Property and the Institutional Investor in Ireland

Abstract

The built environment exists to accommodate the specialised functions characteristic of urban areas, and its development depends upon the capacity of built space to act as a vehicle for generating profits for those interests associated with the property sector. As an industry which ties up large quantities of capital in a fixed form over a long time period, it requires long term investors to fund such activity. In recent years, pension funds and life assurance companies have emerged as major owners of urban land and buildings in Ireland, and this paper investigates the rationale for their engagement in the property sector.