Planning Permission Boost: €770m Housing Finance to Accelerate Irish Build
Housing finance availability remains a pressing concern as builders seek planning permission to meet Ireland’s growing demand for homes.
Activate Capital, supported by the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF) and global firm KKR, has committed €770 million to fund residential developments across Ireland. This significant financial boost aims to ease capital constraints for homebuilders working through the planning permission process and accelerate new housing supply.
Since its inception, Activate Capital has deployed €3 billion in residential development finance, enabling the delivery of over 25,000 homes nationwide, including houses, apartments, and student accommodation. The new €770 million fund will scale this impact further, addressing a critical gap in development finance to increase housing scheme approval speed and scale. According to Activate’s CEO Robert Gallagher, the partnership supports “a material step change” required to meet the government’s heightened housing targets and shift the pace of housing delivery nationwide.
The funding mix will back both established and emerging builders, including many small and medium enterprises that face challenges securing traditional bank financing. This complements efforts by Home Building Finance Ireland (HBFI), which has approved €3 billion in loans for more than 15,000 homes in 206 developments across 25 counties, mostly supporting SMEs with smaller loan facilities. HBFI recently enhanced its lending capacity by 27% through a €200 million facility from Danske Bank, reinforcing a growing financial pipeline critical for projects navigating environmental impact assessments and An Bord Pleanála decisions.
Ensuring the availability of development finance is vital for builders facing hurdles like material contravention of planning guidelines or flood-risk development regulations, which can delay projects or restrict housing outputs. The combined finance packages from private credit providers like Activate and government-backed lenders such as HBFI provide essential capital to overcome these barriers, facilitating smoother housing scheme approval and compliant development.
The government has underlined the importance of these financing tools in its broader housing strategy, “Delivering Homes, Building Communities,” encapsulating the need for expanded capital flows to enable increased home construction while addressing sustainability and local planning considerations. This includes adherence to environmental and flood-risk development standards to achieve long-term, safe, and viable communities.
- €770m new fund by Activate Capital and ISIF supporting residential development finance
- Activate has previously provided €3 billion financing enabling over 25,000 homes across Ireland
- Home Building Finance Ireland boosts lending by 27% with €200m Danske Bank facility, aiding mainly SME builders
- Finance targets challenges linked to planning permission, including material contravention and environmental impact issues
- Government housing plan relies on diversified finance solutions to expedite housing scheme approval
These funding initiatives work alongside equity and debt financing solutions offered by commercial banks such as Bank of Ireland, which maintains a €2.5 billion fund for homebuilders and has committed €1.3 billion to date. Together, these programs support a wide range of housing tenures—from private to social and affordable housing projects—ensuring broader market stability and responsiveness to demand fluctuations related to planning permission outcomes.
Long-term financial stability is further supported by complementary loan facilities like the €400 million Housing Finance Agency (HFA) and European Investment Bank partnership, which provides fixed-rate, long-term financing aimed at social and affordable housing providers. These layered financial initiatives demonstrate a comprehensive approach to unlocking housing development potential amidst complex planning landscapes.
Builders and developers navigating the planning permission process now have access to a more robust funding ecosystem, reducing risks tied to delays caused by environmental or flood-risk development concerns. Enhanced access to capital encourages timely project commencement and completion, ultimately contributing to Ireland’s national goals of sustainable housing growth and community building.
Originally reported in The Irish Times on Wed, 03 Dec 2025 10:57:56 +0000. Full story
