Liffey Valley Shopping Centre, Dublin Property group Hines has secured planning permission for a €135m extension to the Liffey Valley shopping centre in west Dublin. An Bord Pleanála has granted permission for the extension in spite of opposition to the plan from the operator of a rival retail centre, The Square in Tallaght. The new plan, first lodged in March 2020, seeks to provide a contemporary mixed leisure, entertainment and retail extension to Liffey Valley that is to be centred on a large public plaza and creating a new east-west street at the centre. The extension is to be anchored by two large retail units to either side of the public plaza. A retail impact assessment lodged with the planning application stated that the extension would deliver an additional €128.65m in retail revenues for the Liffey Valley Centre by 2025. Last April, South Dublin County Council granted permission but the plan was stalled after The Square lodged an appeal with An Bord Pleanála. In its appeal, The Square Management Ltd argued that what was proposed was “wholly unsustainable and a continuation of an outdated car-based, 1980s-style mall template”. However, the appeals board granted permission after its inspector in the case concluded that the scheme would constitute an appropriate form of development and would not be contrary to the retail policy as set out in the council’s development plan. The Irish Times, 13^th December

MIXED USE

Denny Street, Tralee A Munster private investor has paid €1.5m for a historic Tralee town centre building, which houses The Kerryman newpaper, an AIB commercial bank presence and three apartments. Getting a return of c. 11%, the new owner of 9-10 Denny St has secured the three-storey Georgian period building which earlier had accommodated the National Bank of Ireland (later, the Bank of Ireland) from a private investment consortium who, in turn, had bought it about a decade ago. The building — a listed property built in the early 1800s, on a very intact Georgian streetscape laid out in the early 19^th century on the grounds of Tralee castle — was sold by Sherry FitzGerald Stephenson Crean (SFSC), had carried a €1.3m guide price, but sold for a sum over that, likely to be c. €1.5m. It has a total rental income of €159.4k, which includes €29.4k pa from three modern, good quality two-bed apartments built to the rear. The Kerryman is on a 20-year lease from June 2007, with current rent of €60k pa, with five-year reviews, while AIB is on a 20-year lease on the first and second floors, from April 2008 paying €70k pa, also with five-year reviews and the leases have a break option in year 10. The Irish Examiner, 8^th December

RESIDENTIAL / DEVELOPMENT

Douglas Village, Cork City Planning permission has been refused for a major apartment scheme earmarked for Douglas Village. Sirio Investment Management Ltd has applied for permission to build three apartment blocks of c. 65 apartments, ranging from six to 10 storeys in height, as well as four retail commercial units. The development was proposed for the site of the former Permanent TSB on East Douglas Street and Main Street. The bank relocated to a corner unit by Circle K gas station some years ago. 45 of the apartments were to be “Build to Rent”. A residents’ gym and meeting room are also part of the proposal. According to the plans, the apartments were to be spread across three blocks, with 20 apartments in a four to six-storey block, 15 apartments in a six-storey block and 30 apartments in an eight to 10 storey block. There were also plans to upgrade the public realm and footpaths at East Douglas Street, as well as creating new vehicular access to basement car-parking from the Aldi car park. However, planners in Cork City Council this week refused permission for the development. The Irish Examiner, 9^th December

Build-To-Rent Sector Concerns that Dublin City Council’s recently published draft development plan could curtail the supply of housing have been expressed by estate agents Savills. According to the agent, the draft plan “includes drastic changes in planning policy, particularly in relation to build-to-rent (BTR) and build-to-sell requirements regarding schemes of 100+ units. These will undoubtedly create additional challenges in the funding and delivery of residential schemes and these policies will be viewed unfavourably by the property sector and will likely prove counterproductive”. Build-to-rent developments of less than 100 units will not generally be supported. There are indications of a “general presumption against residential schemes that comprise 100% BTR units”, the agent further added. Residential schemes of 100-plus units may only have a maximum 60% BTR units. At least 40% of the units must be for sale (to the general public). The Irish Independent, 9^th December

Parkside, Dublin 13 Cairn Homes Properties has lodged plans for a €131m apartment development at Parkside 5B, Parkside in Dublin 13. The proposed development will measure over 699,654 sq. ft. and will include the development of 763 apartment units over nine-storeys in height, alongside a crèche facility and retail units. The Business Post, 12^th December

Donaghmede, Dublin 13 Belwal has been granted permission for a €55m apartment scheme at the former Columban Missionary Site, Hole in the Wall Road in Donaghmede, Dublin 13. The development will include the construction of 413 apartment units ranging from five to seven storeys in height. The Business Post, 12^th December

Development Updates, Ireland Works are expected to begin in December 2021 for the construction of a €3.6m two-storey multi-purpose community building (25,989 sq. ft.) at Murroe, Co Limerick. Works are expected to take c. 18 months to complete. Elsewhere, works are under way on the construction of Phase 2B of the Housing Development at Churchfields at Mulhuddart in Dublin 15. The scheme consists of the construction of 67 residential dwellings and associated site works consisting of six one-bedroom units, 17 two-bedroom, 34 three-bedroom and 10 four-bedroom units in 12 blocks, arranged in groups including single, double and three storey arrangements. Meanwhile in Blackpool Co Cork Eichsfeld Limited has lodged an SHD application for the construction of 191 build-to-rent apartment units. The development to be known as Distillery Quarter will measure in excess of 139,930 sq. ft. and has an estimated cost of €23.7m. The Business Post, 12^th December

Help to Buy Scheme, Ireland The government’s Help to Buy scheme has supported c. 30,000 new home owners. Of the more than 7,000 new home sales Sherry FitzGerald managed over the past five years, more than 80% have been below the Help to Buy threshold. The Business Post, 12^th December

Residential Property Prices A significant lack of supply, coupled with a big increase in household savings, has seen property prices skyrocket over the past year. In June, MyHome.ie published the Property Price Report for Q2 2021 reporting an asking price inflation of 13%. Asking price inflation is the most reliable lead indicator for actual property prices, and predictably, CSO figures released last month showed that there had been a 12.4% increase in residential property prices nationwide in the year to September 2021. Last month, the CSO reported that the volume of transactions in September was up 14.3% on August and by 34.8% compared to September 2020. Existing houses accounted for 86% of transactions, a rise of 43.2% over the year, while new homes accounted for 14%, which was flat compared to last year. The Banking and Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) said there were 11,479 mortgage drawdowns in Q3 2021, valued at €2.8bn. This means volume was up by 40.9% year on year and the value of mortgage drawdowns was up by 42.3%. This activity is reflected in the level of interest in the market: MyHome.ie website traffic has increased by 40% over the course of the pandemic. In addition, and according to Ulster Bank’s construction purchasing managers’ index, the sector expanded for the sixth consecutive month in October 2021, despite the increase in the cost of building materials. The Business Post, 12^th December

Ireland’s Vacant Site Levy System, which imposes penalties on land that is not developed for housing, is being hampered because landowners can appeal the charge at every step of the process, according to a senior Dublin City Council official. The levy will be replaced in two years by a new tax on land hoarding, which will introduce 3% levy on vacant land that is zoned for housing. The measure was announced as part of Budget 2022. Figures from the 2016 census, which were collected by CSO, indicated c. 30,000 vacant properties. The council expects CSO to take an “enhanced approach” to evaluate vacancy in the next census. The fragmented nature of Ireland’s strategy on derelict sites has resulted in a “haphazard” approach to solving the issue. The Business Post, 13^th December

OTHER

Commercial Real Estate Investment 2021, Ireland All sectors of the market exceeded initial expectations throughout 2021. Overall, €3.5bn has transacted in the first nine months of 2021, twice that of the same period in the previous year and exceeds all of 2020 by €500m. An additional €1bn of investment in Q4 2021 is expected which will close the year off with €4.5bn across all sectors. This will be an increase of a third on 2020 and almost €500m more than the annual average from 2016 to 2020.

The private rented sector (PRS) accounts for 54% of all investment volumes during the first nine months of the year. This percentage will likely grow by year end with some prominent deals expected to be signed before the new year. Foreign investment with PRS deals consisted of more than 75% in the first nine months of the year.

It has been a record year for logistics and industrial, recording €450m for the first nine months of the year. Q3 2021 alone had €325m worth of investments which was more than any year on record. The sector is on course to exceed €600m by year end with a forward funding investment for the Penneys distribution centre in Newbridge, Co Kildare likely to be signed in the coming weeks.

Office investment volumes were unaffected by the pandemic. There was €827m worth of investments up to September which is in line with that of the same period in 2019 and 2020. An additional €400m has been transacted so far in Q4 2021 with the Serpentine Consortium’s Facebook headquarter site in Ballsbridge acquired by Blackstone.

Retail remains the hardest hit sector but 2021 showed signs of life with notable deals such as the €30m sale of the Citywest Shopping Centre, €18.5m sale of Bridgewater Shopping Centre and the sale of 26/27 Grafton Street for €25m, all of which were facilitated by JLL. The sector will outperform in 2020 but a full recovery is not expected to take place until 2022. John Moran, JLL, The Irish Times, 8^th December

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Gardiner Row, Dublin 1 Cassidy Hotel Group has acquired Barry’s Hotel in Dublin city centre for c. €8m. The sale of the Great Denmark Street landmark is understood to have delivered a significant return for its vendor, a private investor. The hotel was last sold in 2013 for c. €1m. Built originally at Lord Tullamore’s Townhouse in 1780, the property was converted into a hotel in 1889, and has continued to trade as one ever since. While the townhouse premises has 33 guestrooms currently, there is existing planning permission to develop a 32-room extension to the rear of the property. The Cassidy Hotel Group was advised on the purchase of Barry’s Hotel by CBRE, while JLL advised the vendor. The Irish Times, 1^st December

Galway City Centre Galway nightclubs Electric Garden and Halo could come for sale with agents TWM and Cushman & Wakefield expecting it to guide a price between €3.5m and €5m. A multi-purpose venue, the premises comprises a bar, restaurant, arcade and club. Electric Garden and Halo sit on a large central Galway site extending to 0.5 acres and comprises a floor area of 43,572 sq. ft. over several levels. It has significant frontage to Abbeygate Street Upper. These buildings also include retail and apartment accommodation. The property has been developed over the years and extended into the large regular-shaped rear site with significant two- and three-storey structures, constructed to form two open-plan nightclubs, beer gardens, a restaurant and covered outside areas together with ancillary service accommodation that includes storage, toilets, cold rooms and office space. The property has development potential given its location within Galway city centre. The location and zoning could suit retail, hotel, office residential or student accommodation subject to planning permission. It could also be developed in conjunction with the extensive An Post property that is now on the market. The combined properties would be one of the largest city centre sites to become available in Galway in recent years. The An Post site is zoned city centre under the Galway City Development Plan. The Irish Times, 1^st December

OFFICE

Sorting Office, South Dublin Docklands Having agreed terms to lease the entire 202,000 sq. ft. property earlier this year, TikTok is said by market sources to have formally signed the deal with the building’s owners, Mapletree Investments, last weekend. The Chinese headquartered social media giant has agreed to occupy the property on the basis of a 15-year lease with 10 years’ term-certain and a rent-free period of c. 18 months. The rental level agreed for the office scheme is understood to be between €55 and €60 per sq. ft. While the completion of the Sorting Office deal provides a significant boost for the Dublin office market as it approaches year-end, it represents just the first step in TikTok’s medium to long-term plan to grow its workforce here to 5,000. Having secured sufficient space to accommodate c. 2,000 of those personnel at the Sorting Office, the company has moved to the next stage of its office search in Dublin’s docklands. The Marlet Property Group’s 177,000 sq. ft. shipping office scheme on Sir John Rogerson’s Quay and Bartra’s 200,000 sq. ft. Boston Sidings development at Grand Canal Quay are understood to be two of the locations up for consideration. The Irish Times, 1^st December

RESIDENTIAL / DEVELOPMENT

Sallins Road, Naas Agent Jordan Auctioneers is handling the sale of a 3.24-acre site in a central, sought-after location on the Sallins Road only c. half a mile from Poplar Square in Naas town centre. The agent is guiding €2.25m for it. The plot of land is zoned “New Residential” under the New Naas Local Area Plan 2021-2027 and the allowable density for the site under that plan is 14 to 20 units per acre. The Business Post, 5^th December

Social Housing, Ireland Dublin City Council (DCC) estimates it will build 642 less social housing units by 2026 compared to targets set out by the Department of Housing last month. The local authority projects a total of 9,910 homes will be delivered over the next five years, 642 less than the Department’s target of 10,552. Of those, 8,445 homes will be built through a mix of direct-build (6,945) and Part V delivery (1,500). Part V is a mechanism which allows local authorities to obtain 10% of land zoned for housing to deliver social and affordable units. A further 1,465 social homes are to be delivered through long-term leasing agreements. Under its Housing for All plan, the Government wants to end the practice of long-term leasing by focusing on new-builds to provide social housing. DCC estimates 480 social homes will be delivered through long-term leasing next year, 475 in 2023, 410 in 2024 and 100 in 2025. The Department last month set out targets for the construction of more than 47,000 social units by 2026. Under Housing for All plan, an average of 9,500 new social homes are to be provided annually state-wide. 20% of the 47,600 social homes due to be delivered by 2026 are designated for Dublin City. The other three Dublin local authorities are between them expected to deliver another 18% of the national total. The Business Post, 6^th December

Clonburris, Southwest Dublin Cairn Homes has lodged a planning application for 569 homes at Clonburris in southwest Dublin. 280 hectares of former farmland, 10km from the city centre, has been designated by the Government as a strategic development zone (SDZ), and South Dublin County Council has plans for a new town with c. 9,000 homes. Planning permission was recently granted for critical infrastructure in the area, including the construction of 4km of roads, bus corridors, cycle lands and pedestrian routes, which is expected to start in early 2022. The application by Cairn is the first planning application for housing in the location. The company said the initial phase would contain 569 homes out of planned total of 9,000 “making the exciting new suburb of Clonburris of comparative scale to large towns such as Naas and Navan.” The application incorporates 173 houses, 148 duplex homes and 248 apartments, a creche, two local parks and children’s play areas, together with a green link alongside Fonthill Road. Cairn paid €21.7m for 97 acres in Clonburris when it bought it from the State’s National Asset Management Agency and O’Callaghan Properties in 2019. The company already owned 174 acres in the area. The company said it planned to develop a total of 5,000 of the 9,000 new homes planned for the area as well as commercial and retail space within “a dedicated urban core”, local parks and a linear park along the canal. The Irish Times, 3^rd December

OTHER

AIB Non-Performing Loans, Ireland AIB Group has a €750m commercial property loan book which it plans to sell in the first half of 2022. The portfolio is understood to comprise loans issued before the domestic property crash more than 10 years ago, which are likely to be sold at a discount to their par value. The planned offloading follows the Irish bank’s sale of a €500m loan portfolio to Ellington Financial and Morgan Stanley, dubbed Project Bay, in October. AIB is one of the three remaining banks in the Irish market that has been actively selling non-performing loans this year in preparation for a potential rise in pandemic-triggered defaults in 2022. Recently Bank of Ireland announced plans to sell a residential non-performing portfolio valued between €300m to €500m next year. React News, 3^rd December

Yew Grove Reit, Ireland Property investor Quanta Capital has decided against making a bid for Yew Grove, having said last month it was assessing putting in an offer to upset a planned takeover of the Dublin-listed owner of office and industrial assets by a Canadian group. Quanta owns 4.5% of Yew Grove through an investment vehicle called Goldstein Property ICAV, where Davy is investment manager. Slate Office’s bid values the Euronext Dublin-listed real estate company at €177m, including its €49.5m debt pile. Yew Grove issued a stock exchange announcement late on Friday afternoon saying that Quanta had notified the Irish Takeover Panel that it does not intend to make an offer for Yew Grove. The Irish Times, 3^rd December

If you have an article which you would like to have considered for inclusion in our next weekly report, please contact us at info@origincapital.ie

Origin Capital funds senior debt transactions in the CRE investment sector, typically in excess of €3m, and has lent over €200m to clients since April 2015.

Origin Capital is a wholly owned subsidiary of LeBruin, a leading provider of corporate finance solutions.

If you would like to discuss how Origin Capital can help with your funding requirements, please contact us on 01 662 9264.

Usher’s Quay, Dublin 8 A hotel site with full planning permission to develop a 100-bedroom hotel has come to the market seeking €7m. The Usher’s Quay hotel site in Dublin 8 will extend to c. 43,550 sq. ft., with restaurant and bar facilities of c. 1,614 sq. ft. Warren Private and Greenleaf is reported to have acquired the Usher’s Quay site for €3.3m in 2019. The price paid represented a premium of 16.67% on the property’s €2.75m guide price. Despite the impact of the pandemic, the market for new hotels remains strong with c. 24 hotels, comprising 4,500 rooms, expected to be delivered in Dublin by the end of 2023. The Irish Times, 24^th November

Smithfield, Dublin 7 A proposed hotel development at the Cobblestone pub in Dublin has been refused planning permission by Dublin City Council. Marron Estates Ltd had applied to the Council for planning permission for a nine-storey hotel at 77-80 King Street North in Smithfield. The proposal included the demolition of 78 and 79, and the retention and alteration of 77 and 80. Under the proposed plans, the pub would have been retained, however concerns were expressed over the scale of the development and the removal of an area beside the traditional Irish music pub. Over 700 observations were received by the Council’s planning department which ruled that the “development would be overbearing and significantly out of scale and character with the prevailing architectural context and would represent substantial over-development of this highly sensitive site”. In October, more than 400 people protested in the city centre over the proposed development while an online petition, Save the Cobblestone, has more than 34,000 signatures. Marron Estates Ltd has four weeks to appeal the planning decision. The Business Post, 29^th November

HEALTHCARE / NURSING HOME

South Docks, Cork The only hospital dedicated to rehabilitation outside of Dublin is earmarked for Cork City, as part of a €350m plan to develop the South Docks. The 122,000 sq. ft. 130-bed rehabilitation hospital will provide rehab for patients with stroke and acquired brain injury, as well as general neurological rehabilitation, and will be among the most modern in Europe, according to developers O’Callaghan Properties (OCP). A dedicated outpatient day hospital and restaurant and café services are also part of the plan. OCP is hoping to begin construction work on the hospital in the first quarter of 2023, subject to planning approval. The development is a significant one for the city, which had in the past been earmarked for a southern rehabilitation centre, to offset the pressures on the National Rehabilitation Hospital in Dun Laoghaire, in Dublin. The new hospital will be operated by French care giant the Orpea Group, which entered the Irish market in 2020 and now has c. 2,000 beds in Ireland. The Irish Examiner, 23^rd November

STUDENT ACCOMMODATION

Student Accommodation, Cork Planning permission has been granted for a c. €30m+, 243-bed student accommodation complex at Cork city’s Victoria Cross, on a former garage site which has been sold for €4.1m. It features several blocks, including one of ten storeys, facing UCC’s own ongoing Crow’s Nest 255-bed facility. It marks further high-density concentration of purpose-built student apartments and beds just west of the main UCC campus. This latest student accommodation site, at Victoria Cross, is to be delivered by Bellmount Developments’ Séamus and Pádraig Kelleher. The Kelleher brothers also have an adjacent site on the other side of Orchard Road on Victoria Cross Road with planning in place for a 137-bed development, in three blocks of up to five storeys tall. Combined, they now have scope to add 380 student beds to the immediate area. More recent large-scale player arrivals (excluding UCC itself) include the likes of Uninest with three sites (Brewery Quarter/Lee Point, Melbourn Point by the MTU, and the completed Amnis House on Western Road) as well as Round Hill Capital and NBK Capital Funds. The Irish Examiner, 24^th November

RESIDENTIAL / DEVELOPMENT

Appian Way, Dublin 6 Dublin City Council has refused developer Johnny Ronan planning permission for a 10-storey-over-basement, 44-unit scheme of build-to-rent apartments on Appian Way in Dublin 4. The council said the scheme’s excessive height, scale and density on a small, visually prominent site would constitute overdevelopment. It found the plan for the site at the junction of Leeson Street Upper and Appian Way would have an unreasonably overbearing, visually dominant effect on adjoining sites. The authority also concluded that the proposed scheme, “with its unjustifiable height and density, fails to integrate or be compatible with the streetscape along both Appian Way and Leeson Street Upper”. The Irish Times, 24^th November

Athy, Co Kildare A residential development site in Athy, Co Kildare with potential for 133 dwellings has been brought to the market by joint agents Lavelle Commercial Property and Corr Property Consultants guiding €2m. Located at Blackparks, it is within walking distance of the town centre and fronts a planned new distributor road. Extending to 9.4 acres with frontage to Fortbarrington Road, the site is zoned Objective C: “New Residential” which indicates an estimated residential capacity of 133 units for the site, equating to 14 units per acre. The Irish Independent, 25^th November

Phoenix Park, Dublin 7 A small apartment block with development potential near the Phoenix Park in Dublin 7 has been earmarked for auction by agent Olivia Needham Property in partnership with IAM Sold Property Auctions with a €1.45m guide price. Known as 6-11 Villa Springs, Nephin Road, the two-storey block B extends to 3,010 sq. ft. and comprises six one-bedroom apartments. It is part of a small development with Block A comprising 1-5 Villa Springs at the entrance to the development not included in the sale. Block B, which is for sale at the rear of the development, is owned by one owner and sits on its own site of c. 0.15 acre. Block B will be sold with the benefit of vacant possession and the market rent for the six apartments is estimated to be €122k per annum giving a return of 8.4% with further uplift possible. Five of the apartments have not been rented over the past two years and therefore market rent can be changed. The sixth apartment is currently rented at €20.4k per annum. A €7.3k annual management fee applies for the entire block. The Irish Independent, 25^th November

Residential Property Prices, Ireland Residential property prices in central Dublin will soar by a quarter to a median €476k by 2028, a comprehensive analysis of the housing market for Dublin City Council has found. The housing need and demand assessment (HNDA) by KPMG’s research consultancy said the average price of a home will increase from €437,868 to €575,251 between 2021 and 2028. KPMG said that the median home price would rise from €378,403 to €476,760 in the same period. It also showed that 75% of the homes in central Dublin will be priced above €367,252 in 2028, compared to €291,487 in 2021. In addition to a sharp rise in home prices, the HNDA has also forecast the median weekly rent in the council’s locality will surge from €411 a week to €603 a week by 2028, which will mean the median rental unit will cost c. €2,412 a month. Recent data released by the Department of Housing suggests there has been an increased rate of homebuilding following new state initiatives and forecasts that 27,000 homes could be completed next year. The government’s Housing for All plan has aimed to boost housing delivery up to an average of 33,000 homes a year between now and 2030. Despite the positive trends in the housing market, the KPMG analysis has forecast a rise in home prices of 4.27% in 2021. Its report said there will be continued inflation up to 2030, by which time it will have eased to 2%. The Business Post, 28^th November

Build-To-Rent Scheme, Dublin Developers would be blocked from building new apartment complexes solely made up of rental units under new rules being drafted by Dublin City Council. Last week, the local authority entered the second stage of drafting its new development plan for the 2022-2028 period. The new version includes specific policies aimed at preventing over-concentration of build-to-rent accommodation in pockets of the city and increasing for-purchase homes. The measures, if adopted, would require developers to demonstrate that there is not an over-concentration of rental accommodation in an area when applying for planning permission. Large-scale apartment developments of more than 100 homes would also need to include a minimum of 40% of build-to-sell apartments. Furthermore, the council would like to “discourage” rental accommodation schemes of fewer than 100 units because it has found smaller build-to-rent schemes cannot provide “meaningful” communal facilities and services. The draft added that any rental accommodation should be concentrated in “prime inner city areas and also in areas of high intensity employment use such as within 500m walking distance of a high employment area”. A high employment area is classified as a zone with 203 employees per acre and within 500m of major public transport interchanges, such as Connolly Station, Tara Street Station and Heuston Station. The public and interest groups now have a final three-month window to request amendments to the development plan. The Business Post, 28^th November

Clonskeagh, South Dublin US-owned Bain Capital is understood to have secured c. €40m from the sale of 72 high-end homes in the south Dublin suburb of Clonskeagh to a fund controlled by German investor Real IS. The deal, which was completed in recent days, sees the fund secure ownership of 63 two to four-bedroom apartments and nine penthouses developed by Bain and its partners Regency Homes at the exclusive Knockrabo scheme on Mount Anville Road. Completed in September 2020, the portfolio is distributed across four apartment blocks ranging in height from four to five storeys. The scheme, which is almost fully let has 93 parking spaces. The €40m price paid by Real IS represents an average of €555,555 per unit. The Irish Times, 29^th November

OTHER

Irish Commercial Property Outlook Improved outlooks across all sectors of the Irish commercial property market are expected by the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland (SCSI) according to the third quarter Ireland Commercial Property Monitor. The key factor driving the improvement was an acceleration in tenant demand for industrial space, rents for prime industrials are expected to rise by 6% in the year to come while secondary industrial rents could increase by c. 3.5%. Office demand appears to have stabilised. In the retail market, occupier demand continues to fall but its pace of decline has eased significantly compared with earlier in the year, according to the survey which is part of a global monitor conducted by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). Respondents foresee industrials strengthening from a 5% growth prediction in Q2 to 6% growth over the next 12 months. Prime office values are expected to rise by 1% in contrast to falls predicted in the previous quarter. However, secondary office values remain under a bit of pressure with expectations of a fall of c. 50bps. Nevertheless, this is still an improvement on Q2 expectations for a 400bps fall. The Irish Independent, 25^th November

Property Funds, Ireland The Central Bank of Ireland has outlined proposals for the introduction of leverage limits for property funds and new guidance to prevent liquidity mismatch. The central bank is consulting on a 50% limit to prevent a build-up of excessive levels of debt in Ireland’s commercial property market. This would not be a fixed limit. The bank noted that in the event of adverse market shocks, it may temporarily remove the limit. Equally, it may be tightened if there is evidence of “growing exuberance”. A three-year transition period is proposed to give funds time to adjust. The plans have been drawn up amid concerns that some funds are carrying too much debt. Irish property funds currently have an average LTV of 46%, which is almost double the EU average of 25%, it added. In addition to limits on leverage, the CBI is also proposing new guidance for property funds on redemption terms to prevent liquidity mismatch. It will advocate a longer timeframe from the point when a redemption request is submitted and when funds would need to pay investors. The consultation will run until 18^th February. React News, 25^th November

Banking and Payments Federation Ireland Report Mortgage approvals fell in number and value in October but remained higher than pre-pandemic levels. Figures from the Banking and Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) show a total of 4,568 mortgages were approved last month, down 4% on the previous month and 12% on the same month last year. 55% (c. 2,533) were for first-time buyers while mover purchasers accounted for 23.6% (c. 1,076). The value of mortgage approvals in October was just under €1.2bn, down 5% on last year. The Irish Times, 30^th November

Rent Control Legislation, Ireland Landlords will be able to hike rents by multiples of new rent control caps if they have not increased rents in several years. New rent control legislation will allow landlords of homes in rent pressure zones (RPZs) to compound the cap from previous years. Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien will pass legislation through the Oireachtas in the coming weeks which will link annual rent increases in RPZs to 2% or to the Harmonised Indices of Consumer Prices (HICP), whichever is lower. However, landlords who have not upped the rent in previous years will be able to combine the rent increase cap, as it will be legislated for on a per annum basis. The legislation last week passed its Seanad stage and will soon be considered by the Dáil. It is part of two pieces of legislation brought by the Housing Minister to Government in recent months, with Mr. O’Brien also seeking to put in place tenancies of indefinite duration. According to the latest Daft.ie rent report, rents are now rising at an annual rate of 6.8%. The rent increases faced by tenants are linked to an “unprecedented” shortage of rental property in the Irish market. As of the beginning of the month, the report said that there were just 1,460 homes to rent on its property website, the lowest number since its quarterly series began in 2006. The Irish Independent, 30^th November

If you have an article which you would like to have considered for inclusion in our next weekly report, please contact us at info@origincapital.ie

Origin Capital funds senior debt transactions in the CRE investment sector, typically in excess of €3m, and has lent over €200m to clients since April 2015.

Origin Capital is a wholly owned subsidiary of LeBruin, a leading provider of corporate finance solutions.

If you would like to discuss how Origin Capital can help with your funding requirements, please contact us on 01 662 9264.

Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin Council planners have recommended to An Bord Pleanála that permission for a contentious 276-unit student accommodation scheme for Dun Laoghaire be refused on four separate grounds. Earlier this year, Baker Forge Properties lodged “fast-track” plans with An Bord Pleanála for a six-storey development at Baker’s Corner, Rochestown Avenue and Kill Avenue, Dun Laoghaire. The scheme involves the demolition of the well-known Baker’s Corner pub and the construction of a replacement pub and two commercial units along with the 276-student accommodation units. The scheme is facing opposition from local residents, a nearby nursing home, An Taisce and local TD Richard Boyd Barrett of People Before Profit-Solidarity. The recommendation from the council planners strengthens the objectors’ case. The council said the scheme would adversely affect the amenities of adjacent properties due to its overall scale and massing. It also concluded that the scheme would have a detrimental impact on the character of the surrounding area and be visually overbearing and obtrusive. An Bord Pleanála is due to decide on the application in January. The Irish Times, 18^th November

RESIDENTIAL / DEVELOPMENT

Clongriffin, North Co Dublin A site with potential to house one of Ireland’s largest residential developments has come to the market seeking €50m. The opportunity is expected to attract strong interest from developers and investors given the scale of the potential development. The 27.4-acre site in Clongriffin, north Co Dublin, known as “Project Capital North”, is being sold by Gannon Properties and comes with full planning permission for 1,823 residential units, a 209-bedroom hotel, including 20 short-term let apartments, and 1,358 car parking spaces. The site also has permission for 244,642 sq. ft. of commercial space, providing office accommodation and retail space. The Irish Times, 17^th November

Blackrock, Co Dublin A site with planning permission for 120 apartments on the Deansgrange Road in Blackrock, Co Dublin, has gone sale agreed. Agent Knight Frank had been guiding in excess of €8.5m for the property which also has permission for four ground-floor commercial units, a café and a crèche over a basement car park. The 1.85 acre site has been occupied by Mooney’s Hyundai dealership. In 2019 Ditton Investments, a company with motor dealer links, submitted an SHD fast track planning application for as many as 151 apartments on the site and parking spaces for 99 vehicles. Burlington Real Estate (BREL) was appointed development manager to deliver the PRS scheme after the site was subject to a number of previously refused planning permissions. While the planning application sought heights ranging from four to six storeys, An Bord Pleanála reduced the permissible levels to three to five storeys and also insisted that one of the commercial units be replaced with a crèche. The Irish Independent, 18^th November

Maylor Street, Cork Planning has been granted for the redevelopment of the Hickey’s site on Maylor St in Cork city with the majority of the store to be retained. The plan is centred on numbers 9-12 Maylor St and involves the removal of some of the retail space to provide access to a residential development to be constructed overhead. Developer John Kennedy had initially sought permission for a seven-storey apartment development over the shop, but this prompted concerns about height and massing from city planners. As such, that was revised to six storeys, totaling 32 apartments. The plans propose the retention of 10,553 sq. ft. of the Hickeys Store, with access retained on both Maylor and Oliver Plunkett Streets. The Irish Examiner, 18^th November

Kilbarry, North Cork The Cork County Board has put plans for 309 residential units planned for Cork GAA lands before An Bord Pleanála. The move by the Cork County Board is part of a consultation with the appeals board ahead of formally lodging ‘fast-track’ Strategic Housing Development (SHD) plans for the scheme next year. The notice, published by An Bord Pleanála on Wednesday, shows the planned scheme is made up of 197 houses, 112 apartments, a crèche, and associated works for Cork GAA lands on Old Whitechurch Rd, Kilbarry. The planning documentation lodged by the Cork County Board starts a nine-week long pre-planning consultation with An Bord Pleanála. A decision on the scheme by An Bord Pleanála is due in January 2022. The Irish Examiner, 18^th November

Social Housing, Dublin Eurostat, a European Commission agency, has warned the Irish state against leasing properties for social housing. Under Dublin City Council’s long-term leasing initiative, landlords can lease their investment properties to the local authority at between 80% to 95% of the open market rent for up to 25 years. The council is also responsible for the upkeep of the property during the lease period. The European body, which monitors how government finance statistics are recorded, said the deals provided no “substantial economic benefits” to councils and significantly benefited property investors who “enjoy most of the rewards”, with the local authority ultimately owning no asset at the end of the deal. The government plans to lease 2,400 homes this year, which are forecast to cost c. €1bn in total over the 25-year term of the deals. Over the coming years, however, the state will phase out the leasing of social homes. Dublin City Council records show that it spent €667.4k to lease homes in 2016. Between 2019 and 2020, the amount being spent on leasing homes increased from €2.6m to €4.6m. According to Dublin City Council, based on the number of proposals due to be delivered during 2021, the estimated rent payments for 2021 for c. 330 units is €6.3m. The Business Post, 21^st November

Adamstown, West Dublin The Crossings, Quintain’s first phase of development at its €500m new urban centre in Adamstown, has been purchased by GIC alongside partner Orange Capital Partners for €110m. GIC has secured the forward purchase of 279 units in west Dublin from Lonestar-backed housebuilder Quintain. Construction of the apartments is underway, and completion is anticipated mid-2023. Quintain’s Adamstown project also includes 90,000 sq. ft. of retail space to house two major supermarkets, 20 retail units and five restaurant outlets. Planning permission for a second phase of 185 apartments has been granted and further phases are planned for submission in late 2021 and early 2022. Savills represented Quintain on the sale. React News, 22^nd November

Liffey Valley, Dublin A joint venture group involving JP McManus and John Magnier, and Cork property developer Michael O’Flynn is preparing a masterplan for 860 acres situated between Lucan and Castleknock that they believe could deliver more than 5,000 new homes, a large new public park and other amenities. Planning consultants for the trio have already engaged in early-stage discussions with South Dublin County Council and Fingal County Council on a plan to develop the extensive landbank, which is currently used mostly for agriculture purposes. They hope to secure the green light to develop c. 400 acres of the site for housing, with more than 5,000 units envisaged, subject to planning permission. 20% of these units would be offered for social and affordable housing. Under their ambitious plan, c. 265 acres would be set aside for a Liffey Valley public park at Edmundsbury, which would be handed over for community use. If it comes to fruition, this would provide much-needed housing in a sought-after area of Dublin, close to the city centre. It is understood that it could take up to a decade to develop the site. The Irish Times, 23^rd November

OTHER

Real Estate Market, Dublin Dublin is the fifth busiest real estate market in Europe with more than €3bn invested between the end of last year and the third quarter of 2021, according to a new report by consultancy firm PwC and the Urban Land Institute, a US-based think tank. This put the Irish capital on par with Paris and ahead of cities such as Oslo, Milan and Manchester. London came top with €16bn of capital inflows, followed by the German cities of Frankfurt, Berlin and Munich. Institutional property investors have flooded into Ireland over the past decade, taking advantage of strong rental yields. Estate agent Sherry FitzGerald estimates that private rental sector investors have invested c. €7bn into the Irish property market since 2011. The Irish Times, 22^nd November

Private Residential Sector, Dublin PRS is now a major investment class, having arrived on the Irish market in 2012 when the earliest transaction in the sector was recorded. Over the last nine years, it has grown to form part of the foundations of the market and has comprised of 22.9% of all investment deals. Despite the challenges created with the global pandemic in March 2020, the sector was resilient throughout the various restrictions on movement in that time and rent collections remained high as government pandemic unemployment payments eased the financial strain on renters. Dublin’s market remains competitive and is an attractive alternative to the cities with more well established PRS markets. The Business Post, 21^st November

If you have an article which you would like to have considered for inclusion in our next weekly report, please contact us at info@origincapital.ie

Origin Capital funds senior debt transactions in the CRE investment sector, typically in excess of €3m, and has lent over €200m to clients since April 2015.

Origin Capital is a wholly owned subsidiary of LeBruin, a leading provider of corporate finance solutions.

If you would like to discuss how Origin Capital can help with your funding requirements, please contact us on 01 662 9264.

The Prism, Cork City Centre Construction of The Prism, a long-awaited €20m commercial development in Cork City, is finally set to get underway on November 23. Documents filed with Cork City Council indicate the late November commencement date, more than two years after planning permission was sought for the 15-storey office block. The project was delayed by pandemic lockdowns. The development — earmarked for a narrow triangular-shaped, 3,000 sq. ft. site next to the city’s bus station at the confluence of Clontarf Street/Deane Street/Oliver Plunkett Street Lower — is described by the developers as a “grade A” commercial development consisting of “64,583 sq. ft. of light-filled, fourth-generation office space”. The Irish Examiner, 11^th November

Tallaght, Dublin 24 An investment opportunity at the Cookstown Court office development in Tallaght, Dublin 24 has come to the market for sale by private treaty and guiding €5m through selling agent BNP Paribas Real Estate. The two four-storey over double-basement, semi-detached office buildings extend to a gross internal area of 38,588 sq. ft. and come with a generous allocation of 124 on site car spaces. Blocks A and B have average floor plates sizes ranging from 3,121 to 6,350 sq. ft. and offer flexible, bright, open-plan accommodation. The two blocks currently produce a highly reversionary rental income of €396,216 ex Vat across five tenancies with an average passing rent of €10 per sq. ft., including parking. The net initial yield of 7.21% can easily be increased through pro-active asset management strategy via lettings of the vacant office suite, lease re-gears and rent reviews. The weighted average unexpired lease term is c. 4.3 years. The Business Post, 14^th November

For lending terms on these assets please contact rossmetcalfe@origincapital.ie

HOSPITALITY

Dublin Arch, North Dublin US hotel group Standard Hotels has chosen Dublin Arch, located on Dublin’s northside, as the location for its first hotel in Ireland. The Dublin hotel, which is expected to open in 2025, will have 200 rooms. Dublin Arch, formerly known as the Connolly Quarter, is being developed by Irish group Ballymore as a mixed-use business and residential development. Located adjacent to Connolly Station and bounded by Sheriff St Lower, Commons St and Oriel St, it extends to c. 1,195,000 sq. ft. and will include homes, restaurants, community clubs, artists’ studios and office space, as well as Ireland’s first Standard Hotel. The Irish Times, 10^th November

STUDENT ACCOMMODATION

Cushman & Wakefield Report Just 850 purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) spaces were under construction in Dublin during the third quarter, a sharp drop on recent years. A new report from Cushman & Wakefield finds that c. 1,350 new PBSA bed spaces are due to be delivered to the Dublin market in 2021, bringing total stock in the market to c. 18,700 bed spaces across 56 developments. With a return to close to full occupancy for many of the PBSA buildings, the report notes that from 2022 onwards, the delivery of new bed spaces will reduce significantly. This decline comes on the back of several years of annual double-digit growth during 2016 and 2019 which resulted in a reduction in the student-to-bed ratio from c. 4:1 in 2018, to a now estimated 2.7:1. However, at the end of the third quarter of 2021, c. 7,350 student-bed spaces across 17 developments in Dublin had planning permission granted.

Outside of Dublin, Cork is the largest market, with a stock of c. 6,200 beds as of the third quarter of 2021. Almost four-fifths of this stock is accounted for by private ownership, and there has been a pick-up in beds delivered with c. 600 beds delivered to the Cork market for the academic year 2020/2021. This comprised 417 beds at a Uninest development at the former Beamish and Crawford brewery, and Nido’s first Irish residence at Curraheen Point, which provides c. 160 beds. Looking to development activity in Cork, there are currently 1,700 bed spaces under construction in the city, with c. 800 beds expected to complete in 2022.

In Galway, there is a current stock level of just over 4,500 bed spaces, with two new openings over the past year. Mezzino opened c. 400 beds at its Westwood development close to the NUIG campus, while a further 153 beds opened just off Eyre Square. There are currently just over 670 beds under construction in Galway, all of which are located on the NUIG campus, with expected delivery by 2023. The longer pipeline picture in Galway also appears positive, with c. 1,350 beds currently with plans granted and a further c. 70 beds with plans submitted. As the report notes however, with no recent commencements it is unclear as to when, or if, all these beds will be delivered to market. The Irish Times, 10^th November

RESIDENTIAL / DEVELOPMENT

Blackrock, Co Louth Selling agent CBRE has brought a development site with full planning permission to build 158 homes and a creche to the market in Blackrock, Co Louth, seeking €3.25m. The coastal site has permission for a range of home types, including apartments and houses. The planning includes a selection of 99 houses, 13 duplexes and 46 apartments. The site is in the coastal area of Cois Farraige, c. 1.2km west of Blackrock village, and is situated at the corner of Rock Road and the Old Golf Links Road. The site is zoned Residential Phase 1 – “to protect and improve existing residential amenities and to provide for infill and new residential developments’’ under the Dundalk and Environs Development Plan. The Irish Times, 10^th November

Ashbourne, Co Meath A ready-to-go site in Ashbourne town centre with full planning permission for 18 homes has come to the market. The site, which is being brought to the market by Hooke & MacDonald, is located at Castle Street in the Meath town. The property comprises a development site of c. 1.73 acres, which incorporates two derelict residential houses. The site benefits from c. 100m of frontage on to Castle Street. Hooke & MacDonald is guiding in excess of €1.65m for the land, which equates to €91.5k per house site. The Irish Times, 10^th November

Smithfield, Dublin 7 A prime development site located on St. Michan’s Street directly opposite the former fruit and vegetable market in Smithfield, in Dublin’s city centre, has come to the market seeking €1m. The site extends to just under 3,230 sq. ft. and is within walking distance of Capel Street, the Four Courts and the Luas line. The site is vacant and cleared, within defined boundaries, and pre-planning documents have been drawn up for a residential scheme. Subject to planning permission, the site has potential for a 10-storey residential block comprising 17 residential units and one commercial unit, extending to 700 sq. ft. It is being brought to the market via private treaty by BidX1. The Irish Times, 10^th November

Belmayne, Dublin 13 Developer Kajima has bought a 3.45 acre site in Dublin for its first-ever build-to-rent development in Ireland as it seeks to gain exposure in the Irish private residential market. The scheme obtained planning permission in August under Ireland’s fast-track Strategic Housing Development planning route. Kajima is looking to build 260 apartments, of which 67% are private rental homes and 33% are social and affordable homes. The development will comprise six cores within three buildings of up to seven-storeys. It will have 108 one-bedroom, 135 two-bedroom and 17 three-bedroom homes as well as more than 5,382 sq. ft. of residential amenities such as a gym, media room and workstations. The site sits within the north fringe business district in the northern suburb of Belmayne, offering easy access to Dublin airport and Dublin central business district via public transport. Enabling works are likely to begin in December of this year and construction in April 2022. Completion is expected by mid-2025. React News, 11^th November

Drumcondra, Dublin 9 Planning permission has been approved for the construction of a €250m build-to-rent apartment scheme in Dublin 9. US property group, Hines has received planning permission for the construction of 1,592 apartment units on the site of the former Holy Cross Seminary at Clonliffe College in Drumcondra. Planning permission was originally sought for 1,612 units, however An Bord Pleanála omitted 20 units from the proposal as a condition of granting permission. The Business Post, 14^th November

Drogheda, Co Louth Loughdale Properties Limited has lodged an SHD for 237 dwellings in detached, semi-detached, terraced/townhouse, terraced/duplex and apartment form and a crèche on the Old Slane Road in Drogheda, Co Louth. The buildings range in height from one to five storeys. The development has a total floor area of 258,807 sq. ft. and an estimated cost of €45m. The Business Post, 14^th November

Rosshill, Galway An Bord Pleanála has granted planning permission to Alder Developments for an €18.3m SHD Residential Development at Rosshill, Galway city. The development will include 102 residential units (35 apartments and 67 houses), a crèche facility, retail units, playground and associated works. The Business Post, 14^th November

Mulhuddart, Dublin 15 MNE Capital has lodged a strategic housing development application for a €32m apartment development at Canterbury Gate on the Old Navan Road in Mulhuddart in Dublin 15. The proposed development will measure over 172,222 sq. ft. and will include 189 build-to-rent apartment units and a crèche facility across four blocks over five storeys in height. The Business Post, 14^th November

Clane, Co Kildare In a strategic housing development ruling, the appeals board has granted planning permission to plans by Debussy Properties Ltd for 192 residential units at a site on the southern side of Prosperous Road, Clane, in Co Kildare. The scheme is comprised of 114 houses and 78 duplex units. The board has ordered that all houses and duplex units not be sold to a corporate entity and the sales instead be limited to individual purchasers. The Irish Times, 10^th November

Loughlinstown, South Co Dublin An Bord Pleanála has refused planning permission for a 256-unit build-to-rent apartment scheme on lands at St Laurence’s College, Loughlinstown, in south county Dublin. The apartment scheme, extending to eight storeys in height, faced strong local opposition. More than 70 objections were lodged. In refusing planning permission, the appeals board ruled the proposal would have an overbearing impact on adjacent residential properties at Wyattville Park and would not make a positive contribution to the identity and character of the area. The Irish Times, 10^th November

Cherrywood, South Co Dublin Developer Lioncor is taking High Court action against Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council after planners refused it permission to build 445 homes. Council planners refused Lioncor subsidiary 1 Carrickmines Land Ltd permission for 404 apartments and 41 houses in the Cherrywood strategic development zone in south Co Dublin last September. High Court papers filed this week show that 1 Carrickmines Land is taking judicial review proceedings against Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council. Planners refused permission as the proposals, including measures to prevent flooding, were not consistent with the overall Cherrywood strategic development zone conditions. Accounts lodged by 1 Carrickmines Land show it had spent c. €21.5m on the Cherrywood site by the end of last year. That included €15.8m to buy the land and €5.7m in development costs. Cherrywood will ultimately house c. 30,000 people in a self-contained suburban centre covering 412 acres that will include offices, shops, services, schools and amenities. The total investment could run to €2bn. The Irish Times, 12^th November

Blackpool, Cork Two Cork landowning families are behind plans lodged with An Bord Pleanála for a build-to-rent scheme in Cork city’s northside suburb of Blackpool. If the 191 apartment development is given the go-ahead, it will see the conversion of a former distillery building, Hewitt’s Mill, into apartments, as well as the construction of two nine-storey apartment blocks on wasteland directly opposite the Revenue Commissioners’ offices on Assumption Road. The overall development, covering 1.96 acres and with a gross residential floor space of 142,000 sq. ft., will include communal facilities for residents, such as function rooms, residential lounges, gym facilities, a cinema room, plenty of bicycle spaces, but very limited car parking – just 14 spaces at the Hewitt’s Mill site. The maximum height over ground level across the three sites will be 31.8m (the island site) to parapet level.  The Irish Examiner, 11^th November

Development Land Sector, Ireland With activity gathering momentum, the development land sector could see sales exceed €500m by year end, as agents CBRE and Savills agree that third-quarter sales reached c. €185m. According to CBRE, the third quarter figure exceeds the value of sales in the first two quarters of the year combined and brings total spend in the first nine months of 2021 to c. €369m. Savills estimates the year-to-date figure slightly higher, at €378m, but also pointed out that this represents a decline of 19% compared to the quarterly average of €227m witnessed over the last five years. The strong values of Dublin docklands sites was reflected in two of the top deals in the quarter. While the biggest price in the third quarter was achieved by a north docklands site, the highest price per acre was recorded by one in the south docklands. Eagle Street Partner purchased a six-acre site at Castleforbes Business Park for €78.5m from Glenveagh. That equates to €13,083,333 per acre. An even higher per acre price of €73,637,090 was paid for 1-6 City Quay when KC Capital paid €40.5m for the 0.6-acre landmark site. The Business Post, 14^th November

OTHER

Strategic Housing Developments, Ireland The State’s fast-track planning process will not be fully wound up until next June, several months later than expected. Pre-planning applications for strategic housing developments (SHDs) will be allowed up until December 17^th under the Government’s plan to abolish the SHD legislation, which has become mired in legal challenges. This means developers could in theory submit planning applications under the SHD rules up until June 2022 with applications being decided on up until October 2022. Introduced in 2016, SHD legislation aimed to speed up the planning process by allowing developers apply directly to An Bord Pleanála for housing developments of at least 100 units or student accommodation developments containing 200 beds or more. However, the system has been derailed by a litany of legal challenges and so the Government has now moved to end the process earlier than next February when it was due to expire. The Government’s new large-scale residential development (LSRD) legislation, which gives decision-making powers back to local authorities but with tighter timelines around decision-making, is expected to come into effect in December. The Department of Housing confirmed in September that almost two-thirds of the 210 housing projects approved under the SHD fast-track planning laws remain undeveloped. More than half have been halted by judicial reviews. Under the new legislation, planning authorities will have to give a decision on LSRD planning applications within eight weeks of receiving them. There will also be a 16-week mandatory timeframe for decisions on subsequent appeals to An Bord Pleanála. The Irish Times, 10^th November

Residential Property Prices increased by 12.4% nationally in the year to September, according to the latest data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO). This compares to an increase of 10.9% in the year to August and a decrease of 0.8% in the 12 months to September 2020. In Dublin, residential property prices saw an increase of 11.5% in the year to September, while property prices outside Dublin were 13.2% higher. In the capital, house prices increased by 12.4% and apartment prices increased by 7.7%. The highest house price growth in Dublin was in the city at 14.1%, while Fingal saw a rise of 8.6%. Outside Dublin, house prices were up by 13% and apartment prices up by 15.1%. The region outside of Dublin that saw the largest rise in house prices was the Border, at 21.9%. At the other end of the scale, the Mid-East saw a 10.7% rise. Overall, the national index is 7.4% lower than its highest level in 2007. Dublin residential property prices are 13.8% lower than their February 2007 peak, while prices in the rest of Ireland are 9.5% lower than their May 2007 peak. Property prices nationally have increased by 106.5% from their trough in early 2013.  The Irish Times, 15^th November

Glenveagh Properties, Ireland Housebuilder Glenveagh Properties plans to buy back a further €100m of shares, after completing the sale of a 4.6-acre residential and hotel site at Castleforbes Business Park in Dublin’s docklands. The planned share repurchase programme follows on from the group having completed its first share buyback scheme last month, under which shares to the value of €75m were acquired on the market for cancellation. Glenveagh announced in late August that it had agreed to sell the residential and hotel site at Castleforbes for €78.5m to Eagle Street Partners Group. The deal followed on from the group selling the planned 262-bed Premier Inn hotel in Castleforbes to German asset manager Union Investment through a forward fund arrangement. The overall Castleforbes site in the Dublin docklands was purchased by Glenveagh in 2018 and the site now consists of two hotels, an office of 120,000 sq. ft. and 700 residential units. The Irish Times, 16^th November

Slate Office Reit, Dublin Toronto-based real-estate investment trust Slate Office Reit has agreed to take over Yew Grove Reit, the owner of office and industrial assets outside Dublin’s city centre, for €127.8m. Including Yew Grove’s €49.5m of borrowings implies an overall enterprise value on the Dublin-listed company of €177.4m. The offer price of €1.017 per share represents a tight 1.7% premium to Yew Grove’s closing price on Monday and is 3.7% above the company’s volume-weighted average share price over the past 180 trading days. Yew Grove’s focus has been on office and industrial assets let to State entities, IDA-supported companies and large corporates. The Irish Times, 16^th November

If you have an article which you would like to have considered for inclusion in our next weekly report, please contact us at info@origincapital.ie

Origin Capital funds senior debt transactions in the CRE investment sector, typically in excess of €3m, and has lent over €200m to clients since April 2015.

Origin Capital is a wholly owned subsidiary of LeBruin, a leading provider of corporate finance solutions.

If you would like to discuss how Origin Capital can help with your funding requirements, please contact us on 01 662 9264.

Dublin 1 and Dublin 2 Knight Frank is bringing a collection of six mixed-use assets in Dublin 1 and 2 to the market. The assets will be brought to market individually. In total, the entire collection is valued at c. €11.35m. The first mixed used lot is at 38-39 Abbey Street Upper and 20 Liffey Street Lower, in Dublin 1. It comprises two restaurants, a retail/café unit and six residential units extending to a total of 11,351 sq. ft. (GIA) with an auction guide price in excess of €2.5m.

The second lot, at 72 Middle Abbey Street in Dublin 1, is guiding in excess of €750k. It’s a terraced, three-bay, five-storey commercial building over basement close to O’Connell Street. It currently stands as a partly stripped-out unit, with the roof, floors and external envelope retained. The property has an active planning permission for a 17-bedroom hotel with a penthouse suite granted. The development opportunity would also suit a variety of alternative uses, subject to planning permission.

Further along the same street, the third lot on offer is at No. 58-59, a four-storey over basement, mid-terraced building comprising two ground floor commercial units – a restaurant and hookah lounge, and seven apartments extending to a total area of just under 8,700 sq. ft. (GIA). The agent is guiding in excess of €2.5m.

119-120 Capel Street in Dublin 1 is a pair of four-storey over basement buildings with a ground floor and basement Korean restaurant, and overhead offices let to the Simon Community. Let off low base rents, and with the ability to let a further three vacant office suites, it presents as a highly reversionary prospect. This has a €1m auction guide.

The final Dublin 1 lot comprises the Clifton Court Hotel at 10-11 Eden Quay and 12 Harbour Court, a hotel and bar investment. The entire lot extends to 19,252 sq. ft. and has an advised minimum value in excess of €3m.

On the south side of the river Liffey, 10 Harcourt Street and 10-11 Montague Lane in Dublin 2 are guiding in excess of €2.6m. No. 10 Harcourt Street comprises a four storey over basement, mid terraced, mixed use, Georgian building. No. 10-11 Montague Lane consists of a vacant three-storey warehouse with planning permission for a full demolition and the construction of a three-storey over basement office scheme of c. 10,225 sq. ft. The Business Post, 7^th November

For lending terms on these assets please contact rossmetcalfe@origincapital.ie

OFFICE

Newtownpark Avenue, Dublin 3 The Courtyard Business Centre has been brought to the market by Savills with a guide price in excess of €2.75m. Located just off Newtownpark Avenue, the property measures c. 12,550 sq. ft., on a site of c. 0.5 acres. The business centre comprises seven separate business units all spread over two stories across three blocks. There is currently one unit occupied on a 10-year lease from 2019, while the rest of the units are vacant. Floor plans of the units vary from c. 915 sq. ft. to c. 2,056 sq. ft. The site is zoned objective A – to protect and/or improve residential amenity within the current Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown Development Plan, while the draft county development plan 2022-2028 retains the same objective. According to Savills, this provides an investor with a redevelopment opportunity. A feasibility study has been carried out by Plus Architecture, which illustrates the potential to convert the office space into a residential development. The Irish Times, 2^nd November

For lending terms on this asset please contact rossmetcalfe@origincapital.ie

Blackrock, South Dublin Commercial agent HWBC has brought to market the Frascati Buildings on Blackrock’s Frascati Road with full vacant possession, having previously been occupied by Zurich. HWBC is guiding a price in excess of €11m for the building, which comes complete with planning permission for a significant extension and refurbishment. That includes creating a new landmark office HQ comprising 48,760 sq. ft. of net internal area over six levels with dedicated tenant amenity and 18 parking spaces at lower ground level. In addition to enlarging existing floor plates and increasing tenant amenity space, the new building footprint includes a new penthouse floor on the fifth storey. This adds 5,005 sq. ft. to the net area, providing generous outdoor terraces and impressive views over Dublin Bay. The Frascati Buildings enjoy an unrivalled profile fronting onto the Frascati Road, and are less than five minutes’ walk from Blackrock’s Dart station. Both the Frascati Shopping Centre and Blackrock Shopping Centre recently underwent multimillion-euro refurbishments while significant investment in public cycling and walking infrastructure leaves Blackrock as an attractive HQ option for indigenous and multinational companies alike. The Business Post, 7^th November

HEALTHCARE /NURSING HOME

Foxrock, South Dublin The Four Ferns Nursing Home, part of the Virtue Group, is looking to expand its existing facility on the outskirts of Foxrock village in south Dublin. The nursing home, located on the upmarket Brighton Road, was one of Ireland’s most expensive when constructed at a cost of c. €28m. Now the operators are seeking to extend the 144-bed nursing home, by adding an additional 33 bedrooms and associated resident amenities. FWNH Limited, a company of which Cillian and Ronan Willis, founders of the Virtue Group, are directors, has applied for planning permission to demolish the adjacent house, known as Tall Trees. In its place, it is looking to construct one three-storey extension to the east and west wings of the nursing home to accommodate the additional rooms. It is also seeking to supply six further car parking spaces. The Irish Times, 3^rd November

Nursing Home Sector, Munster Cork investment firm BlackBee is preparing to exit the nursing home sector and has appointed the adviser PwC to devise a sales strategy for its portfolio of 12 care home properties, all of which are based in Munster. It comes just over two years since the firm launched a €250 million fund that it said would build 1,000 state-of-the-art single en suite beds and fund the acquisition of 750 existing beds operating under a new brand, Aperee. BlackBee raised tens of millions of euros from investors, mostly retail clients, to fund the purchase of nursing homes, first under the Ditchley Group and then under the Aperee franchise, which is headed by Paul Kingston. Last year Aperee took over the operation of the Ditchley homes. In total, BlackBee investors control about 700 beds. Ditchley operates seven nursing homes in Munster. Aperee homes include Padre Pio nursing home in Churchtown, Co Cork. The Sunday Times, 7^th November

RESIDENTIAL / DEVELOPMENT

Ballsbridge, Dublin 4 An Post’s post office on Shelbourne Road is being brought to the market as a development opportunity, with a guide price in excess of €1.5m. The landmark property measures c. 5,419 sq. ft. on a site of c. 0.12 acres with profile to the river Dodder and offers a wide range of potential options including office, food and beverage and medical uses. The property comprises a retail unit to the front of the building at ground and first floor measuring c. 1,186 sq. ft. It is occupied by An Post on a four-year, nine-month licence agreement. The property also has separate office accommodation to the rear at ground and first floor, which is vacant, and measures c. 4,441 sq. ft., as well as several vacant outbuildings. The site is zoned Z4 – District Centre and will provide an investor with a prime redevelopment opportunity, ideal for office, food and beverage or medical uses subject to planning permission. The Irish Times, 3^rd November

Merrion Road, Dublin 4 Dublin City Council has agreed a €2m social housing deal with hotel operator Dalata for its Tara Towers development on the Merrion Road. In order to fulfil Part V social-housing obligations for the development, which will be home to a four-star Maldron hotel as well as 69 apartments owned by Ires Reit, Dublin City Council has acquired seven apartments at the nearby Elm Park development in Dublin 4. This means that there will be no requirement for social-housing units at the upmarket apartment development, which will be run by Ires Reit. The hotel is expected to open in 2022, with the residential element of the redevelopment – 12 one-bed, 43 two-bed and 14 three-bed apartments – also expected to be handed over next year, after Covid-related delays. The Irish Times, 5^th November

Dundrum Shopping Centre, South Dublin Proposals for the redevelopment of the old Dundrum Shopping Centre in south Dublin have been published by a local group – while the landowner is in discussions with An Bord Pleanála for a fast-track planning application to develop 889 apartments on the centre and on other properties in the village. Councillor Anne Colgan, spokesperson for the ‘Imagine Dundrum’ (ID) group, is concerned that the landowner, Dundrum Retail GP DAC (DRGP), might seek permission for tall towers, similar to the 14-storey tower which the government’s Land Development Agency sought for the nearby Dundrum Mental Hospital site. Instead, ID wishes to restrict the height of development on Dundrum’s Main Street to three storeys, in order to retain the character of the village. DRGP, a joint venture between Hammerson and Allianz, is currently in discussion with An Bord Pleanála about a Strategic Housing Development (SHD) fast-track planning application. A spokesperson said it remains in the Stage 2 SHD “pre-application process for a residential-led scheme on the land adjacent to Dundrum Town Centre.” If it gets approval from ABP, it will have until next February to make a formal application with full details of its plans, as after that date SHDs are expected to end. The Irish Independent, 4^th November

OTHER

Commercial Property Market, Ireland Investment market analysis by BNP Paribas found that German investors accounted for €700m of the €3.5bn in sales, or c. 20%, transacted in the first nine months of the year in the Irish market. Overall, research from the real estate group found that the third quarter of 2021 was the busiest in the commercial property market in six years, with turnover up 12% on the five-year average. Investment doubled from €1.8bn in the first nine months of 2020 to €3.5bn in the same period in 2021, while there were 140 investment deals in the first nine months of 2021, outstripping the full-year figure for 2020 (138). The private rented sector accounted for more than half, at 52%, of all sales in the third quarter, and 54% of activity in the first nine months of the year, with €415m worth of residential assets purchased. The office sector experienced a lull, however, in the third quarter, with just €128m worth of offices trading, the lowest quarterly total in five years. The Irish Times, 2^nd November

Commercial Property Demand, Galway Galway property agent O’Donnellan & Joyce’s commercial department has reported a strong rise in demand across the entire sector this year, specifically for retail, office and development land across Galway city and beyond despite the Covid-19 pandemic. Since the second quarter of the year, the agent has experienced a surge in demand for such commercial properties and enquiries are up an estimated 15% year-on-year. The division recently achieved two successful commercial sales in Galway city. These include No. 5 Lombard Street, a high-profile commercial/residential investment unit located in the heart of the city. Boasting prime retail frontage, it comprised a self-contained three-storey building extending to c. 3,900 sq. ft. Above the commercial unit, the property had two self-contained two-bedroom apartments positioned on the second and third floor. These extended to c. 667 sq. ft. and were presented in turnkey condition. This property sold in excess of the guide price of €1.2m. A second strong result was the sale of No. 24 William Street, on a busy retail thoroughfare which links to Eyre Square and Shop Street. The property also sold in excess of its €1.2m asking price. The self-contained, three-storey investment property was sold with strong tenants in situ on a long-term lease. It had an open plan retail area on the ground floor with overhead storage accommodation on the first, second and attic floors. The Business Post, 7^th November

If you have an article which you would like to have considered for inclusion in our next weekly report, please contact us at info@origincapital.ie

Origin Capital funds senior debt transactions in the CRE investment sector, typically in excess of €3m, and has lent over €200m to clients since April 2015.

Origin Capital is a wholly owned subsidiary of LeBruin, a leading provider of corporate finance solutions.

If you would like to discuss how Origin Capital can help with your funding requirements, please contact us on 01 662 9264.

Copley Hall, Cork A portfolio of 10 apartments in Cork city centre is being offered for sale by Lisney in a single lot with a sale guide price of €2.65m. The 10 apartments in Copley Hall are part of four-storey block of 32 apartments. The portfolio comprises seven two-bedroom apartments ranging in size from c. 670 sq. ft. to c. 990 sq. ft. and three one-bedroom apartments of c. 495 sq. ft. each. Six of the apartments are on the top floor, with three on the third floor and one on the second floor. The fully furnished apartments provide a high standard of accommodation and there is lift access to all floors. The apartments are fully occupied with the exception of one apartment which has been left vacant to facilitate viewings. There are eight basement car spaces included in the sale. The actual total rental income is c. €178k pa, with potential for rental growth. The guide price offers an investor a net initial yield of 6.45% after standard acquisition costs. The most recent sale of an individual apartment in Copley Hall as recorded by the Residential Property Price Register is the sale of No. 20, a third floor two bed apartment which sold for €283k in September 2021. The Business Post, 31^st October

Castleconnell, Co Limerick A 37.9-acre development site at Coolbawn in Castleconnell, Co Limerick, which may have potential for 25 houses, is being auctioned by BidX1 with a €1m guide price. It was part of a site which had planning permission for 69 dwellings, of which 31 were built and sold. According to the auctioneer, a third party is in possession of a portion of the property and “vacant possession of this portion of the property in sale may not be furnished on closing”. However, the development contributions have been paid in full. The Business Post, 31^st October

Tallaght, South Dublin Louis Fitzgerald, the country’s biggest pub owner, is looking to build apartments on the site of one of his Dublin pubs. Fitzgerald, who owns more than 12 acres beside the site of his Old Mill pub in Tallaght, has asked South Dublin county council to zone c. four acres for residential. He wants to build apartments on the site on Bohernabreena Road. The Sunday Times, 31^st October

OTHER

Landsec acquires U+I Listed property giant Landsec has made a bid to acquire U+I for £190m, in an all-cash deal which equates to 149p per share and a 9% discount on the net asset value of the national developer. The deal has been accepted by both boards of directors, and U+I is set to unanimously recommend the sale to its shareholders. The offer price represents a 73% premium on Friday’s closing price of 86p per share and a 70% premium over the average price of the past three months. Landsec’s primary interest in acquiring U+I is focused on acquiring its, potentially vast, regeneration portfolio. The Core Regeneration assets segment (currently 22% of the total U+I portfolio) comprises five major schemes which are mostly public-private partnerships to build on publicly-owned land. These five major schemes have a significant estimated gross development value of £6bn. This acquisition aligns with the objectives Landsec outlined in October 2020 to recycle investment to drive growth and generate higher returns, including through urban opportunities in London and other major regional cities. The U+I acquisition is noted by management as accelerating that strategy, adding an attractive pipeline of mixed-use urban development opportunities along with complementary skills and expertise. React News, 1^st November

CBRE Bi-Monthly Report According to a report by CBRE, the market has stabilised and there has been a significant uptick in transactional activity underway in all sectors, both on and off market, since the summer, with the volume of activity in the second half of 2021 in marked contrast to H1. In fact, Q3 was stronger than the two previous quarters combined in most sectors of the market. The ability of investors and occupiers to travel to undertake property inspections since restrictions were lifted has been transformative for the Irish commercial property market. The months of September and October have been phenomenally busy, although negotiations are proving overly protracted in many sectors with transactions taking several months to complete in some cases. The extent of activity underway is therefore not fully appreciated due to the length of time it is taking to translate into completed transactions. The Irish commercial property market is now firmly in growth mode, having achieved a total return of +2.6% in the year-to-date, according to the latest MSCI Irish Property Index. CBRE Bi-Monthly Report, 1^st November

If you have an article which you would like to have considered for inclusion in our next weekly report, please contact us at info@origincapital.ie

Origin Capital funds senior debt transactions in the CRE investment sector, typically in excess of €3m, and has lent over €200m to clients since April 2015.

Origin Capital is a wholly owned subsidiary of LeBruin, a leading provider of corporate finance solutions.

If you would like to discuss how Origin Capital can help with your funding requirements, please contact us on 01 662 9264.

Healthcare, Ireland A planning application has been submitted by Valley Healthcare Fund Infrastructure Investment Fund ICAV to build a new primary care centre in Claregalway, Co Galway. The three-storey centre will measure 36,651 sq. ft. while the estimated cost of the proposed development is €8.3m. Meanwhile, works are now under way on the construction of a new €18.2m primary care centre of 70,148 sq. ft. in Clondalkin, Co Dublin. Works are expected to take in the region of 22 months to complete. The Business Post, 24^th October