Castlefield Stock Story - Cairn Homes 2026

Ireland needs new homes fast. In this month’s Castlefield Stock Story, David Gorman looks at Cairn Homes, the housebuilder helping deliver sustainable new communities where they’re needed most.

We all know there’s shortage of housing in Britain. Analysis by the Centre for Policy Studies[1] suggests that the UK has a shortage of 6.5 million homes when compared to similar European countries. The UK has just 446 homes per 1,000 people, the second lowest rate in Europe. This compares to a European average of 542. Only one European country has a lower ratio that the UK and that is the Republic of Ireland.

In recent years Ireland has been the fastest growing economy in the EU, powered by its unusually low rates of corporation tax and its skilled workforce.

In recent years Ireland has been the fastest growing economy in the EU, powered by its unusually low rates of corporation tax[2] and its skilled workforce. This success means that the Republic’s population has grown from 4.7m in 2016 to 5.5m in 2026[3] and not enough accommodation has been built for the familiar reasons; a slow planning system, high building costs, labour shortages and low public housing output.

The Irish population is highly concentrated around Dublin, which is home to 1,597,700 people or 28.9% of the population.[4] By comparison, Greater London accounts for 15.5% of England’s total population.[5] Inevitably, it is in the Greater Dublin area where the housing shortage is most acute.

The Irish government recognised the challenge the country faces and has responded positively with policy and funding.[6]  In November 2025, it introduced a new housing plan called “Delivering Homes, Building Communities.” The plan targets the construction of 300,000 homes, including 72,000 social homes and 90,000 affordable housing supports. This plan sees the Irish State take a bigger role while also encouraging the private sector to play a key part in delivery. To accelerate progress, the plan includes regulatory reforms, tax incentives, help for buyers and the largest ever investment in infrastructure in the nation’s history - €275 billion over ten years through the National Development Plan. [7]

Playing a central role in the delivery of this new strategy is Ireland’s leading housebuilder, Cairn Homes[8], whose shares we own in our TM Castlefield Thoughtful World Equity Fund. Cairn builds a wide range of sustainable, residential properties, focusing on 2, 3, and 4-bedroom family homes of all types. Along with housebuilding, the company is a leading provider of high-density urban and suburban apartment developments. Cairn’s developments are concentrated around the Greater Dublin area but they are also in Cork, Galway and Limerick.

An interesting area of Cairn’s activities is in so-called placemaking, where the company creates brand new, mixed tenure, planned communities. Although the company has created sizeable new neighbourhoods such as Holybanks[9], in Swords, 12km north of Dublin, Cairn’s largest project is the impressive Seven Mills[10], a new town 14km to the west of the city centre, with good access to two railway stations and to the M50 Dublin orbital motorway.

Building work at Seven Mills started in January 2023 and the first residents moved in before Christmas that year. The whole project should be finished in 2030. When complete, Seven Mills will feature twelve parks and ten playgrounds. Sites for eight schools have been ring-fenced in The Clonburris Strategic Development Zone (SDZ),[11] the wider development around Seven Mills.[12]

Large community-focused developments such as Seven Mills incorporate cost-rental, social and affordable housing options alongside local commercial amenities. Integral to the new neighbourhood and important to the Irish government is the delivery of more low-rise, high-density housing, such as terraced housing and apartments. Cairn is especially good at this.

Virtually all modern Cairn properties feature high BER A-ratings (such as A2), air-to-water heat pumps and advanced insulation to help reduce energy use and keep bills down.

The company is also committed to sustainable building. For example, it is active in Passive House construction,[13] where homes are built to exacting energy-efficiency standards. In fact, virtually all modern Cairn properties feature high BER A-ratings (such as A2), air-to-water heat pumps and advanced insulation to help reduce energy use and keep bills down.

There is much to do and Cairn’s recently published interim financial results[14] were very encouraging, with group revenues up 60% year-on-year. The company’s operating profit margin rose 1.4% to 16.4%, with average selling prices up from €387,000 to €393,000. The big rise in sales and profits reflects the increase in the number of homes sold – 1,139 units compared to 708 units in the prior period. Cairn remains on target to deliver 6,000 much needed new homes through this year and 2027 while forward order books look very strong.

Written by David Gorman