Initiative Ireland has announced that Ireland’s first syndicated property finance platform, which it is scheduling to launch in September, aims to finance €60 million in construction loans to build approximately 250 new family homes over the next 18 months. Initiative Ireland will enable the company’s private syndicate members to participate in the funding of secured real estate loans across Ireland. Specialising in residential development finance, the company aims to support the construction of 250 new family homes by December 2018, while offering its private syndicate members the ability to earn 3.50% APR to 7.50% APR for their committed funds. All loans are professionally managed by Initiative Ireland, on behalf of its members from end to end. A minimum commitment of €10,000 is required per loan from members. The company is currently accepting membership applications from private individuals and institutions interested in lending €100,000 or more via its digital platform. Supported by Enterprise Ireland as a high-potential start-up, and headquartered at NovaUCD, the company was founded in 2015 by an experienced financial services team, with the goal of providing increased financial inclusion, competition and sustainability to the Irish finance market. Eoghan Murphy TD, Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, welcoming the announcement said, “Addressing the housing crisis requires innovation and initiative. It is great to see Irish firms, like Initiative Ireland, responding to the market need with new sustainable solutions. I welcome their goal of making finance available at affordable rates to smaller developers, which is a necessary component if we want to see the activation of dormant sites.” Padraig W. Rushe, CEO, Initiative Ireland said, “Individuals and institutions can now register for membership at InitiativeIreland.ie and be among the first to gain access to what is an exclusive secured asset class, often available only to banks and specialist institutions.” He added, “Moreover, at a time when the country is in desperate need of housing, our initiative will offer competitive returns and terms to our private members, while supporting the construction of much needed family homes across Ireland.” He concluded, “We have designed our offering to support additional, small developments across the country, with the expectation of financing the construction of a further 250 to 500 new homes per annum starting in 2019. Our affordable pricing is designed to activate dormant sites and as such this additional lending is expected to deliver a further 600 to 1200 additional construction jobs in 2019, in addition to 50 new jobs to be created in the company, over the next 5 years.” The company aims to provide competitive terms and rates to experienced property developers exclusively. Each loan is carefully assessed and pre-approved by an internal credit risk committee prior to syndication amongst members. All loans are secured with a 1^st lien against Irish real estate and must have a clearly defined exit strategy. As such, the company is focused primarily on financing the construction of quality family homes in high demand residential areas across Ireland. In September 2016, the company was recognised by the MetLife Foundation Inclusion Plus Awards, for its innovative social lending model, which promotes financial inclusion. Since then, the company has worked to tailor its business offering to create what it considers to be a sustainable solution for the Irish property market.