IRELAND’S BIGGEST PRIVATE landlord has told its staff that there may be layoffs arising from a €731 million takeover, but that it expects the “vast majority” will be kept on by its new owners.
An offer by US investment firm Barings to buy out Ires Reit was accepted by the board of the Dublin-based landlord firm earlier this week.

Shareholders must still sign off on the deal, with a vote expected in the coming weeks.

In an email to staff this week, Ires chief executive Eddie Byrne said Barings expects to still require many staff members to stay on to manage its large portfolio of apartment complexes after it completes its takeover.

But Byrne warned that there was still a lack of information about the future, and that some of it may be out of his hands.

Ires Reit employs between 90 and 105 people.

Byrne added that given “strict” rules around takeovers, the “management team have not had much discussion with Barings about the detail of their plans for the business”.

“I think it’s very important to acknowledge that Barings recognise the quality of the team and have said that they will be looking to keep the vast majority of people in place,” Byrne said this week in the email seen by The Journal.

“This is a large business that needs to be run and Barings don’t have any other local investments that do what we do so it’s very much business as usual for the moment and nothing will happen before ownership changes in early 2027.”

Byrne added that there “will be more clarity over the coming weeks and months” about the future of its workforce.

Ires Reit has more than 3,600 apartments in Ireland, the majority of which are in Dublin.

Ires’s profits tripled in the first half of 2026 when compared to 2025, driven largely by a revaluation of its assets and that the company’s portfolio was more valuable thanks to the government’s changes to how landlords can reset and raise rents.

In the first half of this year, before details were announced about the approach, shares in Ires rose by as much as 25% amid changes to the State’s rent rules.

What the buyout means for the renters is also less certain, with some commentators believing it may result in a rise in rents under its new owner.