Greystar, the US property developer, has poached Aviva UK’s head of property to run its new operation in Ireland.

The group, which owns 162,000 homes worldwide, announced it had entered the Irish market by buying the Dublin Landings scheme – a development of 268 private rented apartments and office space in the city’s docklands area – from Irish developer Ballymore International Developments and Singapore-based Oxley Holdings for €176m (£157m).

The deal will establish a Greystar presence in Ireland, with the new operation being run by Claire Solon, currently head of property at Aviva UK. Solon is set to start in her new role on 21 October 2019.