant within the Ires operational model and optimise shareholder value, we are persistently going through a strategic evaluation.”
Ires’ Loan to Value (LTV) ratio displayed a minute increase to 447% which is within compliance with the firm’s banking covenant as well as Irish REIT leverage regulations.