Cairn Homes IPO: Irish homebuilder to raise about £270m in London listing
Irish housebuilder Cairn Homes will raise around £270m in a London flotation to take advantage of Ireland’s resurgence by building more homes for the country’s rising population of young househunters.
The company, which was formed about a year ago by Michael Stanley and Alan McIntosh, will sell shares to investors for €1 each, raising money to build houses on five sites it has acquired across the country.
“There’s been very little construction of new homes in Ireland over the last six or seven years but now the population has started to get back on its feet there’s an opportunity,” Stanley said. Dublin, like London, has a severe undersupply of houses, with 3,300 homes built every year despite demand suggesting up to 10,000 are required.
Stanley and McIntosh will invest €29m in the venture.
Cairn will become the first Irish housebuilders to float in London for decades. Unlike the UK construction market, Ireland is dominated by privately owned housebuilder, which fell into difficulties leveraging their balance sheets to help drive growth before the 2007 downturn hit.
Shares will begin trading on June 10. Credit Suisse and Goodbody are joint global coordinators.