Annual Report 2025

Cairn

at 10

Children and adults walking and playing in a modern neighborhood park with playground equipment and houses in the background under a clear blue sky.

At Cairn we’ve spent the past 10 years building sustainable communities where people can thrive. We build living, breathing spaces, built for the present, designed for our shared future.

This is what we mean when we say Built For Good.

Ten years ago, Cairn began with a clear vision: to create a homebuilding business capable of delivering at scale, consistently and responsibly, and to make a meaningful contribution to Ireland’s long-term housing needs.

Find out more about 10 years of Cairn

Highlights

2025 Financial Highlights

Revenue

€944.6m

2024 : €859.9m

Gross margin

22.1%

2024 : €21.7%

OPERATING PROFIT

€168.6m

2024: €150.0m

OPERATING MARGIN

17.8%

2024 : 17.4%

basic eps

21.3c

2024 : 17.9c

total equity

€836.7m

2024 : €758.2m

ROE¹

16.6%

2024 : 15.1%

dps²

10.0c

2024 : 8.2 cent

¹ROE (Return on Equity) is defined as profit after tax divided by the average of the opening and closing total equity in the financial year.

²FY25 10.0 cent dividend per ordinary share represents a 4.1 cent interim dividend per ordinary share paid in October 2025 and 5.9 cent proposed final dividend per ordinary share.

2025 Operational Highlights

units³

2,365

2024 : 2,241

average active sites

2024 : 21

new site Commencements

2024 : 10

year end headcount

581

2024 : 453

³This comprises both closed and equivalent residential units. Equivalent units relate to forward fund transactions which are calculated on a percentage completion basis based on the constructed value of work completed divided by total estimated cost.

2025 Sustainability Highlights

Scope 1 & 2 Absolute Emissions Reduction from a 2019 Baseline

71.6%

2024 : 65.2%

Cumulative Passive House Unit Commencements

3,000+

2024 : c. 1,750

cdp score

2024 : B

gender pay gap

22.8%

2024 : 30%

Statements

“We have a compelling strategy focused on delivering sustainable growth, leading to enhanced shareholder returns while ensuring Cairn has a consistently positive impact wherever we operate.”

The last 12 months have demonstrated the strength of Cairn’s platform, which is strategically positioned to continue to increase the delivery of homes over the long-term. As a business, we are committed to driving earnings growth while ensuring our business has a positive impact wherever we operate.

Bernard Byrne

CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD

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“In 2025, we celebrated a decade in business. When we set up Cairn, we had an ambition to create a new and sustainable approach to homebuilding in Ireland that would make a meaningful contribution to the much needed housing supply.”

2025 was another year of significant growth in which Cairn delivered competitively priced homes and created new communities through responsible investment. This has allowed our business to build at scale and, crucially, with affordability for our broad range of customers at the centre of our strategy. Through this, our focus is to ensure that we balance the delivery of sustainable, profitable growth with stakeholder value creation.

MICHAEL STANLEY

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

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Our Strategy

Adding value at every step

Our end-to-end delivery platform allows us to control our entire product lifecyle, meaning we create value where others can’t. At Cairn, delivering value and quality to all of our stakeholders is at the centre of everything we do.

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Land acquisition

Our land acquisition strategy is focussed on identifying sites with strong infrastructure and transport links, and evaluating how to best utilise the land to create optimal value.

Land acquisition

Our land acquisition strategy is focussed on identifying sites with strong infrastructure and transport links, and evaluating how to best utilise the land to create optimal value.

Construction

Our expanding operating and delivery platform allows us to leverage our scale to delvier value to all of our stakeholders. Through initiatives such as group procurement and standardisation we are able to leverage our position as Ireland’s largest homebuilder.

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Land acquisition

Our land acquisition strategy is focussed on identifying sites with strong infrastructure and transport links, and evaluating how to best utilise the land to create optimal value.

Land acquisition

Our land acquisition strategy is focussed on identifying sites with strong infrastructure and transport links, and evaluating how to best utilise the land to create optimal value.

Construction

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Business Model

Adding value at every step

Our unique end-to-end scaled operating platform means we control our entire product life cycle and allows us to leverage our operational competitive advantages to deliver quality and value at every step.

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Land Acquisition

Our evolved land acquisition strategy now includes partnerships, options and joint ventures. These structures provide strategic optionality, allowing us to leverage our operating platform, and are a capital efficient way to acquire land. When acquiring sites we place an emphasis on identifying sites that are complementary to our existing landbank, well-located near excellent transport and infrastructure links and areas of proven demand.

Planning

We manage all of our own planning applications, leading the full life cycle of the application process to ensure that commercial outcomes are maximised in a timely manner and aligned to our standardised designs.

Pre-Construction

Our Pre-Construction team operates in tandem with the planning process, allowing the Pre-Construction and Design teams to mobilise in preparation to start on site as soon as we receive planning grants.

Construction

Our scaled operating platform allows our construction team to deliver at pace, scale and value for money. We continue to leverage our proven apartment capability as Ireland’s largest self-build developer delivering much needed apartments nationwide.

Sales and Customer Care

Understanding and exceeding the diverse needs of our broad customer pool is at the heart of our operating platform. Our newly combined Sales and Customer Care Team is dedicated to not only gathering but also acting on our customer insights and feedback, ensuring that we remain their partner of choice and consistently deliver an industry-leading level of customer service.

Our Strategy

Delivering sustainable new homes at pace, scale and value for money

We are building communities that serve our country’s present and future needs whilst creating long-term sustainable value for our stakeholders. Cairn’s ongoing investment in the capacity and capability of our business supports our growth strategy, optimising our product delivery. Our evolving strategy links back to our purpose, with each pillar aligning to one of the four component parts – People, Customers, Construction and Sustainable Communities.

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Our people agenda is at the heart of everything we do. We are committed to driving employee engagement, acting on feedback to ensure we continue to deliver a high-performance culture, in a rewarding working environment. We believe that shared ownership delivers results.

Progress and Achievements in 2025

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Employee Net Promoter Score (ENPS) increased to 61 (up from 58 in 2024), reflecting sustained improvements in engagement, trust and overall employee experience

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Meaningful progress toward gender balance across the organisation. In 2025 , females represented 50% of our board and 26% of our workforce. We also reduced our Gender Pay Gap to 22.8%, a significant improvement form 20% in 2024

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Advanced our EDI strategy by launching our Race & Ethnicity Employee Resource Gorup (ETG), strengthening our Women in Cairn ERG, and expanding our Families ERG to ‘Families & Carers’ to better support caregivers across Cairn.

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Industry recognition for our culture. We are committed to creating an exceptional workplace that supports a culture of trust, collaboration and inclusion. In 2025, we achieved a series of milestones that illustrate this including being named among the Best Workplaces for Health & Wellness and shortlisted amongst the top employers in Europe.

Priorities for 2026

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Further embed our People & Culture Committee (and the three working groups that support it) by broadening employee representation to bring diverse perspectives, strengthening communication and transparency and deepening collaboration across working groups to accelerate cultural progress.

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Embed our collective approach ensuring responsibility for shaping our employee experience is shaped across the organisation, amplifying employee voice and reinforcing an inclusive, high-performing culture.

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Fully integrate the Manager Competency Framework and integrate it across the employee lifecycle, placing a stronger focus on leadership capabilities such as strategic thinking, inclusive decision-making, coaching for growth and fostering high-performing teams.

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Elevate leadership capability at every level, equipping managers with practical tools, training and development pathways designed to inspire teams, unlock potential and deliver stronger business and people outcomes.

Our customer strategy centres around the needs of our broad customer base, building on existing partnerships whilst actively developing new opportunities. Cairn now has an established track record of exceeding their needs through the delivery of energy-efficient new homes in sustainable communities where they can thrive.

Progress and Achievements in 2025

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Demand for our A-rates new homes remained exceptionally strong across all buyer profiles. In 2025, we delivered 2,365 units ² to our private buyers and State partners across 22 active selling sties. We meaningfully increased our sales to our core First-Time-Buer (FTB) market in 2025, with 11 new private sale launches.

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We launched our first two Croí Cónaithe approved developments in Douglas, Co. Cork and Cherrywood, Dublin 18.Demand across both developments was exceptional, with over 140 apartments sold to homeowners.

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Continued our holistic approach to placemaking with our customers at the heart of every design consideration, with the growth of our Home Together programme, in partnership with Neighbourhood Network, across three additional developments and the launch of a new partnership with Grow it Yourself (GIY).

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Enhanced the procedures, technology and team structures we put in place in 2024, to support our aftercare strategy. Our continuing improvement is reflected in our Cairn Customer Experience rating of 94% and a 50% reduction in the time taken to resolve cases.

Priorities for 2026

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Strengthen our relationships with our State partners, using our established platform to deliver social and affordable new homes at pace, scale and value for money.

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Following the success of our first two Croí Cónaithe approved developments we expect further launches in 2026, supporting the much-needed supply of apartments to private owners.

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Support the successful adoption and implementation of our customer portal for our business customers and our partners in local authorities, Affordable Housing Bodies (AHBs) and the LDA

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Deepen quality and aftercare insights through improved data capture which will identify trends and reinforce a 'right-first-time' approach.

²This comprises both closed and equivalent residential units. Equivalent units relate to forward fund transactions which are calculated on a percentage completion basis based on the constructed value of work completed divided by total estimated cost.

Our scaled operating platform and industry-leading productivity continue to set us apart. In 2025, we invested over €800 million in construction work-in-progress, with c.5,000 new homes under construction across 25 active sites.

Progress and Achievements in 2025

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Industry‑leading productivity and scale.
Our industry-leading productivity levels continue to grow with a unit per week output increase of 20% on a number of high density sites and up to twice the 2024 average output on certain low density sites. We recorded 5.1 million hour worked on site - a 102% increase on 2024, reflecting the investment we have made in scaling our platform

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Digital Transformation & Innovation. Through the integration of digital tools and practices across our operating platform we have improved the efficiency of our construction delviery model, with enhanced insights guiding data-driven decisions. We have significantly invested in our technological and research capabilities, with all active sites now using a suite of integrated digital platforms for project monitoring and control.

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Procurement Efficiencies Delivering Value. Our centralsied procurement model continues to drive efficienceis, allowing us to leverage our scale through multi-year, multi-project tenders. In 2025, we increased multi-year framework agreements by 30%. This strong pipeline allows us to maximise our operational copetitive advantages and optimise our procurement efficiencies.

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Health, Safety & Wellbeing. Operating safe sites for our employees, subcontractors, suppliers, customers and the communities in which we work has always been a non-negotiable for Cairn. In the context of a year where hours worked increaed by 102%, we retained our Grade A classification under the Safe T Cert programme and recorded a flat Accident Frequency Rate (AFR) on prior year.

Priorities for 2026

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Deliver at industry‑leading pace and quality, continuing to scale output while maintaining an uncompromising focus on health, safety and wellbeing for employees and subcontractor partners.

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Strengthen collaboration across the supply chain, deepening joint planning on procurement and capacity, supported by development initiatives such as the Apprenticeship Programme and Supply Chain Safety Workshops.

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Accelerate innovation and digital construction, with ongoing investment in technologies and processes that enhance efficiency, consistency and control across our scaled operating platform.

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Integrate our ambitious sustainability targets into our scald platform, with every project setting targets in relation to waste reduction and increased recycling as well as an ongoing focus on carbon reduction

Building homes is about much more than just bricks and mortar. It is about creating places where people can thrive, communities rooted in connection, inclusion, and belonging. Our vision is to help build an Ireland where everyone can prosper, and where new neighbourhoods grow into strong, enduring communities.

Progress and Achievements in 2025

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Holistic placemaking in action, delivered through high‑quality public spaces, thoughtful planning and strong community partnerships - from Cairn Community Games to Home Together, the Seven Mills Community Fund and our new GIY collaboration.

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Cairn Community Games creating nationwide impact, supporting 173,000 young people and 10,000 volunteers across 430 towns, with participation growing by 13,000 since 2024 and major community events like the Community Games Taster Day bringing residents together.

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Home Together strengthening long‑term community ownership, with early pilot developments graduating into fully self‑led resident networks, while three new programmes launched in 2025 to expand grassroots leadership and connection.

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Sustainability and community blended through our GIY partnership and local funding, empowering residents to grow food, build green spaces, and access targeted support - such as the €30,000 Seven Mills Community Fund, backing seven impactful local projects across Dublin 22.

Priorities for 2026

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Grow nationwide participation in the Cairn Community Games, supported by new campaigns and an expansion of non‑sport categories after strong early momentum.

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Embed the Community Games ethos into new neighbourhoods, establishing local Games hubs and integrating activities directly into the Home Together programme.

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Expand the GIY partnership, bringing sustainable food‑growing workshops, demonstrations and starter kits to more Cairn communities and families across the country.

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Strengthen long‑term community leadership, introducing Home Together in three additional developments and extending the Community Fund model to new locations to back local groups and initiatives.

A woman holding a baby in a baby carrier.

Building Sustainable Communities

Our Strategy in Action

Our purpose is to build sustainable communities where people can thrive for generations.

Sustainability has been central to Cairn since our foundation. This means reducing our carbon footprint, embedding sustainable practices at scale, and supporting homeowners to live more sustainably, all while meeting Ireland’s growing housing needs.

Across our sites, we’ve seen a significant cultural shift. Continuous education and upskilling have made sustainability, biodiversity, carbon reduction and circularity part of everyday decision making. Teams now proactively identify opportunities and take ownership of improvements, creating a shared culture where sustainability is driven by belief, not obligation.
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Looking ahead, we are refreshing our sustainability strategy, reviewing our decarbonisation roadmap and transition plans, and preparing to resubmit Net Zero targets aligned with this updated approach. Transparency remains essential. While recent changes mean we are no longer in scope for CSRD, we will continue to report on our environmental and social impacts, as well as the actions we are taking to drive meaningful progress, which are guided by our Double Materiality Assessment and our long-standing commitment to clear, accountable disclosure.

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At Cairn, we’re transforming how we build by shifting away from traditional ‘take-make-dispose’ construction practices and embedding circular principles across our sites. This aligns with our Climate Transition Plan and our ambition to help create low carbon, resource efficient communities.
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Our Waste Strategy in Action
In 2024, we introduced a five year Waste Strategy, and 2025 marked our first full year of measurable progress. Our focus is simple: reduce waste, increase recycling, build accountability across sites and embed best practice within our supply chain.

Key steps include appointing Waste Coordinators across all sites, standardising segregation systems, providing ongoing training, and fully integrating greener processes into our day-to-day operations. These actions delivered a 9% increase in recycling rates, clearer waste plans on every site, new staffled initiatives, and site-level KPIs that keep performance front and centre.
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A Shift Toward Circularity
A major focus is tackling soil and stone - the largest source of construction waste in Ireland. Instead of sending this material to landfill, we are treating it as a valuable resource. Working closely with the EPA and local councils, we reuse site won materials under Article 27 for road capping, footpaths, driveways and compound construction.

In 2025, over 66% of our soil and stone was reused, with the remainder processed into landscaping materials - resulting in zero soil and stone export to landfill and cutting associated transport emissions.

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Construction site with two workers wearing Cairn safety vests and helmets walking among scaffolding and building materials.

‍Building for the Future
By embracing circular economy principles, we’re reducing waste, conserving resources and helping set a roadmap for more responsible construction across Ireland. This is not only good environmental practice - it’s essential to creating longlasting, sustainable communities.

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Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) are one of the most practical and meaningful ways we invest in inclusion at Cairn. They provide safe supportive spaces for connection, discussion and action. They help our people grow personally and professionally, build networks and have a clear voice in shaping our culture.

Following the launch of our ERG Programme in 2023, we have expanded it to meet evolving needs and strengthen belonging across the organisation.
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The Families & Carers ERG supports colleagues navigating all forms of caregiving, from parenting to caring for older relatives or loved ones with additional needs. The group provides a safe space for shared experiences, practical guidance and peer support while championing policies that make work-life integration easier. In 2025 it played an important role in improving accessibility at company events, including introducing a mobile Sensory Space at the Cairn Christmas Grotto.

The Women in Cairn Network continued to strengthen visibility, development and connection for women across the business. Through wellbeing focused site walks, skill building masterclasses and an International Women’s Day event featuring sector leaders and Cairn Board members, the network created meaningful opportunities to connect, develop and inspire one another.

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Three smiling adults and a child wearing Santa hats at a festive indoor event with holiday decorations.

Launched in late 2025, the Race & Ethnicity in Cairn ERG celebrates the cultural diversity of our workforce, with 29 nationalities represented across the business. The group provides a supportive space to share experiences, build confidence, challenge bias and celebrate cultural traditions. In 2026, it will continue to expand its focus on cultural events, communication support and community building, inviting both members and allies to participate.

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We are committed to supporting the long-term vitality and vigour of the construction sector in Ireland. The success of our industry is dependent on ensuring the future pipeline of staff and addressing the significant skills shortages across the industry.

Investing in the Future of Construction
To help meet national housing targets and address critical skills shortages, Cairn launched the Cairn Apprenticeship Programme in 2024, an ambitious €10 million, fiveyear investment designed to attract, train and retain the next generation of construction talent.
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‍Growing the Talent Pipeline
To strengthen recruitment, we created a Mobile Training Unit in partnership with LOETB Mount Lucas. This interactive, on-the-road learning rig showcases multiple trades, offers hands-on demonstrations and features VR welding and other tech-led learning tools. Over the past 18 months it has travelled nationwide - visiting major industry events and dozens of schools - and has engaged 1,750+ students, helping young people experience construction careers firsthand.

‍Supporting Apprentices to Succeed
Retention is a core priority. Since launch, over €270,000 in bursaries has been provided to help apprentices stay on track at key drop-off points. This is supported by mentorship from Cairn experts, exam preparation workshops and flexible learning options that make progression more accessible.
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Collaboration to Drive Industry Impact
The programme is built on partnership. Working with subcontractors, industry bodies and higher education, Cairn is helping expand apprenticeship pathways—including co-developing a new Quantity Surveyor Apprenticeship with ATU, launching in 2026 with 40 annual places and plans to scale nationally.

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Red and white Cairn-branded truck trailer with the phrases 'Built For Good' and 'Grow Your Career' parked on a paved area near a fence.

Measuring Progress We measure success through both the number of apprentices entering and completing the programme. Ongoing engagement with apprentices and subcontractors ensures we continuously refine and strengthen the programme so it delivers long-term impact for the industry.

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Strategic Report

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Sustainability Report

Gender Pay Gap Report