Pre-opening | Property Bridges funds the refinancing and refurbishment of two period houses in Dalkey (Dublin) with a €2,200,000 bridge loan

11/09/2026 – ⏱ 6 min

This article is for informational purposes only and does not, under any circumstances, constitute investment advice or a recommendation.

The crowdfunding platform Property Bridges is preparing a new real estate crowdlending transaction in south County Dublin. The project consists of granting a €2,200,000 bridge loan to Greythorn Developments 2 Ltd, secured by a first fixed charge over two adjoining period houses at Fortlawns, Dalkey: Fortal House and Fortal Villa. Investors should keep in mind that any reference to return is inseparable from the corresponding risk, which is described below.

The transaction sets an interest rate of 8% per annum; this reference return is subject to investment risk and is not guaranteed. The maximum term is 24 months and interest is paid monthly. The amount breaks down into €1,075,000 to refinance Fortal House, €395,000 for its refurbishment, €695,000 to part-finance the purchase of Fortal Villa and €25,000 for fees and expenses. Structurally, the financing is arranged as a Loan A of €1,800,000, including arrangement and audit costs, and a Loan B of €400,000 for the refurbishment works. An audit fee of €12,915 including VAT is paid up front and rolled into the transaction, and no brokerage fee is payable. The published offering does not specify the opening date and time of the call, the minimum investment per user or an internal credit rating, points the investor should verify in the contractual documentation and in the key investment information sheet before committing funds.

Asset Description, Planning Progress and Exit Strategy

Fortal House is an early Victorian detached residence, two storeys over basement, double-fronted with bay windows, extending to 4,382 square feet. It has four large bedrooms and four reception rooms on the ground floor, on a 0.12-hectare (0.3-acre) site. It is currently used as a site office for an adjoining development and, in its present condition, is not suitable for habitation. Fortal Villa is also a detached two-storey house, of concrete block construction with a hipped and pitched slate roof and access via a gated private driveway, extending to 1,323 square feet with three bedrooms on the first floor and three reception rooms on the ground floor, on a 0.06-hectare (0.16-acre) site.

The borrower plans to carry out €400,000 of refurbishment works to Fortal House and then sell it on the open market. It has obtained a fixed-price outline quotation for that amount, excluding VAT, from its building contractor, covering a new roof, refurbishment of the basement, a new fitted kitchen, internal finishes and external works including paving, drainage and soft landscaping. Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council granted planning permission on 16 January 2025 (reference D24A/0828/WEB) for alterations and extensions to the dwelling, including demolition of the existing side extension and an upgraded entrance. Once the works are complete, the developer intends to market Fortal House at between €2,800,000 and €3,200,000, with the sale proceeds used to repay part or all of the facility.

Fortal Villa is being acquired for €1,000,000, of which €695,000 comes from this facility and €305,000 from the borrower, which plans to extend it significantly, subject to planning. To carry out that extension it needs to transfer part of the garden from Fortal House to Fortal Villa. That is precisely the reason for the refinancing: Fortal House currently carries a mortgage of around €1,075,000 in favour of Aros, which valued the property at €2,300,000 in April 2024 and is not willing to release the portion of garden required because it would affect the value of its security. The new loan cancels that mortgage and gives the borrower the flexibility to make the transfer, while placing the security over both properties.

The assets are located in the Killiney-Dalkey area of south Dublin, with Fitzpatricks Hotel and Killiney Hill Park nearby and schools including Loretto Dalkey and CBC Monkstown in the vicinity.

Financial Structure, Coverage Ratios and Real Collateral

Property Bridges appointed an independent third-party valuer, who valued both properties at €3,400,000 on an as-is basis. The breakdown places Fortal House at €2,400,000 as is and at €2,900,000 on the special assumption that the agreed €400,000 of refurbishment works are carried out, and Fortal Villa at €1,000,000, taking the combined value to €3,900,000 once the works are complete. The valuation was undertaken in accordance with the RICS Valuation – Global Standards (Red Book) effective 31 January 2025, for loan security purposes, following an inspection of the properties. The valuer also assessed market rent at €96,000 per annum for Fortal House and €63,000 for Fortal Villa, €159,000 combined. The report is supported by six comparable sales of large detached houses on standalone sites in Dalkey, transacted within the preceding 12 months, ranging from €715,000 to €1,760,000 — €361 to €750 per square foot — and averaging €641 per square foot.

Against those figures, the loan-to-value ratio stands at 53% on the initial drawdown of €1,800,000. On a fully drawn basis, the €2,200,000 facility equates to a 65% LTV against the current combined value of €3,400,000, reducing to 56% against the €3,900,000 resulting after the refurbishment. The security is a first fixed charge over both properties. The borrower contributes €305,000 in cash together with approximately €1,200,000 of equity already invested in Fortal House, and separately funds 30% of the purchase price of Fortal Villa, placing the loan-to-cost ratio on that acquisition at 70%.

Greythorn Developments 2 Ltd is a property development company that purchases and develops sites in the south Dublin area, ultimately owned by Donal Coyle and Mark Hayward. This would be the borrower's fourth facility with Property Bridges, which originally funded the purchase of Fortal House and subsequently the development facility to build eight terraced houses in its back garden. That loan was repaid in full and the houses have been selling at around €1,450,000 each, with all units sold or in the process of being sold and the final sales due to complete within the next two months. Property Bridges has carried out anti-money-laundering and know-your-customer checks on the borrower, with nothing to report, and has reviewed its accounts.

The documentation identifies four areas of risk. Valuation risk, which the platform considers mitigated by the appointment of an independent valuer and by the level of gearing described. Sales risk, given that repayment depends mainly on placing Fortal House on the open market. Planning and refurbishment risk, reduced by the permission already granted and by the contractor's fixed-price quotation. And energy rating risk: Fortal Villa currently holds a BER rating of G, the lowest possible, and no BER has yet been obtained for Fortal House; the platform itself warns that lenders and investors are increasingly sensitive to these ratings and that this may have a capital value and expenditure impact on the properties in future, although it links the point to the planned refurbishment and extension. As a weakness, the analysis notes that the planning process for the proposed extension to Fortal Villa may be protracted, although this would not affect the works on, or the subsequent sale of, Fortal House.

In compliance with the European crowdfunding framework, it is recalled that non-experienced investors have a four-calendar-day pre-contractual reflection period during which they may revoke their investment offer without justification or penalty. This is a crowdfunding product and not a deposit or a guaranteed savings product; the platform itself recommends not allocating more than 10% of net worth to crowdfunding projects. Real estate investments carry risks of illiquidity and of total or partial loss of principal; this vehicle is not supervised by the CNMV or the Bank of Spain, and lacks the coverage of the deposit guarantee scheme provided for in Directive 2014/49/EU and of the investor compensation scheme provided for in Directive 97/9/EC. Investors may not recover the capital contributed.

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