Four student accommodation centres in Dublin with more than 1,400 beds between them had a combined turnover of over €19 million last year, according to company accounts filed in Luxembourg.
The Luxembourg companies, which are in turn owned by German pension funds, reported combined losses in 2024 of more than €7.5 million, which is similar to the losses reported the previous year.
They valued their Dublin properties at the end of 2024 at more than €200 million, according to the accounts.
The accommodation from which the companies derive their income from are the Binary Hub, Bonham Street, the Liberties, Dublin 8; The Loom, the Liberties, Dublin 8; Dorset Point, 107 Dorset Street, Dublin 1; and Beckett House, Summerhill, Dublin 1, according to the accounts.
RM Block
The centres are managed for the German funds by the US real estate multinational, Hines, which is paid a percentage of the operating profits.
The Luxembourg companies, River Dublin 1 Sarl, River Dublin 2 Sarl and River Dublin 3 Sarl, do not have any employees and are part of an international funding and taxation structure.
It is not clear the extent to which the losses recorded by the companies are reflective of the overall financial performance of the accommodation centres.
The companies’ turnover comes from the renting of student accommodation during the academic year, language schools, and summer rentals, according to the accounts. The income is used to service interest payments.
The four student centres are currently offering accommodation for the coming academic year, with beds being offered for 41 weeks at weekly rates ranging from €243 per week to €320 per week depending on the size of the en suite rooms.
The bedrooms are organised in apartments where occupants share kitchens. Other shared facilities are also provided in the buildings, including utilities, gyms and wifi.
The Luxembourg accounts state that in 2018 River Dublin 1 borrowed €92.4 million from Wells Fargo Bank on terms that were amended in 2023 when the life of the loan was extended to July 2026. A 2019 loan of €34.5 million to River Dublin 2 was also extended to July 2026 on the same date. River Dublin 3 borrowed €21.3 million from Wells Fargo in 2023.
All the loans involve agreements as to the debt yields to be achieved by the companies. Debt yields are a relationship between a borrower’s net operating income and the amount it has borrowed.
At the end of 2024, each of the companies was compliant in relation to their financial covenants, according to the accounts.
