IRES Tallaght: IRES REIT has revealed that they have reached an agreement with NAMA to purchase a mixed use development in Tallaght, Dublin 24 for c. €83m. The development comprises 442 apartments, 197,460 sq. ft. of commercial space and an underground car park. The apartments consist of 161 one-bed, 237 two-bed and 44 three-bed units. Goodbody Stockbrokers noted that after the acquisition IRES would still have c. €200m to spend on further investments. The Irish Times, 17th December
One Spencer Dock: US investment fund Hines is understood to be the favourite to purchase One Spencer Dock in Dublin’s North Wall Quay, after bidding close to the guide price of €240m. The underbidders are IPUT and an investment company linked to Alan McIntosh. One Spencer Dock is a nine storey office block with a floor area of 226,624 sq. ft. and is let to PWC on leases which have c. 16 years remaining. The rent is understood to be in excess of €11m p.a. (c. €50 psf) The Irish Times, 16th December
3GCQ Building: A refurbished Victorian warehouse on Grand Canal Quay in Dublin’s south docklands is being offered for rent as office space by agents Murphy Mulhall for €850k p.a. The property, which is owned by Denis O’Brien and known as 3GCQ, contains c. 10,484 sq. ft. of office space on the ground floor and c. 8,611 sq. ft. of additional space on the lower ground floor. Since purchasing the property in 2012, Denis O’Brien has spent over €3m on its restoration. There are also five car spaces available to rent with the property. The Irish Times, 16th December
Tara Towers: Following the recent announcement that Dalata has been chosen as the preferred bidder for the Tara Towers hotel, Dalata has stated its intention to invest €4.5m renovating the hotel. Dalata is to pay €13.1m for the three star hotel, with the deal expected to close in January. Once the deal has been completed, the hotel is to be brought up to a four star standard and rebranded as a Maldron hotel. The Irish Times, 17th December
Cork Development: The proposed €50m redevelopment of the Capitol Cinema site in Cork City is set to commence in the next few weeks after being approved by An Bord Pleanála. The redevelopment is being undertaken by John Cleary, who also developed the City Gate and Albert Quay projects in Cork. Once completed, the 0.63 acre Capitol Cinema site will accommodate 85,000 sq. ft. of commercial space, including c. 36,000 sq. ft. of office space. According to John Cleary, talks with potential tenants are at an advanced stage. The Irish Examiner, 19th December
Raheny Development: MKN Developments Limited, which is owned by developer Brian McKeown, has sought planning permission to build 76 new homes in Raheny, Dublin 5. MKN are proposing to build eight terraced houses and a number of one, two and three-bed apartments on their 1.5 acre site. The apartments would be built on blocks three to five storeys tall should the development proceed. NAMA Wine Lake, 20th December
Negative Equity: This past week Minister for Finance Michael Noonan reported that the number of homes in negative equity is now below 100,000, a decrease of over 66% in three years. The number reached an all-time high in 2012 when the figure reported was c. 315,000. The reduction has been attributed to the recovery in the property market, particularly in Dublin, where price growth has been most evident. The Sunday Business Post, 20th December
Lusk Development: Developer Sean Reilly, through his company Station Construction, has sought planning permission for a multi-million Euro mixed use scheme in Lusk, north county Dublin. The scheme proposes the development of 83 houses, 73 apartments and over 140,000 sq. ft. of commercial and community space on a c. 17 acre site. Included in the commercial space is a c. 46,000 sq. ft. anchor retail store and c. 18,000 sq. ft. discount store. The Irish Independent, 19th December
Ghost Estates: The latest figures from the Department of the Environment show that the number of unfinished estates in Ireland has fallen from nearly 3,000 in 2010 to 668 in 2015. Furthermore, there are now 19,000 homes occupied across 492 of the unfinished estates, with an additional 2,000 homes completed but unoccupied. 324 estates were completed in 2015. Only 47 of the unfinished estates are owned by NAMA. The Irish Times, 17th December
Pubs Merger: Talks over a merger between the Mercantile Group and Danu Investment Partners are at an advanced stage. The Mercantile Group own a number of high profile pubs and restaurants in Dublin including Whelan’s, Opium and East Side Tavern. Danu also own a number of pubs including Café en Seine, The George and Howl at the Moon. The Mercantile Group is owned by Frank Gleeson while Danu is owned by Leonard Ryan, Mickey O’Rourke and Mark O’Meara, the founders and executives of Setanta Sports. Should the merger proceed, it is estimated that the group would have a cumulative turnover of almost €40m and over 500 staff. The Sunday Times, 20th December
Nursing Homes: A report commissioned by the Department of Health estimates that the required number of nursing home beds in Ireland may need to be almost doubled over the next 20 years to meet the demands of an aging population. Currently there are 29,600 beds in operation, 76% of which are provided through private operators. Assuming that 4.5% of over-65’s require care, then there will be a requirement for a further 24,000 nursing home beds by 2036, the equivalent of 250 nursing homes. The Fair Deal scheme is also viewed as inefficient as it does not account for costs or the level of care required by residents. The Irish Times, 19th December
Land Tax: The Economic and Social Research Institute believe that the government should consider the introduction of a land tax as the supply of new homes continues to fall short of required levels. The ESRI suggest that the land tax should be based on a similar scheme in Denmark, where a land tax was used as an incentive to get developers to either dispose of or utilise undeveloped land. The advice from the ESRI came as part of an economic report where they identified the shortage of new homes as a risk to the economic recovery in Ireland. The Irish Times, 18th December
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Project Clear: Following the announcement last week that a JV between Cairn Homes and Lone Star was chosen as the preferred bidder for Ulster Bank’s Project Clear, a number of failed bidders are reportedly unhappy with the conclusion of the bidding process. Their argument centres on the fact that the JV between Cairn Homes and Lone Star wasn’t formed until late in the bidding process. The JV was formed after Cairn Homes made it to the final round with their initial offer and Lone Star were unsuccessful. The JV was chosen as the preferred bidder following their bid of €503m. Underbidders included Michael O’Flynn, Bartra Capital and Cerberus. The Sunday Independent, 13th December
Harcourt Street: An unnamed group of investors have paid over €18m for a block of Georgian houses at 72 – 74 Harcourt Street in Dublin 2. The purchase price is c. €3m above JLL’s €15m guide price. The four storey over-basement block has an overall floor area of 35,000 sq. ft. with floor plates ranging from c. 6,000 sq. ft. to 8,000 sq. ft. There are also 50 car spaces available. While the property may suit as a hotel or office block, further capital investment will be required before it is fit for either purpose. A complete refurbishment of the property for office use would cost c. €120 – €150 psf, but should generate rents of c. €45 psf upon completion. The Irish Times, 9th December
Ashford Castle: Following the completion of a €45m refurbishment, the five star Ashford Castle is projecting a return to profitability in 2016 following a loss of c. €4m in 2014. The refurbishment was undertaken by the owners, Red Carnation Hotels, who acquired the 350 acre estate in 2013. Work completed on the hotel included the replacement of each of the 820 windows and the installation of a new roof, spa and cinema. Despite being closed for a number of months in 2014, the hotel reported revenue of c. €9m. The Irish Independent, 12th December
Castleknock Hotel: FBD Property and Leisure Ltd has sought planning permission for a €5.5m expansion and refurbishment of the Castleknock Hotel and Country Club in Castleknock, Dublin 15. The proposal seeks to add 43 bedrooms and three suites to the four star hotel, which would bring its capacity up to 190 rooms. The expansion will also see the development of a new leisure centre which will have its own entrance. FBD owns two other hotels in Ireland; Faithlegg House Hotel and the Tower Hotel, both of which are in Waterford. The Irish Times, 9th December
Nassau Street: Investment fund Meyer Bergman, fund manager BCP and developer Eamonn Duignan are to join forces to develop a number of large retail stores in Dublin city centre designed for international fashion retailers. The stores will be located in Nassau House and the adjoining buildings in Dublin city centre. Nassau House was purchased by Meyer Bergman earlier this year for €90m and currently produces annual rental income of €3.5m. There is also 80,000 sq. ft. of office space which may be redeveloped or extended. While BCP may hold up to 33% of the new venture, Meyer Bergman will hold the majority stake. Eamonn Duignan will be responsible for managing the development of the project. The Irish Times, 9th December
Dublin Development: Crekav Landbank Investments Ltd, which is led by developer Greg Kavanagh, is expected to lodge a planning application for 340 apartments in west Dublin later this week. The application will propose that the apartments are built over eight blocks in Carriglea Industrial Estate between Drimnagh and Bluebell. Each of the one, two and three bed apartments is designed to be larger than the current minimum size requirements necessary under the Dublin City Development plan. The Irish Times, 14th December
O’Flynn Construction: Developer Michael O’Flynn is set to focus on purchasing Dublin land banks after missing out on Ulster Bank’s Project Clear. O’Flynn recently secured €400m of funding from Avenue Capital and AIB, with the funding to be used to part finance the development of 10,000 homes over the next decade. O’Flynn already has enough land to develop 5,000 houses, the majority of which are located in Cork. The Sunday Independent, 13th December
Student Accommodation: A JV between US fund Harrison Street Real Estate Capital and London-based GSA Investment Management is set to invest as much as €250m in Dublin over the next five years developing student accommodation. Work has already commenced on their first project, a 400-bed development on a 2.5 acre site on Mill Street in Dublin 8. Harrison has already invested c. USD$4.4bn in the US, developing c. 60,000 beds. The Irish Independent, 11th December
Mortgage Arrears: The latest figures from the Central Bank on mortgage arrears show that the number of accounts in arrears for more than 720 days has fallen for the first time, with a 2% decrease to 37,269 recorded at the end of Q3 2015. The total number of accounts in arrears also fell to 92,291, the ninth successive quarterly decline. Accounts in arrears represent 12.3% of the total mortgage market, which has an estimated value of €102.5bn. The Irish Times, 11th December
Rental Market: The Private Residential Tenancies Board’s latest report shows that renting a property in Dublin now costs just €30 less than it did at the peak of the market in 2007. At the end of September 2015, the average cost of renting a house in Dublin was €1,408 (9.3% increase over the previous 12 months), while the cost of renting an apartment was €1,265 (8.2% increase). On a nationwide basis, the average cost of renting a home was €901 (8.6% increase). The Irish Times, 10th December
Cork Development: Cork City Council has granted an extension of planning permission for a scheme of over 250 units in Bishopstown, Cork. The application proposes the development of 119 apartments over three blocks and 133 houses on a 20 acre site. The extension of the original approval was sought by receivers Jim Luby and Tom Rogers, who have been appointed over the assets of John and Elaine Barry. The Irish Examiner, 10th December
Allsop’s Auction: The final Allsops auction of 2015 saw the sale of 178 properties for nearly €34m. One of the most expensive assets sold was Meakstown Shopping Centre in Finglas, Dublin 11, which sold for over €3m. There was also a number of multi-unit properties sold at the auction, with the most costly being a nine-unit residential building on Upper Rathmines Road, Dublin 6, which sold for €1.069m, €240k over reserve. The Sunday Business Post, 13th December
Bartra Capital: Former Treasury Holdings co-founder Richard Barrett has established a new €2bn investment fund, Bartra Capital. The fund is expected to target investment opportunities in the Irish property, healthcare and renewable energy sectors. Financing has been secured from a number of sovereign wealth, family wealth, insurance and pension funds, with Barrett also providing a substantial investment. The fund will operate under the new Irish Collective Asset-management Vehicle structure, which offers a favourable tax structure to certain overseas investors. The Sunday Business Post, 13th December
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Project Clear: A joint bid of c. €503m from Cairn Homes and Lone Star has been chosen as the preferred bidder for Ulster Bank’s €2bn Project Clear loan portfolio. The loan portfolio consists of 1,694 acres of land across 31 sites suitable for residential development, with the majority of the sites located in Dublin. Cairn Homes and Lone Star have split the portfolio 75:25, with Carin contributing €378m and Lone Star paying €125m, respectively. The €503m sale price was well below Ulster Bank’s €650m asking price. Cairn Homes estimate that their share of the portfolio will allow them to develop 14,000 properties, with a gross development value of over €2bn. CoStar Finance, 7th December
Project Lanyon: Davidson Kempner has been chosen as the preferred bidder for Bank of Ireland’s Project Lanyon, which consists of 700 residential assets in Northern Ireland. Davidson Kempner bid over GBP£50m for the portfolio, for which Savills had set a price tag of £55m. With improving rental yields and capital values in the North, further large scale residential portfolios may be forthcoming to capitalise on increasing demand. CoStar Finance, 7th December
IPUT Development: The Irish investment fund IPUT has commenced demolishing the existing buildings the former passport office at 10 Molesworth Street, Dublin 2, to pave the way for a new €40m development. The buildings will be replaced by a seven storey, 115,000 sq. ft. grade A office block, for which the rent is expected to be in the region of €65 psf. In total IPUT intend to supply the Dublin market with 300,000 sq. ft. of office space over the next three years. The Irish Times, 2nd December
St Stephen’s Green: Online recruitment firm Indeed is to sub-let part of 124 / 127 St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2 from Bank of Scotland Ireland. Indeed will occupy 60,000 sq. ft. of the 126,637 sq. ft. property on the third, fourth, fifth and sixth floors at a rent of €45 psf. Bank of Scotland Ireland signed a 25 year lease in 2005, for which there is a break in year 15. The property was developed by the daughters of the hotel operator PV Doyle in 2005. Once the Bank’s Irish operation was discontinued, the property was sublet to Certus. Certus has since commenced the winding down of its operations, paving the way for Indeed to take-up a section of the property. The overall rent roll of the property is c. €5.4m, with additional income from the property’s 46 parking spaces. The Irish Times, 2nd December
Radisson Sligo: Padraic Rhatigan and two of his business partners, Bernard Mullen and Thomas Porter, have reached an agreement with Goldman Sachs on debt secured by the Radisson Blu Hotel in Sligo. Rhatigan and his partners have paid €5m to settle the outstanding debt, with Bank of Ireland assisting in the refinance. The agreement forms part of Rhatigan’s overall settlement with Goldman, with the par value of his loans estimated at €80m. Goldman purchased Rhatigan’s loans as part of Ulster Bank’s €200m Project Nadal. The Sunday Times, 6th December
Tara Towers: Dalata has been chosen as the preferred bidder for the 111-bed Tara Towers hotel in Dublin 4. Dalata is believed to have bid €12m for the hotel, for which receivers Duff and Phelps had been guiding €9m. The hotel was developed in the 1970s by PV Doyle and was previously owned by Bernard McNamara and Jerry O’Reilly, who paid €14.2m in 2003. The Sunday Independent, 6th December
Hotel Sales: The latest figures from CBRE on the hotel market in Ireland show that the number of hotels sold in the Republic continue to outweigh the number sold in the North. In the first nine months of 2015 there were 54 hotels sold in the Republic for c. €650m, compared to the nine hotels sold in the North for c. GBP£67m. What is positive for the market in the North is that the figures are a significant improvement on 2014, when the only sale was Tower Hotel Derry at £4.4m. The Irish Times, 2nd December
St Stephen’s Green Shopping Centre: The US fund Madison International Realty has acquired a 35.4% stake in St Stephen’s Green Shopping Centre. The fund paid Irish Life €60m for the stake, more than 30% above JLL’s guide price of €45.6m. Irish Life remain the largest shareholder of the shopping centre with a 37.6% stake, while Pierce Molony owns the remaining 27%. It is believed that a €30m refurbishment of the shopping centre may be forthcoming now that the sale has been completed. The 320,000 sq. ft. shopping centre generates annual rental income of c. €6.2m from 90 retail units and c. €2.2m from a 1,200 space car park. The Irish Times, 5th December
NAMA Residential Development: Following NAMA’s recent announcement that they aim to develop 20,000 new homes by 2020, five developers have lodged a complaint with the European Commission in an attempt to block NAMA’s project. The complaint centres around NAMA’s cost of funding, with NAMA able to obtain favourable rates as it has a state guarantee. NAMA is able to provide its debtors with funding at c. 5% – 6%, while development finance obtained outside NAMA is currently c. 14 – 15%. The developers who lodged the complaint are David Daly, Paddy McKillen, Michael O’Flynn, New Generation Homes and MKN Properties. The Irish Times, 7th December
Drumcondra Scheme: Greg and Lisa Gallagher, through their investment company Grelis Limited, have submitted a planning application for the development of 101 homes and a 69-bed nursing home in Drumcondra, Dublin 9. The 101 homes are to be split across 59 houses and 42 apartments. The proposed development will take place on the site of the old Carmelite Convent on Gracepark Road, and will require the demolition of some of the current buildings on the site. NAMA Wine Lake, 6th December
Dublin Schemes: The latest survey from the SCSI on planning applications for residential developments in Dublin of 25 or more units shows a significant decrease in the number of units approved in Q3 2015. In total there were 852 units approved for development across thirteen schemes in the quarter, a 59% drop on the 2,062 units approved in Q2 2015. With an estimated 7,000 new units required annually in Dublin each year to satisfy demand and only 2,735 under construction, the number of units completed this year looks set to fall well below the required level. A key factor hindering construction is the cost of development finance, with affordable financing proving extremely difficult to source. The Irish Times, 3rd December
Carnalea: The off market sale of Carnalea on Thormanby Road in Howth, north Dublin for €5m has seen the property become the most expensive residential property sold in north Dublin since 2010. Carnalea is a 5,250 sq. ft. property which boasts fantastic views of Dublin Bay. The property was previously owned by a couple involved in property development, who purchased it in 2003. The purchase price represents the third highest paid for a residential property in Dublin this year, behind Sorrento House in Dalkey (€10m) and Strathmore in Killiney (€7.5m). The Irish Times, 3rd December
NAMA Development: NAMA has announced plans to spend €7.5bn developing 4m sq. ft. of commercial space in the Dublin docklands and 20,000 new homes in Dublin and other in-demand areas. As its first project under this proposal, NAMA will fully fund the €170m redevelopment of Boland’s Mill in Dublin Docklands. The redevelopment will take over two years to complete and will see the development of 274,000 sq. ft. of office space, 41 apartments, retail units and cafes. The development will be carried out under the instruction of the Savills, who were appointed as receivers by NAMA. The Irish Times, 3rd December
Tougher Business Park: The US fund York Investment Corporation has completed the purchase of Tougher Business Park in Naas, Co. Kildare for over €17m. The purchase price represents a premium of €3m over the guide price of the business park. The business park has 56 buildings with a floor area of 753,446 sq. ft., spread over 125 acres. The key tenant is the transport and logistics company DSV, who pay €1.12m of the €1.8m annual rent roll for 370,000 sq. ft. of industrial buildings. Joint agents DTZ Sherry Fitzgerald and Savills handled the sale, under the instructions of the receivers NAMA and Bank of Scotland Ireland. The Irish Times, 2nd December
Clarendon Inn: The Clarendon Inn bar and restaurant on Clarendon Street, Dublin 2 has been purchased by James and Edward Dunne. The brothers paid over €2.4m for the property, for which CBRE set an asking price of €1.6m. In total there were 15 bidders for the 4,068 sq. ft. property, who would have been eager to acquire an established bar and restaurant in one of Dublin’s most vibrant areas. The Irish Times, 2nd December
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NAMA Loan Sales: Sources close to NAMA have revealed that the agency is preparing to sell a further two loan portfolios, with each one set to have a par value of c. €3bn. The news comes one month after NAMA chose Cerberus as its preferred bidder for the €6.3bn Project Arrow, its largest loan sale to date. NAMA has already repaid 73% of its initial €30.2bn of senior bonds from loan sales, rental and interest income. The Irish Independent, 26th November
Bishops Square: Hines has sought planning permission from Dublin City Council for a 35,000 sq. ft. extension to the six storey Bishops Square office building near Kevin Street in Dublin 2. Under the application, Hines is looking to extend two floors and add a seventh, which would result in 35,000 sq. ft. of new office space. Hines purchased the building for €93m from King Street Capital in January 2015, who had only purchased the building themselves in 2013 for €65m. NAMA Wine Lake, 29th November
One Ballsbridge: Joint agents DTZ Sherry Fitzgerald and JLL are guiding in excess of €55 psf for the office space in the first phase of One Ballsbridge, a new mixed-use development being undertaken by The Comer Group on the site of the old Veterinary College in Dublin 4. The Comer Group purchased the 2.02 acre site for €22.5m in 2014, a c. 87% discount on the €171.5m paid by Ray Grehan in 2005. One Ballsbridge will have a total net office area of 135,000 sq. ft., while also accommodating 88 apartments, ground floor retail units, a 20,000 sq. ft. leisure centre and 225 car spaces. The Irish Times, 25th November
South Docklands: Blackstone is set to make a profit of €43m on two Dublin properties it purchased from NAMA in late 2013 for €80m. The German fund Real I.S. has agreed to pay €123m for the Bloodstone Building and Riverside IV on Britain Quay in Dublin’s south docklands, which represents a gross return of c. 54% on Blackstone’s investment. The Bloodstone Building is 84% occupied and has a floor area of 83,100 sq. ft., with annual rental income of c. €2.1m. Riverside IV has a floor area of 59,091 sq. ft., annual rental income of c. €2.4m. The properties were completed in 2008 and were largely vacant when Blackstone acquired them. The Irish Times, 25th November
Georgian Properties: The Irish Times analyses the current condition of the Georgian office market. The bottom of the market was in 2011, when values dropped to between €250 and €350 psf, a fraction of 2007’s peak of €1,500 psf. Prime Georgians now command a price between €455 and €492 psf, according to Brian Gaffney of Murphy Mulhall. The rental market for Georgians has also improved, with Conor Whelan of QRE identifying a range of €30 – €40 psf for high quality Georgians. With the vacancy rate for grade A office space in Dublin 2 at just 1.25%, the recovery looks set to continue. The Irish Times, 25th November
Blackpitts Hotel: Denis O’Brien has been revealed as one of the key individuals behind the proposed development of a new 202-bed, eight storey hotel in Blackpitts, Dublin 8. The total cost of the development is estimated at €40m, with construction group BAM Ireland overseeing the project. BAM have recently resubmitted plans for the hotel, which proposes that the reception will be on the eight floor and the bedrooms situated underneath. Should the development proceed it would represent O’Brien’s second hotel in Ireland, as he already owns the Ballynahinch Castle Hotel in Galway. The Sunday Times, 29th November
Stauntons on the Green: An unnamed American investor is set to purchase Stauntons on the Green in Dublin 2. The four star, 51-bed hotel had been on the market via JLL who were guiding in excess of €12m for the property. The townhouse hotel has been trading under its owner, Jim Staunton, since 1989, however it is now being sold with vacant possession. Average room rates for the hotel are €90 per night, compared to €250 per night charged by the Shelbourne hotel, which lies opposite Stauntons. The Irish Times, 25th November
Supermac’s: The founder of Supermac’s, Pat McDonagh, has completed a deal to transfer ownership of 18 Supermac’s restaurants from his personal name to Supermac’s Holdings. The transaction will net McDonagh under €26m once all the debt related to the restaurants has been repaid. McDonagh still owns a further twelve restaurants, which may be sold to Supermac’s at the end of 2015. There are over 100 Supermac’s outlets in total, and the company made a net profit of c. €5.7m in 2014. The Irish Times, 28th November
Whitewater Shopping Centre: German property fund Deka Immobilien is understood to have been chosen as the preferred bidder for the 320,640 sq. ft. Whitewater Shopping Centre in Newbridge, Co. Kildare. Joint agents Savills and Coady Supple had set an asking price of over €150m on the shopping centre, with Deka believed to have bid in excess of €170m. The existing ownership of Whitewater is split between Sean Mulryan and the estate of Liam Maye, who each own 50%. The current net income of Whitewater is c. €11.7m, with Debenhams paying the highest annual rent at €1.575m. Approximately 87% of the income comes from the shopping centre tenants, with the balance coming from the 1,700 car spaces and 84 apartments included with the property. The Irish Times, 26th November
Monaghan Shopping Centre: Melcorpo Commercial Properties has completed the purchase of Monaghan Shopping Centre for €11.85m, which was well in excess of DTZ’s €10.1m guide price. The 96,408 sq. ft. shopping centre, which is nearly twenty years old, is producing annual rental income of c. €1.05m, offering Melcorpo an initial net yield of c. 8.53%. Tesco are the anchor of the shopping centre, and own their own store. The key tenants are Boots and McDonalds, who pay a combined annual rent of €266k. Melcorpo also own Drogheda Town Centre, Kilkenny High Street Mall and Castle Street Shopping Centre in Bray, Co Wicklow. The Irish Times, 25th November
Cairn Homes: Cairn Homes has obtained a €150m senior debt facility from AIB which will be used to fund site acquisitions and the continued growth of the company. The facility has been provided on a four year term and will be secured by a corporate level debenture. It also represents the first senior debt facility obtained by Cairn Homes and comes just six months after the company’s IPO on the London Stock Exchange. The Irish Independent, 1st December
Hines Development: US developer Hines is set to submit the first planning application for their 400 acre site in Cherrywood, south county Dublin. Overall Hines seeks to develop a new town in the area which would see the development of 3,800 homes for c. 30,000 people. The first planning application from Hines will seek the development of 5.4km of roads to accommodate the development. Should this application be successful, Hines intends to submit a subsequent application in mid-2016 for the first 1,400 apartments and retail facilities. The Irish Independent, 30th November
Howth Road: MKN Property Group, which is owned by the McKeon family, is set to construct 16 family houses on Howth Road, Dublin 5. The proposed development will see the construction of 7 five bed houses (2,077 sq. ft. to 2,250 sq. ft.) and nine terraced houses (1,679 sq. ft.) on a c. 1.6 acre site. MKN purchased the site in two transactions; the first saw the purchase of the 0.6 acre, 726 Howth Road for €2m in December 2007, with the adjacent one acre, 728 Howth Road site purchased in 2014 for €1.4m. The Irish Times, 26th November
Property Yields: A new report from Daft.ie on the Irish residential rental market highlights the contrasting fortunes between yields inside and outside of the capital. The average gross yield for a three bed property in Dublin has risen to 5.7%, whereas yields for the rest of the country have fallen to 6.8%. Key factors behind the changes in yields are (i) the continued increase in rents in Dublin while prices have stabilised and (ii) increasing prices outside the capital. The introduction of the Central Bank’s mortgage lending criteria has also made it more difficult for first time buyers in Dublin. The Sunday Business Post, 29th November
Property Prices: The latest figures released by the CSO show that house prices in the Republic rose by 1.6% in October. This increase means that prices have now risen by 7.6% over the past twelve months. House prices in Dublin increased by 1% while houses outside the capital rose by 2.1%. Overall, residential property prices in Dublin remain 34.9% below their peak, with properties outside of Dublin still 36.3% below their peak. The Irish Times, 26th November
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AIB Loan Sales: AIB is preparing to launch the sale of two loan portfolios which have a par value of c. €783m. Project Forge is a portfolio of primarily UK property loans with a par value of GBP£420m (€600m), with the portfolio linked to over 150 borrowers. The second portfolio is Project Hurst, which has a par value of €183m and is secured by 100 assets. The Sunday Independent, 22nd November
Central Park: Green REIT have agreed to purchase Kennedy Wilson’s 50% stake of the Central Park development in Leopardstown, Dublin 18. The estimated cost involved in assuming 100% ownership of the development is c. €160m, which will be part financed by Green REIT’s €85m credit facility with Barclays. Green REIT will also become responsible for Kennedy Wilson’s portion of the Bank of Ireland debt secured by the development. The transaction will need to be approved by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission before it can be completed. The Irish Times, 19th November
7 Hanover Quay: Accenture have agreed terms with the Irish property fund IPUT on a 15 year lease for 7 Hanover Quay in Grand Canal Dock, Dublin 2. Accenture will pay a rent of c. €3.65m p.a. for the 66,300 sq. ft. office block, equivalent to €55 psf. The property includes 52 underground car spaces. IPUT purchased the property in May 2014 for €50m and have since spent a further €5m refurbishing the property. The letting is understood to have increased the value of the property to c. €75m.The Irish Times, 24th November
Project Wave: Dublin City Council have granted planning permission for the first phase of Project Wave, a c. 5.4 acre site in Dublin’s north docklands which can accommodate over 538,000 sq. ft. of commercial space and over 250 apartments. Planning was obtained via the fast track planning scheme available for developments within the Docklands Strategic Development Zone. The first phase of Project Wave will see the development of two interlinked office blocks which will be seven and nine storeys tall. The NTMA have identified one of the blocks as the desired location of their new HQ. The Irish Times, 23rd November
Dublin Airport: The Dublin Airport Authority have secured ESB International as the tenant for the former HQ of Aer Lingus in Dublin Airport’s Business Park. ESB are currently occupying an 80,000 sq. ft. property in St. Stephen’s Green in Dublin 2. They will move to their new six storey, 81,000 sq. ft. property in the new year once their existing leases expire and the c. €10m redevelopment of their new offices is complete. ESB will pay rent of c. €27.60 psf on their new lease. The Irish Times, 18th November
Marine House: Joint agents Murphy Mulhall and Lisney are guiding in excess of €23m (€560 psf) for Marine House in Clanwilliam Place, Dublin 2. The six storey, 41,132 sq. ft. office property is fully let and tenants include LeBruin, Origin Capital, Crowe Horwath and WK Nowlan. The property also contains 91 underground car spaces. The current rental income is c. €1.12m p.a. however there is potential to increase rents from upcoming reviews and lease renewals. Based on recent lettings, Lisney project the market rent of the property is in excess of €1.8m. The Irish Times, 18th November
One Earlsfort Terrace: Knight Frank are guiding €16m for One Earlsfort Terrace on the corner of Earlsfort Terrace and Hatch Street in Dublin 2. The six storey, 21,750 sq. ft. property is fully let to the legal firm Eversheds at an annual rent of €630k. There are c. 11 years remaining on the lease, with agreed minimum increases in rent at each five yearly rent review. The next rent review is in 2016, when the rent will increase to €750k (€31.45 psf). There was also planning permission granted in 2011 for two additional floors, which would provide further floor space of 16,328 sq. ft. The Irish Times, 18th November
One Molesworth Street: Green REIT have commenced the demolition of the existing building at One Molesworth Street in Dublin 2 to make way for a new five storey property. The new property will have 23,089 sq. ft. of retail space, 71,159 sq. ft. of office space and 27 car spaces. Green REIT purchased the existing premises for €23m and the development of the new property is expected to cost c. €30m. Green REIT expect to have the property ready for fit out by mid-2017, with rents in excess of €50 psf anticipated for the office space. The Irish Times, 18th November
Jurys Inn: The CEO of Amaris Hospitality, John Brennan, has announced that Jurys Inn on Custom House Quay in Dublin’s IFSC is to be rebranded as a Hilton Garden Inn. In addition to the rebranding, the three star, 239 bed hotel will also undergo a refurbishment, which will see the rooms upgraded in addition to a gym being added. The total cost of the project is estimated at €7m. An expansion of the hotel by up to 85 rooms has been sought, however this has been objected to by the company who own the nearby CHQ building. The Irish Independent, 20th November
Blackrock Units: Murphy Mulhall have set an asking price of €3.5m on five adjoining retail units with offices at 14-22 Main Street in Blackrock, Co. Dublin. One vacant apartment is also included at the rear of 20 Idrone Mews. Tenants include Boylesports, Supermac’s and Eddie Rocket’s. The total floor space of the portfolio is 16,299 sq. ft., with 2,594 sq. ft. of commercial space vacant. The current rental income of the portfolio is c. €294k p.a., however the potential rental income is projected at €360k. Based on the current rent, the portfolio offers a net initial yield of c. 8%. The Irish Times, 18th November
Parkside: Joint agents Hume Auctioneers and Lambert Smith Hampton are handling the sale of the Parkside development in Portlaoise, Co. Laois, which has an asking price of €4.2m. The property commenced trading in 2006 and is a mix of retail and office space. The key tenants are Supervalu and Coillte, who pay €300k and c. €83k p.a. respectively. SuperValu occupy 19,000 sq. ft. of retail space while Coillte rent 6,191 sq. ft. of office space. There are also 16 retail units and 24,809 sq. ft. of office space vacant at present. The annual rental income of the property once two pending retail units are let will be c. €398k. The property is being sold on the instructions of receiver Duff & Phelps, who were appointed by ACC Loan Management. The Irish Times, 18th November
CBRE Research: CBRE’s Q3 2015 report on the Irish retail market demonstrates the continued recovery in the sector. The report compared the vacancy rates of ten counties in Q3 2015 to Q1 2015, and found that only three counties reported increases in vacancy rates. Cork’s high street saw the strongest improvement in vacancy rates, falling by 12.9% to 6.6%. The total level of investment in the Irish CRE retail market, excluding loan sales, was c. €456m for the first nine months of 2015. This represented 21% of the total investment spend in the Irish property market for the period. CBRE Ireland Retail Marketview, Q3 2015
Norabrook: A 1.7 acre site in Dublin 3 with planning permission for 18 houses is understood to have been sold for substantially more than its €5m guide price. Norabrook on 119 Howth Road contained a large derelict house when CBRE put the site on the market in September. Planning permission for the development of 18 four bed houses was obtained in November 2014, with the application valid for five years. The unnamed purchaser of the site has already commenced work on the site. The Irish Independent, 19th November
Student Accommodation: PWC, the NAMA appointed receivers over Wintertide Ltd, sought planning permission in September 2015 for a 970 bed student accommodation complex at the Point Village in Dublin’s north docklands. After reviewing the application, Dublin City Council has informed PWC that a number of amendments will be required before their proposal will be reconsidered. In particular the council identified issues with the quality and design of the living accommodation. PWC’s proposal also included the development of a number of studio apartments, however these are not permissible for off-campus student accommodation under current regulations. The Irish Times, 23rd November
Construction Projects: New data from the Building Information Index, which tracks building related data, states that projects worth €4.25bn were being worked on around the country in the first nine months of 2015. That is an increase of more than €1.7bn (67%) compared to the same time in 2014. Importantly, the report shows that the increase has not been confined to Dublin, with strong performances being seen across the country (Munster has jumped 126%, Connacht and Ulster have seen activity values increase by a third while in Leinster construction is up 39%). The Irish Independent, 19th November
Allsop’s Auction: Allsop’s final auction of 2015 will see over 260 lots go under the hammer, with reserves in excess of €43m. Allsop’s expect to see over €26m of residential assets and €16m worth of commercial assets sold at the December auction. The auction will see five lots with values in excess of €1m being sold, with four of them being commercial / investment sales. The Irish Examiner, 19th November
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Elm Park: Starwood have been chosen as the preferred bidder for NAMA’s Elm Park development on Merrion Road in Dublin 4, which was guiding €185m. The US fund bid close to €200m for the development, which was built at a cost of c. €550m in 2007. A joint bid from Joe O’Reilly’s Chartered Land and Ares Investment Fund was the second highest bid submitted, while Lone Star also bid for the development. Elm Park is a c. 17.3 acre complex featuring over 350,000 sq. ft. of office space and 226 residential units. The Irish Times, 11th November
Ballsbridge Development: D4P Holdings, who are registered in Gibraltar, have sought planning permission for their 0.5 acre site at 10 Pembroke Road in Ballsbridge, Dublin 4. The planning application seeks approval for the development of 30,000 sq. ft. of office space and 43 serviced apartments spread over 22,000 sq. ft. D4P Holdings already have planning permission for a smaller 40,000 sq. ft. office / residential scheme on the site, which was obtained earlier this year on appeal. There is an existing 20,000 sq. ft. office building on the site, which would be demolished should any development proceed. NAMA Wine Lake, 15th November
Windmill Lane: Hibernia REIT is anticipating rental income of €55 psf for a 120,000 sq. ft. office property it is developing in a joint venture with Starwood on Windmill Lane in Dublin 2. The property, which will be known as IWML, is expected to be completed in H2 2017. Hibernia originally purchased the one acre site from Starwood in June 2014, however Starwood retained and have since exercised an option to buy back a 50% stake in the property. JLL and DTZ Sherry Fitzgerald have been appointed as joint letting agents for IWML. The Irish Times, 11th November
Docklands Site: CBRE are guiding €1m for a 0.128 acre site which fronts onto Gloucester Street in Dublin’s south docklands. The site comes with planning permission for an eight storey, 45,456 sq. ft. development for office, residential and retail facilities, which was approved in 2008. As the site is alongside a derelict warehouse owned by Dublin City Council, the site could pave the way for a larger development should an investor acquire the two sites. The Irish Times, 11thNovember
Hotel Supply: Aiden Murphy of Crowe Horwath believes the government needs to look at streamlining the planning process for new hotels as Dublin faces a chronic shortage of hotel beds. Crowe Horwath identify planning and funding as the key issues surrounding hotel development. Currently it takes over three years to develop a hotel, and developers are having difficulties obtaining the funding. With NAMA recently announcing a mandate to deliver 20,000 new homes over the next five years, Crowe Horwath suggest a similar measure should be assessed to enable the development of hotels in the capital. The Irish Times, 11th November
McDonalds Cork: An overseas investor is hoping to make a quick profit from the sale of No 4 and 5 Winthrop Street in Cork, which he bought in 2014 for over €4m. Agents Cohalan Downing are now guiding €5.2m for the 10,000 sq. ft. property, which is occupied by McDonalds on a 35 year lease from 1985. With McDonalds currently paying an annual rent of €372k, the property offers a gross yield of c. 7.15%. The property drew significant interest when it went on the market last year for €3.5m, with 15 tenders submitted. The Irish Times, 14th November
Wellington Place: Two weeks ago a detached Georgian Townhouse owned by Seamus Ross at Number 31, Wellington Place, Dublin 4 went on the open market for sale at €4.65m. It has now been sold for nearly €5m to a Dublin buyer, making it one of the fastest open market sales in the Dublin market in the past few years. The four bed, 5,414 sq. ft. property features a pool, sauna and gym at basement level. It was previously put up for sale under auction in 2008 with a guide price of €12.5m, however it failed to sell. The property was sold by agents Hunters under the instructions of receiver Grant Thornton. The Irish Times, 13th November
D4 Apartment: Knight Frank are guiding €2.5m for a luxury three-bed apartment in Ballsbridge, Dublin 4. 65 Shrewsbury Square was completed in 2008 as part of a 60 apartment scheme and was originally two apartments. The walls between the two apartments have since been knocked, bringing the total floor space to 1,927 sq. ft. The property previously sold for €1.375m in September 2011 and has since undergone an extensive refurbishment. The property has two balconies and two car spaces. The Irish Times, 12th November
Development Land: The price of development land is expected to rise further in the short term as demand for sites increases. John Swarbigg of Savills believes that land values have risen by c. 20% in the Greater Dublin Area this year. Land with planning permission for between 20 and 40 residential units is viewed by Evan Lonergan of Knight Frank as the market segment which is the most sought after, as builders look to either return to development or expand their existing business. The Irish Independent, 12th November
Mortgage Figures: The latest figures released from the Payments and Banking Federation suggest that the introduction of the Central Bank’s mortgage lending criteria is affecting the mortgage lending market. While the volume of new mortgage drawdowns rose 15.6% YoY in Q3 2015, this is distinctly lower than the YoY increases in Q2 2015 (30%) and Q1 2015 (64%). The number of new homes built in 2015 is also expected to fall well short of the required level. According to Davy economist Conall Mac Coille, there will be less than 13,000 new homes built in 2015, with c. 25,000 homes needed to satisfy demand. The Irish Times, 15th November
Hibernia Facility: Hibernia REIT has obtained a €400m credit facility from Bank of Ireland, Ulster Bank and Barclays, which it is expected to use to expand its existing property portfolio. With 83% of Hibernia’s portfolio located in Dublin’s Central Business District, chief executive Kevin Nowlan confirmed that they will continue to focus on assets in this location. Hibernia have also refused to rule out any future loan portfolio purchases. The six month period ending in September 2015 has been very lucrative for Hibernia, with pre-tax profits of €73.7m more than double the €32m achieved in the same period in 2014. The Irish Times, 13th November
Orion Business Campus: An unnamed investor has paid the guide price of €8.5m for a corporate HQ at Orion Business Campus at Ballycoolin, Dublin 17. The 76,454 sq. ft. property had been on the market through joint agents William Harvey and Lisney. WR International, an Irish registered company, occupy the property on a 25 year lease from 2006 at an annual rent of €675k. Upward only rent reviews occur every five years and there is also a tenant only break option in 2027. The rent is guaranteed by the US firm VWR International, who have turnover in excess of USD$4.1bn. The Irish Times, 11th November
JD Wetherspoon: A former church on Lower Abbey Street in Dublin’s city centre recently sold at auction for almost four times its €400k guide price. JD Wetherspoon emerged as the successful bidder at €1.475m, after no less than 77 bids were recorded. JD Wetherspoon also own the former TSB bank alongside the 4,240 sq. ft. property and are reportedly interested in converting the properties into a gastropub. The Irish Times, 11th November
Industrial Market: New figures from Savills highlight the strong recovery in the industrial market in 2015. Market take up for the first nine months of 2015 was over 3,875,000 sq. ft., almost double the level of take up in 2014. Southwest Dublin remains the most sought after area for industrial space, responsible for over 53% of transacted space in Q3 2015. While capital values have risen by c. 17% since the bottom of the market in Q3 2013, demand for units remains strong as the cost of constructing new units remains much more expensive than purchasing completed units. The recovery in the sector has also resulted in a compression of yields from 10% to 7.7% in the 12 months to September 2015. The Irish Times, 11th November
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Hazel Portfolio: A joint venture involving Clarendon Properties and US hedge fund York Capital Management has been chosen as the preferred bidder for NAMA’s Hazel Portfolio. The partnership bid over €120m for the portfolio, which was guiding €115m. The portfolio consists of Wilton Shopping Centre in Cork, Drogheda Retail Park in Meath and Gateway Retail Park in Galway. Wilton is the prized asset in the portfolio, accounting for over €70m of the sales price and over €5m of the c. €9m annual rental income. Clarendon Properties is led by Paddy McKillen and Tony Leonard. The Irish Times, 4th November
One Dockland Central: Hibernia REIT has pre-let 27,500 sq. ft. of the 55,000 sq. ft. One Dockland Central (formerly Commerzbank House) in Dublin’s docklands to Hubspot Ireland. Hubspot Ireland is a subsidiary of the US software firm Hubspot, who has a market capitalisation of c. USD$1.8bn. Hubspot has signed a 20 year lease with an option for the tenant to exercise a break after ten and a half years. The annual rent for the space is €1.3m, with six months’ rent free at the beginning of the lease. The Irish Independent, 9th November
Kennedy Wilson: Kennedy Wilson has purchased two office properties from NAMA for c. €11.8m. The properties are located on Sir John Rogerson’s Quay in Dublin’s docklands and comprise c. 19,000 sq. ft. of office space, equivalent to a purchase price of c. €633 psf. Kennedy Wilson purchased the properties along with two other properties from an unnamed UK bank, with the cumulative yield on the four properties being 5.7%. NAMA Wine Lake, 8th November
NAMA Development: NAMA are to fund the proposed €87m development of a grade A office property on the North Wall Quay in Dublin’s docklands. Receiver’s PWC have sought planning permission for the block, which will consist of seven to nine storeys and over 380,000 sq. ft. of office space. A key feature of the property is the single floor plates of 45,000 sq. ft., making it one of the largest in Dublin. DTZ has been appointed as the letting agent for the property. The Irish Times, 4th November
Dublin 2 Site: Offers in excess of €9.5m are being sought by agents Knight Frank for a c. 0.53 acre site at Charlemont Place in Dublin 2. Of particular interest to developers is the fact that the site comes complete with planning permission for a six storey office block, with a total floor area of 70,100 sq. ft. The property can cater for either a single occupant or multiple tenants due its floor plate design. The Irish Times, 4th November
Merrion Square: Murphy Mulhall is guiding in excess of €2.5m for a Georgian property at 75 Merrion Square in Dublin 2. The four storey, 5,494 sq. ft. property is being sold with vacant possession under the instruction of Duff and Phelps. With its strong location, 13 car spaces and recent refurbishment, the property is expected to attract the interest of both investors and individuals. The Irish Times, 4th November
Ronan Hotels: The Sunday Independent reports that developer Johnny Ronan is planning to build four new hotels in Ireland. The first hotel will be a 70 bed boutique hotel in the Bewley’s Building on Dublin’s Grafton Street. Second will be a four star, 167 bed hotel known as Aquavetro, which will be situated alongside Tara Street Dart Station in a 22 storey waterfront tower. Ronan’s third hotel is to be in Enniskerry, Co. Wicklow. The 200 bed Enniskerry Park Hotel is to be located on a 4.5 acre site opposite The Powerscourt Hotel. The final hotel is to be built in Delgany, Co. Wicklow. Ronan hopes to have all the hotels completed in 2017 and 2018. The Sunday Independent, 9th November
Hilton Kilmainham: Tifco Hotel Group has confirmed the purchase of the Hilton hotel in Kilmainham, Dublin 8. The four star, 120 bed hotel was previously owned by John Lally’s Lalco and Tifco will continue to operate the hotel under the Hilton brand. Tifco owns a number of three, four and five star hotels in Ireland and Germany, including the five star Heritage in Co Laois. The Irish Times, 4th November
Clarion Limerick: Savills are inviting offers of €3.5m for the investment sale of the Clarion Hotel in Limerick. The four star, 158 bed hotel is operated by Choice Hotels Ireland and trades under the Clarion Brand. The hotel is let to Merzolt Limited under three leases with over 15 years until expiry and current rental income of €200k. At 16 storeys high, it is currently Ireland’s tallest hotel. The Irish Independent, 5th November
Hotel Supply: JLL’s latest research report focuses on the significant shortage of hotel rooms in Dublin, suggesting that c. 3,000 rooms are required in the short term to satisfy increasing demand. Occupancy rates in Dublin in YTD 2015 are 84.2%, higher than London (81.5%) and Amsterdam (79.8%). The average cost of a room in Dublin city centre for YTD 2015 is €127, a 17.2% increase on the 2014 figure of €109. While JLL have identified 3,415 rooms in the pipeline over the medium term, they emphasise that only c. 50% of these have planning permission and some speculative schemes may not be developed. JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group, November 2015
Cashel Investment: Joint agents Lisney and Bannon are guiding €6.5m for a shopping centre and adjoining petrol station in Cashel, Co. Tipperary. The current annual rental income of the 70,362 sq. ft. shopping centre is c. €658k. Tesco are the anchor tenant, paying €565k p.a. with over 11 years left until lease expiry. Investors will have the ability to increase the rental income from the centre as there is currently vacant retail space of 26,910 sq. ft. The petrol station is also let to Tesco at an annual rent of c. €164k, with c. 8 years remaining on the lease. Bids for the individual assets will also be considered. The Irish Times, 4th November
Cork Apartments: DTZ have set a price tag of €3.5m on two residential investments in Cork. The first is a block of 11 apartments at Langford Hall in Cork City, which is for sale at €2.25m and generating annual rental income of c. €146k (c. 6.2% net yield). The second opportunity is Mansfield House, a 13 apartment complex located outside the city in Passage West. The property has a guide of €1.25m with annual rental income of c. €127k (c. 9.7% net yield). DTZ have advised that both apartment blocks enjoy excellent occupancy rates. The properties are available to be purchased jointly or separately. The Irish Examiner, 5th November
New Legislation: The government is believed to be close to introducing new legislation for the residential rental market. Under the terms of the legislation, landlords will now only be able to increase rents every two years, as opposed to every year under current legislation. When increasing the rent, landlords will also be required to provide evidence which justifies the increase. A tenant’s deposit will also be held in trust by a third party going forward, a move which is expected to remedy the cause of most landlord-tenant disputes. The Sunday Business Post, 8th November
BOI Branch: A Bank of Ireland branch in Fairview, Dublin 3 is being offered for sale by Knight Frank for €2.1m. BOI currently pay an annual rent of c. €196k to occupy the 6,134 sq. ft., three storey end of terrace property, which is let on a 25 year lease from December 2006. The lease includes a tenant only break option at the end of the 15th year and upward only rent reviews. A sale price of €2.1m would represent an initial yield of c. 9%. The Irish Times, 4th November
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Project Clear: Ulster Bank is believed to have a shortlist of bidders for their Project Clear loan portfolio. With the portfolio split into three tranches, investors could target either the entire portfolio or individual tranches. Bids from Lone Star, Cairn Homes and Michael O’Flynn/Avenue Capital have been shortlisted for the entire portfolio. Centerbridge and a joint bid by Joe O’Reilly and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority are amongst the bidders for the individual tranches. The portfolio is secured by 1,850 acres of zoned land, which has potential for 20,000 homes. The Sunday Times, 1st November
AIB Bankcentre: Developer Johnny Ronan has completed the purchase of a c. 3.7 acre site which previously formed part of AIB’s HQ in Dublin 4 for c. €50m. Financing for the transaction was provided by Cardinal Capital and Jefferies Loancore. Ronan is shortly expected to seek planning permission to redevelop the site into grade A office buildings in a project which could cost up to c. €330m. The site was sold under the instructions of a receiver appointed by Ulster Bank and NAMA. The Irish Independent, 1st November
55 Percy Place: Savills are guiding in excess of €8.25m for a commercial development in the final stages of completion in Dublin 4. 55 Percy Place consists of a restaurant, café and office space which have all been pre-let and will generate rental income of €450k p.a., a net return of c. 5.25%. The owners of the site are Development Securities and Oakmount. The companies purchased the site for €2.5m after it previously sold for €13m during the boom. The 4,595 sq. ft. office space has been let at c. €50 psf. An initial rental income of €200k p.a. has also been secured for the 3,540 sq. ft. restaurant and 882 sq. ft. café. The Irish Times, 28th October
Grove Court: IPB Insurance have paid c. €13.4m (7.3% yield) for two office properties at Grove Court in Blanchardstown, Dublin 15. The purchase price was €1.4m above CBRE’s initial guide price of €12m. Blocks Three and Four have a combined floor area of 68,200 sq. ft. and were developed in 2007 by Bernard McNamara. 98% of the current rental income of c. €979k p.a. comes from government tenants, including the OPW and the HSE, while the leases have an average of c. 12 years left until expiry. The Irish Times, 28th October
Ballymoss House: Bids of at least €15m are being sought by Savills for the partially let Ballymoss House in Sandyford, Co. Dublin. The four-storey property has a floor area of 65,000 sq. ft. and 164 car spaces. Three of the four floors are vacant, however the new owners should not have any problems finding new tenants given the shortage of office space in Dublin. BMC Software occupy the ground floor and 39 car spaces on a 25 year lease from 2000 at an annual rent of c. €390k. The rental income for the property, when fully let, is estimated at €1.56m. The Irish Times, 31st October
Cavan Properties: Joint agents CBRE and Quadrant Real Estate are guiding €3.8m for two mixed used properties in Cavan Town. The properties, Hillside and Riverside at Connolly Court, are generating annual rental income in excess of €435k. Hillside is a four storey retail and office building with five ground floor retail units and a primary care centre overhead. The HSE are the primary tenant in Hillside, paying c. €269k of the total annual rent of c. €396k. Riverside is also a four storey property with two retail units and twelve apartments overhead. Gamestop occupy one retail unit on a 25 year lease from 2008 at an annual rent of c. €40k, with the other unit vacant. The Irish Times, 28th October
Clarion Hotel Sligo: The Clarion Hotel in Sligo, which cost c. €45m to convert from a hospital, is now being sold through Savills for €7m. The four star, 162 bed hotel is trading profitably and is a popular location for weddings, with two private churches on its grounds. There are also excellent gym and leisure facilities in the hotel, with c. 800 members subscribed. Receivers Crowe Horwath are managing the sale. The Irish Times, 28th October
Arnotts: Selfridges have completed the purchase of Dublin department store Arnotts from Noel Smyth’s Fitzwilliam Finance Partners for an undisclosed amount. Selfridges had previously been part-owner of the store, along with Fitzwilliam Finance Partners, through an investment vehicle called Whittington Investments. In order to secure ownership, Whittington recently paid c. €107m to Ulster Bank and Apollo to purchase loans secured by Arnotts and nearby properties. The c. 267,000 sq. ft. Arnotts will not be rebranded following the purchase. The Irish Times, 3rd November
Phibsboro Shopping Centre: BNP Paribas have set an asking price of €15m on Phibsboro Shopping Centre and two sites in Dublin 7. The property was previously owned by Pascal Conroy’s Albion before NAMA appointed EY as receivers. With the c. 40,000 sq. ft. centre in need of refurbishment, investors will have to decide whether to embark on a complete redevelopment or a refurbishment and extension of the existing centre. The current rent roll of the centre is c. €975k p.a. Feasibility studies from architects suggest that the 2.85 acre site could facilitate c. 236,000 to c. 269,000 sq. ft. of office, restaurant, cafe and residential accommodation. The Irish Times, 28th October
The Park: Offers in excess of €45m are being sought by Savills for a c. 18 acre site in the highly successful business and retail park facility, The Park in Carrickmines, Dublin 18. While the majority of the land is zoned for use as a district centre, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council has identified the need for a multiplex cinema and neighbourhood centre in the area. Savills are to sell the site in one or more lots, with the largest being 12.63 acres. The Park was developed by Park Developments in two phases in 2004 and 2007, with both phases purchased in 2006 and 2007 by Warren Private for c. €100m each. The Irish Times, 28th October
Michael O’Flynn: Developer Michael O’Flynn plans to build more than 10,000 new homes in Ireland over the next seven to eight years after securing a €400m funding package. The €400m funding package includes senior debt from AIB and his joint venture partner Avenue Capital which will allow O’Flynn to regain control of his business, O’Flynn Construction Group, from Blackstone. O’Flynn Construction reportedly have sites with planning permission to build 500 units, an existing stock of over 200 units, 360 acres of zoned land with potential for 3,500 units and 186 acres of unzoned land. The Irish Times, 29th October
Property Prices: New figures released by the CSO show that residential property prices in Dublin rose by 0.9% in September 2015, reflecting a 6.5% increase over the past twelve months. This is the lowest annual increase since April 2013. The reduction in growth has been attributed to the introduction of the new mortgage lending criteria and the expiration of the CGT waiver on property purchases. Outside of Dublin, prices rose by 1.6% in September and are now 8.9% higher than they were twelve months ago. On a national level, residential property prices are still 34.6% below their peak in 2007. The Irish Times, 29th October
Commercial Property Returns: The latest data published by CBRE shows that prime office yields in Dublin have rebounded by 91% since the crash, representing the strongest recovery in any of the 54 EMEA cities in CBRE’s survey. Prime retail rents in Dublin (Grafton Street Zone A) have also risen by 22% this year, the second fastest rate of growth recorded. Only Barcelona had higher growth at 23%, however its prime rents of €251 psf are less than half of Dublin’s, at c. €511 psf. The Irish Independent, 29th October
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Project Arrow: Cerberus have been chosen by NAMA as the preferred bidder for the c. €6.25bn Project Arrow, which consists of 302 debtor connections secured by 1,906 assets. The fund is believed to have bid c. €800m for the loan portfolio, for which 97.5% of the loans are non-performing. The initial par value of the portfolio had been €8.4bn, however this reduced to €6.25bn following asset sales, loan refinancings and loans retained by NAMA. NAMA retained a number of loans secured by development sites as it has been mandated with funding the development of 20,000 residential units by 2020. CoStar Finance, 23rd October
Project Clear: First round bids have been received for Ulster Bank’s Project Clear, with all bids significantly below the €650m guide price. As many as 10 parties are understood to have submitted bids for the portfolio, including Cerberus, Hines and Cairn Homes. The portfolio consists of prime development land in Dublin and Cork. With the portfolio split into three tranches, interested parties can bid for individual tranches or the entire portfolio. Bids for the full portfolio were all believed to have been under €500m. The Sunday Times, 25th October
Project Jewel: Hammerson has been provided with a €1bn revolving credit facility to assist with the purchase of their share in NAMA’s Project Jewel. The €1bn facility reflects an 81% LTV based on Hammerson’s €1.23bn share of the €1.85bn purchase price. The facility was provided by five banks; BNP Paribas, Lloyds, JP Morgan, HSBC and Deutsche Bank. Hammerson intend to refinance the facility via asset disposals and capital markets issuances. In the past week Hammerson issued a GBP£350m bond which pays a coupon of 3.5%. Hammerson then entered into a Euro swap for the nominal amount and coupon payments, resulting in a net coupon cost of 2.5%. Real Estate Capital News, 21st October
One Spencer Dock: NAMA will be expecting significant interest from institutional investors when One Spencer Dock goes on the market in the coming weeks. Joint agents Savills and CBRE have been chosen to sell the property in Dublin’s North Wall Quay, for which the guide price is expected to exceed €240m. The 226,624 sq. ft., nine storey property was developed in 2007 by Treasury Holdings and let to PWC on 25 year leases, with upward only rent reviews every five years. PWC is believed to be paying annual rent in excess of €11m, equivalent to c. €50 psf. The Irish Times, 21st October
Commerzbank House: Hibernia REIT has chosen BNP Paribas Real Estate to act as the letting agent for One Dockland Central (formerly Commerzbank House) in Dublin’s IFSC. The property is currently being refurbished with a completion date of Q1 2016. Upon completion it is expected to rent for a minimum of €45 psf. Hibernia purchased One Dockland Central, along with Guild House for over €90m in July 2014. It is believed that Hibernia’s long term plan is to refurbish both buildings in order to create over 140,000 of lettable, grade A office space. The Irish Times, 21st October
Connacht Hotels: The Hanly Group have chosen Savills to sell two four star castle hotels in Connacht for a combined €8m. Kilronan Castle is an 84 bed hotel on a 40 acre estate with a guide price of €4.5m. Lough Rynn Castle is a 44 bed hotel on a 300 acre lakeside estate which has a guide of €3.5m. The hotels are being offered for sale either on an individual or joint basis and are both trading strongly. The Irish Independent, 22nd October
Windsor House: The co-owners of the Merrion Hotel in Dublin, Hastings, have been granted planning permission to develop the tallest hotel in Ireland. Hastings are to redevelop Windsor House in Bedford Street, Belfast into a luxury 200 bed hotel. The 24 storey building is to also include 16 serviced apartments, office space and ground floor retail units. The total cost of the project is estimated at GBP£30m. Hastings purchased Windsor House from NAMA in May 2015 for £6.5m. The Irish Times, 21st October
Sackville House: Tetrarch Capital have sought planning permission from Dublin City Council to convert Sackville House in Dublin 1 into a budget boutique hotel. Sackville House is currently a c. 27,000 sq. ft., three storey block and the estimated cost of Tetrarch’s project is €16m. Tetrarch purchased the property last year for €4m. Should planning permission be granted, Tetrarch hope to open the hotel before the end of 2017. The Irish Times, 21st October
Cork Development: Savills are seeking offers in excess of €5.75m for a part two-storey property on a 0.8 acre site on Washington Street in Cork City. The property has been occupied by Square Deal Interiors for the last few decades. However the owners have now decided to retire. Potential redevelopment opportunities include residential or educational facilities, with UCC in close proximity. Also close to the site is the former Esso petrol station, which recently sold for €3.5m with planning permission for 50 residential units. The Irish Examiner, 22nd October
Abbey Glen: Knight Frank are guiding €8.5m for 44 apartments in Cabinteely, Dublin 18. The complex consists of 13 one beds, 26 two beds and five three bed apartments. Seven of the units require investment before they would be suitable for letting. The gross annual rental income of the complex at present is c. 441k. With all 44 units finished and occupied, the gross annual rental income is believed to be c. €656k. The current sale price reflects a price of less than €200k per unit and a gross yield of c. 7.38%. The Irish Independent, 22nd October
Barrow Street: Offers in excess of €2m are being sought by Savills for a part two storey warehouse on 0.23 of an acre at 15 Barrow Street, Dublin 4. The property is most likely to be considered a redevelopment opportunity with the warehouse most suited to an open plan office or fitness centre. The property has residential zoning and there is an expired planning permission for eight mews houses and 6,458 sq. ft. of light industrial or general media use. Post completion of the sale, the current owners, Dublin Sanitary Disposal Ltd, are to occupy the property under a short term lease at €100k p.a. The Irish Times, 22nd October
Facebook Data Centre: Facebook have been granted planning permission by An Bord Pleanala for their proposed €200m data centre in Clonee, Co. Meath. Development of the data centre is expected to be completed over two phases. The first phase will see the development of two data centres with a combined gross floor area of c. 538,000 sq. ft. The second phase will see the construction of a third data centre with a gross floor area of 273,000 sq. ft. The Sunday Business Post, 25th October
Property Index: The latest figures from JLL’s property index reflect the continued strong performance in the commercial property market, with overall returns up by 7.7% for the third quarter. The sector has generated a positive return of 25.9% over the past twelve months. Capital values rose by 6.1% for the quarter and 18.1% for the year, with retail values showing the strongest growth in the quarter at 8.6%. Values have now risen by 46.2% since the bottom of the market, however they remain 47.7% below their peak value in 2007. The Irish Times, 21st October
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Project Arrow: NAMA is expected to select the preferred bidder for its Project Arrow loan portfolio next week after final bids were submitted last week. The final round bidders are believed to be Cerberus and Apollo, after a joint bid between Goldman Sachs and CarVal was withdrawn last month. The loan portfolio originally had a par value of c. €8.4bn, however this figure has now fallen to c. €6.3bn. The portfolio is expected to sell for c. €900m, equivalent to 14c on the Euro. Both Cerberus and Apollo are believed to have already spent c. €5m undertaking due diligence on the portfolio. NAMA Wine Lake, 18th October
Fenward House: CBRE are guiding €5m for a prime, fully let office property in Sandyford, Dublin 18. Fenward House comprises 19,750 sq. ft. of lettable space with an additional 34 car spaces. Slainte Technologies occupy the property on a ten year lease from June 2015. The existing rent of c. €389.5k p.a. is subject to automatic increases to c. €409k p.a. in June 2016 and c. €429k p.a. in June 2017. A €5m sales price will see the initial yield rise from 7.5% to 8.2% following the increases in rent. The Irish Times, 14th October
Blackrock Offices: Lone Star have retained Savills to sell three office properties in Blackrock Business Park in south Dublin for over €13.5m. The properties, known as Blocks 3, 4 and 5 have a total floor area of 50,000 sq. ft., are fully let and have a WAULT based on lease breaks of c. 4 years. The portfolio is generating rental income of c. €1.016m p.a., with Hair Restoration Ltd paying c. 35% of the existing rent. As two of the three office blocks are let on rents of €19.80 psf, there is strong potential to increase the rental income from upcoming rent reviews. The Irish Times, 14th October
Airbnb HQ: Savills are guiding in excess of €30m for Airbnb’s new HQ at 8 Hanover Quay, Dublin 2. The 38,471 sq. ft. property is still under construction but it is hoped that work will be completed by February 2016. Airbnb Ireland have agreed a 20 year lease on the property, with a tenant break option after year seven. The initial rent of €1.475m p.a. will rise to €1.7m p.a. in 2021 and is also guaranteed by Airbnb Inc. At a valuation of €30m, the net initial yield is 4.71% and the capital value equates to €780 psf. The Irish Times, 14th October
Carton House: NAMA have placed a price tag of c. €55m on Carton House in Kildare. The four star, 165-bed hotel boasts a c. 1,100 acre parkland estate and golf course and is a popular choice for sports teams, with the Irish rugby team using the hotel for training camps. The hotel was developed in 2000 by Paddy Kelly and the Mallaghan family. The most recent accounts for the hotel, from 2013, show losses of c. €1.83m for the year on turnover of c. €16m. The Sunday Business Post, 18th October
Tara Towers Hotel: Joint agents DTZ Sherry Fitzgerald and Savills are inviting offers in excess of €9m for the Tara Towers hotel and an adjoining c. 1.4 acre site on Merrion Road in Dublin 4. The three star, 111-bed hotel and site were previously purchased by Bernard McNamara and Jerry O’Reilly in 2003 for c. €14.2m. The hotel is in good condition with the majority of the rooms having been refurbished in recent years. Additional income is generated from mobile phone masts on the roof of the building and two car parks. The sale will appeal to both hotel investors and property developers as the site is ideally suited for the development of apartments. The Irish Times, 14th October
North Wall Hotel: Following his acquisition of a warehouse on Dublin’s North Wall Quay for c. €5m, property developer Paddy McKillen will reportedly seek planning permission to develop a new 150-bed hotel on the site. Oakmount, a company to which McKillen is linked, purchased the warehouse after a competitive bidding process where the initial asking price was €3.9m. It is anticipated that Oakmount now plan to spend c. €10m adding an additional four floors to the existing warehouse to facilitate the development of the hotel. The Irish Times, 14th October
Newhall: Newhall retail park in Naas, Co. Kildare is being sold through Savills, who are seeking offers in excess of €21.5m. The complex, which contains eight retail warehouses (145,366 sq. ft.) and 660 car spaces, was completed in 2005 by Grangemount Holdings. Tenants include Harvey Norman, B&Q and PC World / Currys. Newhall is currently generating rental income of c. €1.563m p.a., with Harvey Norman paying the highest rent at €508k. Included in the sale is a 2 acre site to the southwest of the park which could accommodate a further three retail units (24,000 sq. ft.), subject to planning permission. The Irish Times, 14th October
Finglas Social Housing: New Generation have withdrawn their planning application for 169 social housing units on Jamestown Road in Finglas, Dublin 11. The application was withdrawn after Fingal’s County Council unveiled a development plan for 2017 to 2023 which specifies an employment creation element. New Generation had already proposed the development of a nursing home and healthcare centre on the site but will need to revise the remainder of the application to ensure it meets the criteria for planning permission. The proposed development would have been the largest social housing development since the property crash. The Sunday Business Post, 18th October
53 Percy Place: Two unnamed investors have paid over €2m for a development site at 53 Percy Place in Dublin 4, well above CBRE’s asking price of €1.6m. CBRE believe that the c. 0.1 acre site has potential for a residential development or alternatively, a four storey office block. The value of the site post development is estimated at €7m. Underbidders for the site included developer Johnny Ronan, who has a stake in the nearby 8-34 Percy Place office block. The Sunday Business Post, 18th October
Kilcooley Estate: Northern Irish businessman Tom O’Gorman is hoping to make a gross return of over 120% in little over two years on his investment in Kilcooley Estate, Co. Tipperary. O’Gorman initially acquired the 35,000 sq. ft. mansion and c. 220 acres for c. €2.1m from NAMA. O’Gorman then purchased the freehold title on c. 950 acres of forestry for c. €1.5m which had been leased to Coillte. Now joint agents Savills and Christie’s International are guiding €8m for the mansion and c. 1,263 acres of land. The mansion has not been occupied for a decade therefore it should require c. €2m of refurbishment before it is suitable for living. The Irish Times, 15th October
BOI Branches: Murphy Mulhall are handling the sale of four Bank of Ireland branches which have a combined price tag of €8.75m. The properties are available for purchase individually or as one portfolio. Two of the branches are in Dublin and two are in Cork, with the prized asset being the Lower Rathmines Road branch in Dublin 6. The branch has a guide of €1.65m and rent of c. €104k p.a., a c. 6% yield. The properties are let under 25 year leases from 2007 and subject to upward only rent reviews, offering investors secure long term income from a strong covenant. The Irish Times, 14th October
Belgard Square Industrial: Two vacant industrial properties on an adjoining site in Belgard Square, west Dublin are being sold by selling agents William Harvey and Co for €6.75m and €5.5m respectively. The three storey, 98,846 sq. ft. Belgard House is available for €6.75m and was previously occupied by United Drug and Kerry Group. The €5.5m property is on a c. 4.2 acre site and was previously the industrial bakery of Cuisine de France. Harveys believe the €5.5m property is most suitable as a manufacturing premises or film / TV studio, subject to planning permission. The Irish Independent, 15th October
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