Elkstone will invest in housing, venture, and other impact areas across the island of Ireland.
Investment house Elkstone has raised €5m in strategic capital from a range of leading investors and clients, including Dalata hotel group founder Pat McCann.
With this new funding, Elkstone will continue to invest in housing, venture, and other impact areas across the island of Ireland. Additionally, they plan to enhance their services through a client-focused digital platform, expand their team, and open a new office in Northern Ireland.
“Elkstone is adding to the Irish landscape with its unwavering dedication to putting clients first and empowering visionary founders and clients alike. Their forward-thinking approach is paving the way for a new type of all-island investment”
Elkstone is perhaps best known for having emerged as a leading early-stage venture investor having built a start-up venture portfolio over the past decade counting several of Ireland’s most prominent tech companies in its portfolio such as Flipdish, LetsGetChecked, Manna, and Soapbox Labs.
Elkstone is one of Ireland’s largest early-stage venture funds, with more than €100m invested. Elkstone’s venture arm has invested in more than 50 start-ups to date, supporting the creation of over 1,000 jobs, with these companies collectively going on to raise over €600m in follow-on funding.
Last year Elkstone revealed a €100m fund that will focus on early-stage EIIS-qualified start-ups with investment round ranging between €1m and €2m.
Real about real estate
The group also has a decade-long reputation in real estate, having supported numerous developers through the financial crisis and subsequently built out its own real estate development and asset management team. It is now stepping up further its private wealth management offering.
The firm is actively providing solutions, expertise and funding that the island of Ireland needs to help address the housing crisis.
To date, its team has executed over €2bn of real estate transactions and has delivered more than 3,200 properties and 1,000 student beds. With an increased focus on living real-estate, the firm has developed world-class investment platforms in Student Accommodation and the Build to Rent sectors. This included the purchase of 105 acres of Nama-controlled land, paying 50% over the initial €4.6m price guide for the Stoneview site in Blarney Co Cork.
“We are pleased that our clients have demonstrated added trust in Elkstone by becoming shareholders,” said Alan Merriman, Elkstone’s CEO.
“This is the best possible endorsement we can get and reflects both on the robustness of our collaborative open investment architecture and the faith our clients have in our vision and stellar team. We want to build a special Irish business with lasting positive impact.
“Our client base includes some of Ireland’s most successful entrepreneurs and C-suite executives, with strong relationships across global family offices and leading international investment firms, Elkstone is positioned in the Irish market to help in a meaningful way with ongoing housing challenges; fostering further the Irish venture ecosystem; and improving access to sophisticated wealth management and impact investing – across the entire Island of Ireland.”
Pat McCann, spoke about his decision to join Elkstone as a shareholder, chair and client, saying: “I take great pride in being a part of Elkstone’s future plans as the premier Investment House in Ireland, dedicated to supporting entrepreneurs, senior executives, institutional LPs, the venture community and the Irish diaspora. Elkstone is adding to the Irish landscape with its unwavering dedication to putting clients first and empowering visionary founders and clients alike. Their forward-thinking approach is paving the way for a new type of all-island investment.”
Main image at top: Niall McEvoy, Venture Partner; Alan Merriman, CEO of Elkstone and Martin Cass, Venture Partner
