Initiative Ireland appoints investment director
IRISH peer-to-peer platform Initiative Ireland has appointed Brian Ó Nualláin as director of investment and wealth management.
Ó Nualláin (pictured left alongside Rory McEntee, co-founder and chief operating officer of Initiative Ireland) was previously business development director for Ireland at Aviva Investors.
Initiative Ireland sets up syndicates of loans for P2P lenders to fund and back residential development projects.
In December 2017, the platform raised €1.5m for a loan to North Strand Five Lamps for a development in Dublin that is the country’s largest P2P loan to date.
“There is a significant opportunity in the market for conservative, secured property finance,” said Ó Nualláin.
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“Coupled with the increasing demand for high quality, low volatility private debt, this offers a significant opportunity to would-be investors and lenders, who are looking to earn a fair reward without taking excessive risks.
“The experience of the team and their considered approach to lending, is something I’m proud to be associated with and I look forward to engaging with new partners to expand the reach of our offering.”
Initiative Ireland said that Ó Nualláin will support the company’s next stage of growth as it prepares to expand its product offering to include pension lending accounts and forthcoming senior debt fund.
The firms said its senior debt fund, which has an initial target raise of €35m (£31.2m) and a cap of €150m, will finance additional loans via the company’s syndicated finance platform.
“I’m delighted to have someone of Brian’s calibre joining the company,” said McEntee.
“He brings both a new breadth of experience to the company and a great energy which makes him the perfect fit, as we begin what will be an exciting new phase for the company.”
Read more: Property underpins Ireland’s P2P sector