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London-headquartered lender Starz Real Estate has backed Dublin developer Bartra with a new €21.5m senior debt facility to support the refinancing of its 98-room co-living development in Rathmines. Starz’s loan has refinanced the debt related to the construction of the Niche Living development near the Grand Canal and will support its first years of operation.
Niche Living Rathmines was purpose-built for co-living and opened in July 2024. This is the second collaboration between Starz and Bartra in Dublin, following the €26m financing of Niche Living Dún Laoghaire in February 2024. The lender said it remained optimistic about the Irish market.
It said that, since its launch in April 2023, Niche Living has shown a strong let-up trajectory, underscoring the strong demand for co-living in the Dublin market. Read more “There is high demand for good quality residential products across Dublin, including co-living which appeals to young professionals who value flexibility, community and having great amenities in their building,” said Limor Shilo, head of origination at Starz. “We remain positively optimistic about the market in 2025 as more developments come to fruition.
” There is high demand for good quality residential products across Dublin Niall Doran, chief financial officer at Bartra, said the success of the Niche Living concept was driven by continued Irish economic growth “as well as delivering the right blend of product, flexibility and service offering for our target market.” Bartra is set to launch its third Niche Living property later this year, in Ballsbridge, Dublin 4. The chief financial officer said the company was “exploring other opportunities to grow the brand further”.
One of Bartra's co-living projects, Niche Living Co-living developments have raised some controversy, with the Rathmines development originally rejected by Dublin City Council because of the number of occupants who would share a single kitchen and living space. It was later approved on appeal to An Bord Pleanála with Bartra arguing that the development was in accordance with national policy. Co-living is seen by many in the sector as an important part of the supply mix for tackling the housing crisis.
It was also warned last year by the council that short term letting was a breach of its planning permission. Read more.
