St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2 An Coimisiún Pleanála (ACP) has refused planning permission for the €100m redevelopment of St Stephen’s Green Shopping Centre. The refusal by ACP overturns a grant of permission made to DTDL Ltd issued by DCC in December 2023. The largest component of the new scheme was to be office use providing for approx. 375,000 sq. ft of offices and ancillary spaces and the applicants increased the level of Retail and Food & Beverage space after the Council expressed concerns. In its refusal, ACP concluded that the scheme “lacks a strong sense of original aesthetic and would not achieve a sufficiently high standard of placemaking, urban design and architecture at this key city centre location”. The Irish Independent, 30th July
Hammerson Results The property investment group, which part-owns the Dundrum, Ilac and Pavilion shopping centres, reported a 5% increase in gross rental income on the same quarter in 2024. Its total portfolio value rose 11% to £3bn, which the group said was its first portfolio gain since 2017, after a £26m portfolio revaluation gain in the first half of the year, with Ireland reporting a revaluation gain of £7m due to “improvements in income in the period”. The Irish portion of its portfolio also saw sustained growth in occupancy rates, with a 2.5% growth to 98%. During the period, it signed a 38,000 sq. ft store upsize with Zara in Dundrum, as well as signing a renewal with Hollister and started negotiations with Wagamama for a new food and beverage offering. “All these deals were concluded comfortably ahead of previous passing rent” the group said. The Business Post, 31st July
ILAC Centre Hammerson has agreed a deal with Normal, the popular Danish retailer, to set up shop in the Ilac Centre as its first Irish store. Controlled by billionaire Anders Holch Povlsen, the company has more than €1.6bn in annual sales, and has 682 outlets in nine European countries. The bargain stores sell shelf-stable foods and personal care products. The Business Post, 31st July
Savills Quarterly Report The market continued to recover in Q2, as take-up reached 549,000 sq. ft across 14 deals. This was in-line with the 10-year average but almost four times higher than the same period last year. The recovery versus Q2 2024 was driven by an increase in both the number and size of deals, after respective growth of 75% and 272% compared with last year. Notably, 68% of sq. ft transacted was for units larger than 100,000 sq. ft. There was a decline in transactions of units sized between 5,000 and 10,000 sq. ft. As a result of the uptick in market activity, Savills has reviewed prime rents upwards by €0.50 psf to €13.50 psf. The vacancy rate declined to 2.1% in Q2 from 2.3% in the previous quarter. Notably, this included an 18% decline in the number of units vacant compared to Q1. Big-box units, larger than 50,000 sq. ft, accounted for 61% of vacant space but just 17% of vacant units. Savills Industrial & Logistics Report, 30th July
JLL Property Index Conducted since 1969, the JLL Index measures returns on direct property investment. The portfolio, valued at approx. €608m, consists of 51% Offices, 19% Retail, 16% Industrial, and 14% Residential. The latest Index reports a 7.6% increase in annual overall returns, with the quarterly returns up by 2.5%. This marks the fifth consecutive quarter of positive growth, continuing the positive trajectory established in 2024. Capital values grew for the third consecutive quarter and are now up 1.4% yoy. This represents a turnaround from the previous declining trend, which reached a low point of -16.1% in Q3 2023. Sector performance remains varied, with retail and industrial showing strong annual growth at 3.4% and 7.8% respectively, while office capital values recorded a slight decline of -0.9%, reflecting the nature of the index portfolio. Industrial capital values continue to demonstrate the strongest performance and stand 7.8% higher than a year ago, outperforming the other sectors. Rental values within the portfolio have shown notable growth in Q2 2025, increasing 3.3% yoy. This is particularly evident in the retail sector, where ERVs have increased by 8.8% annually. Furthermore, the portfolio’s income index continues its strong performance, rising 3.6% in the quarter and 5.3% yoy. JLL Press Release, 31st July
House Sales Figures from residential valuation service Geowox revealed that a total of 11,734 homes were sold in Q2, 13.2% down compared to the same period in 2024. The slowdown in sales was driven by a drop off in the number of homes sold in the lower price brackets up to €375,000. In the second quarter of this year, 1,815 homes were sold for between €151,000 and €250,000 compared to 2,538 homes in the same period of 2024. Home sales in the €251,000 and €375,000 bracket declined by 20% (from 4,168 to 3,302). The number of homes sold for under €150,000 has also plummeted, down from 1,468 in the second quarter of 2024 to 965 in the same period this year. Home sales in all other categories rose marginally, but there was a sizeable 11% uptick in the number of homes valued at greater than €800,000 to 753 in the quarter. Geowox said median prices in Ireland had continued to “steadily rise” in 2025 with the median price for a home in Ireland up 9.5% to €370,000 in 12 months. The Business Post, 29th July
Zoning The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, James Browne, and the Minister of State with responsibility for Planning, John Cummins, issued Guidelines instructing local authorities to update housing targets in line with the revised National Planning Framework (NPF). The Ministerial Guidelines identify the national housing growth requirements for each local authority based on the Revised NPF, which are to plan for approximately 55,000 new homes pa on average between now and 2034. An additional headroom of 50% will be available to local authorities enabling them to zone for a total of up to 83,000 units pa. Each local authority is expected to reflect these new targets by updating their individual development plans. While they will be kept under review and updated again before 2030, the Guidelines set out the housing demand scenario to 2040 for each local authority, based on ESRI modelling of population growth and structural housing demand and assumptions relating to unmet demand. Government Press Release, 29th July
Grand Canal, Dublin 2 Irish property owned by Amancio Ortega, the billionaire fashion mogul, booked a €8m impairment last year, new financial filings reveal. The owner of Inditex, the clothing firm behind Zara, Bershka and Pull & Bear, has built up a large portfolio of property worldwide that has been valued at more than €20bn. Firms in Ireland owned by Ortega have spent hundreds of millions of euro in recent years building a portfolio of Irish properties. Pontegadea Ireland Limited was a vehicle used by Ortega to acquire the Opus 6 apartment block on Hanover Quay for €104m in 2023 from Angelo Gordon, a New York-based investment manager, and Carysfort Capital. New accounts filed for the company that controls the 120-unit block near Grand Canal Dock showed the company booked an €8 million impairment on the property. Following the impairment, the value of investment property controlled by the firm fell to €92.3m. The Business Post, 31st July
Sherry Fitzgerald Report Transaction activity in the Irish investment market was more subdued in Q2 with turnover totalling €388m. This comprised 20 transactions, considerably lower than the 34 deals recorded for the same period in 2024. In the year to date, capital spend totalled €936m, 36% ahead of the corresponding period in 2024. That said, it remains well below the long-term average. The office sector witnessed a resurgence in activity accounting for half of total turnover during Q2. Retail was the second strongest performing sector absorbing a further 41% of investor spend. No residential assets traded during the period, highlighting the difficulties being faced by the sector. Overseas investors were responsible for 87% of total investment during the three-month period, accounting for the top four transactions. Sherry Fitzgerald Report, 31st July
Approved Housing Bodies The Department of Housing is clamping down on what AHB’s can pay developers for apartments. In a circular in June, the department warned AHBs that they should not pay developers substantially more than what local authorities pay in land costs for Part V housing units. Under Part V, developers must allocate up to 20% of a scheme to the local authority for social and affordable housing. Before they can start a development, they must agree the land cost element for each Part V home with the council. The developer is free to sell the rest of the units at any price. However, with more AHBs buying apartment blocks from developers, a situation has arisen where, in some cases, councils and AHBs are paying different land costs. The Department allocates funding for AHBs to buy the schemes through its capital advance leasing facility. AHBs are concerned that the circular could delay deals in the pipeline. Developers fear they could be out of pocket by up to €25,000 per home. One source said land values could differ because developers will quickly agree the land value with councils without much negotiation, to get on site quickly, or because developers invest thousands of euros in infrastructure after the land value is set with councils. He said talks with local authorities would now take longer to complete. The Department said engagement between AHBs, the Department and the Housing Agency was continuing. The Sunday Times, 3rd August
Dublin Airport In plans lodged with Fingal County Council, DA Terminal 3 Ltd is seeking planning permission for four aviation-related cargo handling units to operate on a 24 hour, seven days a week basis and ancillary office space on a 30-acre site. In a cover letter lodged with the plans, CWPA Planning and Architecture state that the proposed development was a first but independent phase, within an overall longer term development proposal for DA Terminal 3 Ltd’s landholding. These “include the development of Terminal 3 and the overall development of the western campus”. They state that the overall landholding extends to 263 acres and that DA Terminal 3 is also working with key stakeholders and landowners to advance the western access road, the delivery of which is a significant objective of the Dublin Airport Local Area Plan. CWPA’s report confirms that DA Terminal 3 has engaged with Fingal on its strategic vision for the lands. The Irish Times, 29th July
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Haddington Road, Dublin 4 An Coimisiún Pleanála (ACP) has given the green light to Courtney Lounge Bars Ltd for plans to demolish Smyth’s pub and replace it with a bar and apartments despite locals’ fears of a ‘superpub’ being developed. This entity now has permission to demolish all existing buildings on site at 10 Haddington Road and construct a four-storey and part five-storey mixed-use building comprising a pub at basement level and ground floor, and six residential units on the upper floors. The Irish Times, 25th July
Battlebridge, Co. Roscommon Battlebridge Caravan & Camping Park, and a gastro pub on the banks of the Shannon, has been brought to the market by Savills seeking offers in excess of €1m. The nine-acre site and business near Leitrim village is also convenient to Carrick-on-Shannon. Overlooking 245 metres of river frontage, the property combines a Fáilte Ireland-approved caravan, camping and glamping park, a private 16-berth marina and pub and restaurant, Beirne’s of Battlebridge. The park offers 43 hard-standing touring pitches and 20 tent pitches, all with electric hook-ups and water access, as well as a luxury glamping area featuring 11 eco-units. The site also accommodates a reception building, communal facilities, beer garden and a car park. The Irish Independent, 24th July
Ballycoolin, Dublin 15 Tech giant Amazon has scrapped plans to build a big industrial plant because it could not secure an electricity supply for the €300m project. The move has closed off the prospect of more than 500 jobs being created in the proposed plant at Ballycoolin, where Amazon already has a large base. Amazon’s cloud computing unit AWS wanted the new site for making high-tech server racks, a form of specialist shelving used in data centres that drive AI technology. The AWS plan had Government support, while Fingal County Council planning permission for the 250,000 sq. ft site and 562 car-parking spaces, was in place since 2022. IDA Ireland saw the project as a good way of positioning the State to take advantage of the next wave of AI technology. However, Amazon stopped the AWS investment when ESB Networks said there was no scope to provide an electricity connection within the company’s time frame because of constraints in power networks in that area. The Irish Times, 25th July
Carrickmines, Dublin 18 The Park business campus has strengthened its range of medical services after Veonet, the ophthalmology group, signed a 10-year lease for the third floor of The Herbert Building, a mixed-use building on the campus. The Park has attracted a number of medical occupiers including VHI Swift Care Clinic, Optilase, AllView, Cognate Health, Avoca Clinic, Venus Medical, and Thérapie Fertility Clinic. Savills said there is 87,000 sq. ft of medical space in The Park and it accounts for 38% of the campus’s office space. The office vacancy rate in the Park is now less than 2% and contrasts with the 15% office availability rate across Dublin. The Irish Independent, 24th July
Sandyford, Dublin 18 Karuna and Glenina, set on a combined 2.24-acre site, have been brought to market with a €7.5m guide price through Hooke & MacDonald. The site benefits from two full planning permissions. Located on Sandyford Road, just 700 metres from Sandyford village, the site enjoys proximity to the Luas. The first of the two planning permissions, allows for a mixed-density scheme comprising 13 detached houses and 54 apartments across two residential blocks (€111k per site), with surface-level car parking. The second scheme, also fully approved, is for a development of 116 apartments (€65k a site), offering a broad mix of unit types with a particular focus on two-bedroom homes. The Business Post, 25th July
Ballybane, Co. Galway Plans have been put forward to demolish a closed Galway pub to make way for a major new student accommodation complex. A proposal has been submitted to turn former pub, The Lantern Bar, into a major new development which will include four storeys of student accommodation. The application plans to demolish the existing building and construct a new mixed use four storey building including a retail unit and seventeen bedrooms. If approved, the development will accommodate seventeen bedrooms at upper floor levels, with an associated study room and gym area as well as a communal kitchen, living and dining area along with roof terrace. The Lantern Bar closed its doors back in 2019. A decision on the plans is expected from Galway City Council by September this year. The Irish Independent, 23rd July
Rathcoole, Co. Dublin 23.5 acres of land near Rathcoole has come to the market with Coonan Property quoting €1.175m. It is located at Crockshane, to the south of Rathcoole and east of the N7, situated close to the proposed Western Dublin Orbital Route which will link the N81 Dublin to Tullow road, as well as Tallaght to the N7 and the N4 at the Leixlip Interchange. There are numerous business parks in the wider area, the most notable being Greenogue Business Park, Aerodrome Business Park and the Citywest Business Campus. The guide price is based on a figure of €50,000 per acre which suggests strong “hope value” on the prospect of rezoning for either residential or logistical use. The Irish Independent, 24th July
Swords, Co. Dublin Fingal County Council has told Cairn Homes it must wait for Metrolink to be up and running before it can complete a 640-home Swords development. The council has approved the project, with an estimated cost of around €300m, in principle, but told the developer it cannot complete half the homes until the Metrolink is completed. Cairn has appealed the planning decision. Last year, Cairn Homes applied for permission to develop 640 new homes on a 32.5 acre site known as the Estuary West Lands at Holybanks, near Swords. The Metrolink project was first proposed in the mid-2000s but has faced many setbacks over the past two decades. The project is now due to be finished by the mid-2030s, but won’t be completed by the original 2035 target. The Business Post, 24th July
Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin The restoration of Dun Leary House and the construction of almost 90 apartments in its grounds has been approved by ACP. Dun Leary House sits on an elevated corner site overlooking Dún Laoghaire harbour close to the West Pier. The house dates from the 1870s. In 2003 permission was granted for a mixed-use scheme in the Tedcastles Coal Yard, which included the demolition of Dun Leary House. However, the scheme never went ahead. In November 2021 Ted Living Ltd applied for a strategic housing development (SHD) of 146 build-to-rent apartments surrounding, and on top of, Dun Leary House. The plans involved the removal of the roof of the house and the construction of three additional storeys of apartments. The board had a statutory mandate to issue decisions within 16 weeks. In the end it took 138 weeks for it to refuse permission, making it the longest-running SHD case ever determined by the board. The new scheme, granted permission in recent days, permits the construction of 87 apartments in two blocks up to eight storeys high, and the refurbishment of Dun Leary House as a four-bedroom home. The Irish Times, 24th July
Bray, Co. Wicklow ACP has rejected an application by Cosgrave Property Group for permission to construct 241 houses and 409 apartments, plus a creche, on a 190 acre site off Berryfield Lane in the Fassaroe area. Among the reasons given were the uncertainty over public transport services and concerns that the development would result in urban sprawl. The plans also provided for a neighbourhood centre, a new 2.4-kilometre road connecting the N11 to Ballyman Road, a new pedestrian and cycle route including bridge between the N11 and Dargle Road Upper as well as 15.3 hectares of a district park and open spaces. The Irish Independent, 24th July
Terenure, Dublin 6 ACP has granted planning permission for a 284 residential-unit scheme on lands at Terenure College. In granting planning permission to Lioncor subsidiary, 1 Cellbridge West Land Ltd, the planning commission has overturned the decision to refuse permission by DCC issued earlier this year. The scheme comprises 265 apartments and 19 four-bed houses with the apartments located across four blocks with one block rising to six storeys. In the one reason for refusal linked to transport issues, the council found that the proposed car parking provision was considered inadequate to serve the needs of future residents of the development. The 11.5 acre proposed development site is located on the northwest corner of the grounds of Terenure College Senior school and the main part of the site is an open field that was formerly used as playing pitches associated with the now closed junior school. The current scheme is ‘build to sell’ compared to the ‘build to rent’ 364-unit scheme and 21 houses that were refused planning permission two years ago by An Bord Pleanála. The council received 86 third-party submissions with the bulk of submissions from local residents opposed to the scheme. The Irish Times, 24th July
Dublin Airport ACP has refused planning permission to DAA to demolish the spiral parking ramps on “an extremely valuable site” at the airport. The decision upholds a planning refusal issued by Fingal Co Council earlier this year. ACP found that, notwithstanding the fact that the spirals were not a protected structure, they are of technical and architectural merit. A DAA spokesman said: “We are surprised and disappointed by ACP’s decision as the spiral ramps were not identified as significant heritage assets in previous architectural reviews or national surveys. The spiral ramps have not been in use for many years and their structural condition has deteriorated over time. Removing them was part of our plan to enhance the airport’s infrastructure and ensure the highest standards of safety and efficiency for all our passengers and employees” The Irish Independent, 24th July
Budget Submission Property Industry Ireland’s pre-budget submission has called for a 0% VAT rate for developers building private apartments. The body’s pre-budget submission highlighted that 36.3% of apartment delivery costs were linked to taxes and a reduction of Vat to 0% on new apartment building would help stimulate construction. Its pre-budget submission forecasts apartment completions in 2025 were expected to be “at best, the same as the prior year, whereas the objective should be for a three-fold increase in output”. Last year, the number of new apartments built fell 24.1% to 8,763 and JLL Ireland believes apartment completions will be down a further 24.8% this year. The body said if Vat was maintained at 13.5%, 3,750 apartments would be built for the private market up to 2030 and deliver a total tax take of €701m while if Vat was reduced to 0%, the number of private apartments built would rise to 14,750 with a total tax take of more than €1.7bn. The Business Post, 25th July
Portmarnock, Co. Dublin Lakeside Memorial Park, a new multi-denominational cemetery in north county Dublin, has secured €6.8m in funding from clients of investment firm Cantor Fitzgerald. The investment will support the ongoing development of a 24-acre site in Portmarnock, which was previously the site of a harness racing track and golf range and is now set to become the final resting place of thousands of north Dublin residents. Lakeside has already begun the pre-sale of plots. With planning permission for 11,500 interment spaces approved in 2021, the project includes approximately 3,500 traditional burial plots and 8,000 ash interment options, including large in-ground ash plots and columbarium wall niches. Burial options include traditional plots starting at €7,500 and columbarium wall niches, suitable for two ash urns, ranging from €3,500 to €8,000. Most burial plots will be larger than those found in other cemeteries, with uniform flat headstones designed to create a greater sense of space and order. Excavation of the central lake and the reopening of a river through the site are under way, and over 120,000 tonnes of soil have been brought on-site to raise ground levels. The Irish Independent, 24th July
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Tallaght, Dublin 24 Henderson Park is understood to have secured approx. €34m from the sale of the Arena Centre. The sale of the property to M Core comes just over five years on from its purchase by Henderson Park as part of its record-setting €1.34bn purchase of Green Reit. The Arena Centre extends to 321,385 sq. ft in total and consists of a mix of retail, office and hotel. The development is 98% occupied and home to anchor tenants including Bank of Ireland, Woodies DIY and the Maldron Hotel which includes an adjoining leisure centre, and a central surface car park. While the €34m paid by M Core is substantially less than the €65m guide price Green Reit attached to the Arena Centre when it first looked to sell the scheme in 2016, the current sale did not include 63 apartments that were included as part of that original process. The Irish Times understands that M Core sold the Woodies premises to another investor upon the completion of the €34m deal. The Irish Times, 16th July
Midleton, Co. Cork A mixed-use development in four riverside blocks, with 36 apartments, 33,000 sq. ft of commercial space, multi-storey carpark, and a McDonald’s restaurant and drive-thru, has come for sale through Cushman & Wakefield with a €7.75m guide. The Watersedge scheme, developed in the early 2000s, has asset management potential as the extensive vacant commercial space, largely in shell and core condition, has scope to repurpose for possible residential use. The complex last sold in 2021 when it had an income of approx. €416,000. The guide price at that time was €5.5m, and it’s understood it was bought by BlackBee for about €5m, reflecting a net initial yield of 6.6% to 7.5% with uplift scope on new lettings and rent/rent pressure zone reviews. That rent roll has since increased to €569,544 after the 2024 rent reviews. All 36 apartments are fully let and all are two-beds, from 700 sq. ft up to 1,215 sq. ft, or averaging 810 sq. ft overall. The Examiner, 17th July
Dún Laoghaire, Co. Dublin The HSE is seeking more than €1.95m for Centenary House, a building located on a 0.32-acre corner site at the junction of York Road and Tivoli Terrace South. Currently used by HSE as a centre for counselling services, it extends to 12,605 sq. ft in two interlinked blocks ranging in height up to three storeys over basement building and includes a red brick single-storey former chapel to the rear. For the best part of a century, the building was used as a convent by The Little Sisters Of The Assumption. The Centenary House property is laid out with a mix of reception rooms, offices, basement storage and plant areas, making it suitable for a wide range of uses. The Irish Independent, 17th July
HSE Asset Disposals The HSE is also currently in the process of disposing of 26 properties in Cork and a similar number in Dublin, as well as 11 in Wicklow, 10 in Galway and eight in Kerry. The Irish Independent said the HSE has 142 vacant assets across 102 unique site locations which are surplus to requirements and are now at various stages of the disposal process. In addition, buildings that are vacant and under review include five in Dublin, five in Mayo and three in Offaly. The Irish Independent, 17th July
O’Connell Street, Dublin 1 Hammerson is considering selling the landmark old Carlton Cinema site. Some state bodies are understood to have expressed an interest in the 5.5 acre site, which is integral to the Government’s plans to run a metro through the heart of the city. Last September, Hammerson was granted permission by An Bord Pleanála for a €500m plan to redevelop the site which stretches from O’Connell Street to Moore Street, Henry Street and Parnell Street. The UK property group, part owner of Dundrum Town Centre, had lodged three applications in June 2021 for a mixed retail, office and residential scheme on the vast city block. Last November, campaigners were granted a judicial review of the development. Moore Street Preservation Trust sought the review claiming it contains material breaches of the Dublin City Development Plan as well as the demolition of protected structures. The Sunday Independent, 20th July
Jervis Street, Dublin 1 Frasers Group is vying with Starwood Capital and Pradera in a three-way battle to buy the Jervis Shopping Centre. Second-round bids for the Dublin mall, which was put on the market in recent months by its owners, Paddy McKillen Snr and Padraig Drayne, were submitted last Tuesday. Offers are thought to be around the €110m mark, not too far below the reported €120m guide price suggested by selling agents Savills and Eastdil Secured. The bidders knocked out in the first round were thought to have put in offers for below €100m. Among them were Comer Group, Lanthorn, Hines and Lugus Capital. Jervis Shopping Centre was developed in the 1990s and this is the first time it has been put on the market for sale. In 2017 AIB provided a €155m seven-year loan to refinance the shopping centre. The Sunday Times, 20th July
Grafton Street, Dublin 2 Plainemorte Investments Unlimited, a real estate vehicle controlled by JP McManus, has bought another property on Grafton Street, which was put on the market recently at a guide price of €18.8m. A new charge over numbers 65 and 66 on the capital’s primary shopping street was registered this week by Plainemorte. Massimo Dutti currently rents the property on a 15-year lease, which started in September 2013. The rent is currently just over €1m pa. The property was put on the market by Iput and its minority co-investor Aviva earlier this year. The Currency, 17th July
Fenian Street, Dublin 2 The Alex Hotel has been told it can only proceed with plans to double its number of rooms if one floor of the proposed nine-storey building is omitted. Last year, a firm linked to the O’Callaghan Collection called Persian Properties Unlimited applied for permission to expand The Alex Hotel, a four-star, six-storey building that has 103 hotel rooms. It proposed redevelopment of buildings that face onto Cumberland Street South and Fenian Street to create 150 more rooms over nine storeys. The 102,000 sq. ft expansion would also involve demolition of the existing Hospitality House building beside The Alex. Planners at the local authority said they had concerns about the planned 33.3 metres height of the building and decided that 27.5 metres was more acceptable. This decision was appealed to An Coimisiún Pleanála with the national planning authority upholding the original decision by Dublin City Council. The Business Post, 21st July
South Main Street, Cork City An Spailpín Fánach has been put on the market through DNG with a guide price of €1.5m. First founded in 1779 across the street from the Brewery Quarter, this is the first time in 34 years that this premises will change ownership. The property has two bars and extends to approx. 4,700 sq. ft, with the building having the added benefit of three overhead two-bedroom apartments, which will be sold with the benefit of sitting tenants. The sale is the latest development to take place on the historic ‘Brewery Quarter’, which includes the People’s Park, Tuckey Street, the old Beamish & Crawford Site and South Main Street, all of which have been undergoing a major regeneration project over the past year to the value of €44m. The sale of An Spailpín Fánach is the latest amid a series of dramatic changes for Cork’s pub industry, with around 50 pubs currently for sale in Cork city and county. The Irish Examiner, 15th July
Liffey Valley, Dublin 22 Heitman has completed a 150,000 sq. ft self-storage facility in Liffey Valley to be operated under its U Store It brand. Chicago-headquartered Heitman acquired U Store It in 2022 and has grown the business from six to nine assets across Ireland, making it the sector’s market leader. The new Dublin facility comprises more than 2,500 storage units. There is approaching 1.4m sq. ft of self-storage space in Ireland, spread across 45 traditional self-storage stores and over 33 container-based self-storage operations, according to the Irish Self Storage Association. This equates to around 0.2 sq. ft per person, below the European average and well behind the largest European market, the UK, which is approaching 1 sq. ft per capita. Biznow, 14th July
CBRE Report Q2 2025 saw the highest quarterly level of take-up (approx. 616,500 sq. ft) since Q4 2023. This took total H1 2025 take-up to approx. 1,214,000 sq. ft, a 54% increase versus the same period last year. Also in Q2, IPUT Real Estate officially began construction on the first phase of Nexus Logistics Park. Building works began on ‘Nexus Four’, a 110,000 sq. ft facility, that is now available to lease. Seven new units completed construction in Q2 in Dublin, totalling nearly 775,000 sq. ft. This was the highest quarterly for completions since Q4 2022. The Dublin vacancy rate ticked up to 2.85% following the completion of a number of speculative units in the quarter. CBRE Industrial & Logistics Quarterly Report, 17th July
Dungarvan, Co. Waterford A site with the benefit of full planning permission for the development of an 85-bedroom hotel in Dungarvan has come on the market through Cushman & Wakefield, guiding €2.125m. The site comprises 1.04 acres and is located at Davitts Quay, Richard Walsh Street and TF Meagher Street and on lands accessed from the Western Terrace. The permission allows seven storeys. The accommodation would include a mix of 42 hotel rooms in addition to 42 aparthotel rooms and one penthouse suite. The rooms will be complimented at ground floor level by two function halls, a lobby/reception area and a publicly accessible bar/cafe. The Irish Independent, 17th July
Blessington, Co. Wicklow A c. 2.5-acre development site on Blessington Main Street, whose zoning objectives include a mixed-use development and a public park, has been placed on the market through J.P&M Doyle for €1.5m. Fronting the Baltinglass Road/ N81 and the Naas Road, the property comprises a broadly rectangular shape, with road frontage on all sides. Under the Blessington Local Area Plan, most of the site is zoned objective Town Centre, with objectives for the site including the provision of mixed-use town centre infill development, with a public park/civic space measuring c. 0.7 acres integrated into the design of any development along the northern and eastern boundary of the site. The Irish Independent, 17th July
National Development Plan The Government is due to announce the details of a flagship plan to build infrastructure over the next five years, which will include €40bn for housing including water services. The revised National Development Plan will contain €100bn funding for housing, energy, water and transport projects from 2026 to 2030. Around €30bn of that figure is said to be new funding, some of that coming from the Apple tax money and the sale of AIB shares. Transport will receive €24bn, with €2bn of this for Dublin’s Metrolink. €3.5bn is earmarked for electricity services and the grid going to ESB Networks and Eirgrid. Rte.ie, 22nd July
Ballygrennan, Co. Limerick Aedifica, the Belgian trust known for backing nursing homes in Ireland and Europe, is investing €26.5m in the development of a state-of-the-art cancer centre in Limerick. The cancer centre will be operated between UPMC and Bon Secours Health System, Ireland’s largest private hospital group, and is expected to be completed in Q4 2026. The brand-new cancer centre will form part of a larger care campus, which, in addition to medical buildings, will also include residential housing, apartments, retail units, and a care home. Aedifica acquired ownership of the land in July and has also invested in the construction budget. Building of the centre is set to begin in the coming months. Aedifica made its first investments in Ireland in early 2021. Since then, the business has created a portfolio worth over €400m, mainly focused on elderly care. The Sunday Independent, 20th July
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Haddington Road, Dublin 4 One Haddington Buildings is guiding €27.1m through HWBC and Savills. A four-storey over basement office building extending to 42,252 sq. ft, the asset is multi-let to four tenants, including CPL Resources and Stepstone Group, at a combined rental income of €1.94m pa. Passing rents average €46.76 psf on the offices & €3,848 each on the 23 car parking spaces. The asset was recently extensively refurbished achieving a nearly zero energy building rating and a BER of A3, with the works completing in 2022 at an approx. cost of €13m. HWBC Press Release, 9th July
Sandyford, Dublin 18 HWBC is guiding €24.2m for The Hive, a 73,473 sq. ft four floor office building on Carmanhall Road. The Grade A building was extensively refurbished in 2019, preserving the embedded carbon in the original structure and comes with 126 no. car spaces including 12 no. e-charge, 6 no. accessible spaces and 5 no. ground floor visitor spaces. Current rental income of €1.95m pa is being generated from 4 tenants, with €1.14m of that figure from Cubic Telecom. WAULT to expiry is 8.2 years and 6.9 years to break. Letting the remaining ground suite may bring the net initial yield to 8.1%, from 7% on current rental income. Stillorgan LUAS stop is adjacent to the building, offering a 17-minute commute to Dublin City Centre. HWBC Press Release, 11th July
Sandyford, Dublin 18 Kennedy Wilson has secured Roughan and O’Donovan as tenant for the part fourth-floor office suite at the Chase Building. The company has agreed to a new 15-year lease on 14,000 sq. ft of office space, with a break option at year 10. The rent is in the region of €28 psf, together with tenant incentives. The letting, which was handled by BNP Paribas Real Estate, was agreed following an extensive refurbishment of the Chase Building’s fourth floor and ground-floor reception area. Located on Arkle Road, the Chase Building comprises a total area of 175,600 sq. ft distributed over 10 floors, including two basement levels dedicated to parking. Roughan O’Donovan joins a number of international occupiers in the building including Google, Ericsson and Regus. The Irish Times, 9th July
Kimmage, Dublin 12 Developed in 2002 on the site of the former Apollo Cinema, Apollo House is being presented to the market by JLL guiding €3m. The property is positioned directly across from the entrance to Sundrive Shopping Centre and comprises a four-storey over-basement building, extending to 17,826 sq. ft, with 13 basement car-parking spaces. The entire ground floor is let to two established tenants, Boylesports Bookmakers Ltd and EuroLee Discount Store. These tenants are generating a combined passing rent of €130,000 pa with both leases expiring in April 2027. Floors one and two of the building come with vacant possession, while the third floor features a large penthouse apartment. The apartment will be vacated once the sale of Apollo House is agreed. The Irish Times, 9th July
Pub Closures More than 2,100 pubs across the country have closed since 2005 according to a study commissioned by the Drinks Industry Group of Ireland, which shows that between 2005 and 2024 the number of publican licences declined by almost 25%, from 8,617 to 6,498. According to the research, over the 2005 to 2024 period the rate of closure is highest in rural counties. The highest decrease was in Limerick at 37.2%, followed by Offaly at 34.1% and Cork at 32.7%. While the lowest decrease was in Dublin at 1.7%, followed by Meath at 9.5%, and Wicklow at 10.8%. The report also stated that in the absence of Government intervention, we are likely to see a further 600 to 1,000 pubs close over the coming decade. Rte.ie, 14th July
Dalata Sale Scandinavian property companies Pandox and Eiendomsspar have agreed to buy Ireland’s largest hotel group Dalata Hotel Group for €1.4bn. Dalata shareholders will get €6.45 in cash per share. Dalata had rejected an initial proposal in early June from Pandox and Eiendomsspar, valuing it at €1.3bn, saying that the price undervalued the group. The latest offer, which has the backing of the board, concludes the Dublin-based company’s strategic review that was launched in March to drive up shareholder returns. The cash offer of €6.45 per share represents a 35.5% premium to the Dalata share price before the launch of its strategic review and formal sale process in March and a 49.7% premium to the 12 month volume-weighted average Dalata share price. Dalata operates 55 hotels under the Maldron Hotel and Clayton Hotel brands, mostly in Ireland and the UK, and aims to open new hotels in Europe including in Berlin and Madrid. Rte.ie, 15th July
Ratoath, Co. Meath Cushman and Wakefield is guiding €1.15m for a retail investment opportunity in Ratoath. The investment, which is let to Tesco Ireland and trades as a Tesco Express, forms part of Riverwalk Court, a mixed-use scheme comprising apartments, offices and retail situated just off Fairyhouse Road. Located on the ground floor of Riverwalk Court, the property has a gross floor area of 4,038 sq. ft and is laid out as an open-plan retail unit along with staff facilities, a stockroom and back-of-house storage. The property is leased to Tesco Ireland Ltd on a 25-year lease from December 2003 with a passing rent of €88,000 pa. Tesco Ireland has 177 stores in Ireland. The Irish Times, 8th July
Grand Canal Harbour, Dublin 8 Marlet Property Group is progressing the occupancy at its 75,000 sq. ft of retail and amenity space at its Grand Canal Harbour development beside the iconic Guinness Storehouse. It has secured Tesco as the occupant of its 7,400 sq. ft supermarket unit. In addition, it has received an offer for the 2,410 sq. ft creche from a potential operator. Last year the ground floor creche space in Block 2 was offered for let, quoting a rent of €40,000 a year. Of the three cafe spaces available for rent from 1,366 sq. ft to 3,900 sq. ft, terms are agreed on one of these spaces. The remaining commercial space totalling 54,500 sq. ft is suitable for a variety of uses including office, medical and tourism. The Irish Independent, 11th July
Waterford City Jack & Jones is preparing to unveil its new outlet this month at City Square. The addition of the Danish menswear retailer complements a strong apparel offering at the scheme, which includes Vero Moda, River Island, and JD Sports. Anchored by Dunnes Stores spread over two levels, City Square spans over 200,000 sq. ft of retail floor space. The recent arrival of Aldi, which opened in February of this year, has pushed average weekly footfall to well over 110,000. The city itself serves a catchment of over 635,000 people within a one-hour drive. The centre has undergone a series of significant upgrades in recent months, notably to its food court and key retail frontages. A prime unit of approx. 4,100 sq. ft, with direct access from the Peter Street mall, is now available for occupation through Colliers. The Business Post, 12th July
Chancery Street, Dublin 1 The €44m redevelopment of Dublin’s Victorian fruit and vegetable market has started, a decade after planning permission was granted for the work. The project, which is expected to take just over two years, involves the conservation and restoration of the 127-year-old market building on Mary’s Lane close to Capel Street, along with new buildings to the southside of the market facing the Luas line on Chancery Street. Once completed, the revamped market will house at least 80 stalls along with a “restaurant and food demonstration space” as well as an outdoor “farmers’ market” under canopies at the Chancery Street Yard. Dublin City Councillors last March approved borrowing of up to €30m as part of the overall €44m estimated cost of the project, and ministerial approval was subsequently sought and granted for work to begin. The new facility will be a “quintessentially Irish food market” operating seven days a week to “support the city’s north retail core and highlight the food offer to locals and visitors alike”, the council said. The Irish Times, 12th July
Sandyford, Dublin 18 DLRCC has granted planning for a seven-storey 71-unit apartment scheme in Sandyford. Westleton Ltd had sought planning permission for a nine-storey 100-unit apartment scheme, and retail units, part of which is located over the western part of the existing retail/commercial units at Balally Shopping Centre on Blackthorn Drive. The Council has granted permission for the scheme after ordering the removal of two floors, resulting in 29 units being omitted from the original proposal. Records show that two Council planners recommended and endorsed a refusal to the scheme but were over-ruled by the Council’s Senior Planner who recommended a grant of permission. The Irish Independent, 10th July
Drumcondra, Dublin 3 Hines has put an indicative price tag of €64.57m on 113 apartments and studios it is planning to sell for social housing to Dublin City Council. The planned sale forms part of Hines’s revised plans to build a 1,131-unit apartment scheme on the grounds of the former Holy Cross College on Clonliffe Road. Hines partner fund, CWTC Multi-Family ICAV, is seeking a 10-year planning permission for the scheme that includes a 13-storey apartment block. The documentation shows that the Hines entity is planning to sell 39 studios, 11 one-bed units and 63 two-bed units to comply with the Part V obligations to provide 10% of the overall scheme for social housing. The indicative prices range from €717,843 for the two-bed units, €569,892 for one-bedroom units and €360,266 for studios. The Irish Times, 10th July
Pre-Budget Submission The Government must accelerate home building to meet the need for 93,000 homes every year into the next decade, Davy stockbrokers has urged in a pre-budget submission. The stockbroker said infrastructure gaps risk damaging the competitiveness of the Irish economy. The firm said that “sustained public and private investment” in housing and renewable energy is needed to “support a growing workforce and to position Ireland as a leader in the green economy”. The Irish Times, 14th July
Local Property Tax Members of South Dublin County Council have voted to reduce the Local Property Tax by 7.5% for the next four years. The annual charge on residential properties is used to fund services provided by local authorities. Each local authority may reduce or increase the rate of the tax in its administrative area by 15%. The decision to cut the rate for the next four years was approved by members in a vote by a margin of 25 votes to 14. The Irish Times, 14th July
Savills Report Investment in Irish property slumped by over a third in the second quarter of the year, with yields also showing signs of tightening. A report from Savills shows that €381.5m was invested in the Irish market in the second quarter, down 34% on the second quarter last year. But total spend in the first half of 2025, at €924m, was 27% higher year-on-year. Savills said real estate markets have struggled for momentum in the absence of a clearer and more stable economic backdrop. Savills still expects the value of deals this year to exceed the €2.5bn recorded in 2024 and that the second-quarter performance reflects a smaller number of big transactions, but that overall activity remains “well-diversified” across sectors and geographies. A total of 21 deals closed in the period, with an average size of €18.1m. The Irish Independent, 10th July
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Smithfield, Dublin 7 Corum Asset Management has paid approx. €47.2m for the Infinity Building, a six-storey block in Smithfield. The building occupies a corner location comprising 126,717 sq. ft of office accommodation along with 63 secure underground car-parking spaces. The building is fully occupied and generating annual rental income of €3.895m, with approximately 90% of the property let to the Office of Public Works (OPW) and occupied by a number of State agencies including HIQA and CORU. The WAULT currently stands at about 7.5 years to break and 12.5 years to expiry. The Infinity Building last changed hands in January 2019 when it was acquired by a fund connected to Credit Suisse for approx. €57m. That figure represented a 99% increase on the €28.65m a Norwegian investor had paid for the property in April 2015. Some €5m is understood to have been spent on the building’s refurbishment between 2015 and 2019. The Irish Times, 2nd July
City Quay, Dublin 2 Dublin City Council has granted planning permission to Ventaway for a 14-storey office block scheme for a site on the former City Arts Centre. The council granted planning despite opposition from the OPW, an inner-city primary school, a religious trust and An Taisce. The council has ordered Ventaway to pay €3.18m in planning contributions towards public infrastructure and €1.08m towards Luas works. The current plans follow An Bord Pleanála refusing planning permission in May 2024 to Ventaway to develop what would have been Dublin’s tallest building at 24 storeys for the same site. The revised scheme is 61.05m tall, which is 46.95m lower than the scheme refused in 2024. The Irish Times, 2nd July
Broomhill Business Complex, Dublin 24 The owners of Niko Bathrooms are seeking a buyer for Unit 5 following the company’s move to new 90,000 sq. ft premises at nearby Belgard Square. Unit 5 is a detached industrial/warehouse and office property and being offered to the market by Harvey at a guide of €3.25m. The property extends to 19,257 sq. ft, which includes two-storey offices/showroom of 6,943 sq. ft. The unit has a large, gated side yard and 27 designated car-parking spaces to the front of the building. Niko Bathrooms had fitted much of the office space as a bathroom showroom, which has now been reinstated to offices. The industrial/warehouse area has a clear internal height of 6.3m and is fitted with LED lighting and a gas supply. The Irish Times, 2nd July
Dublin, Kildare and Clare Private Irish investors have purchased four medical property investments which were sold by French asset manager MNK Partners for €4.75m through Colliers. As MNK had acquired the portfolio in 2021 for €3.5m, the sale has delivered a 36% uplift on its purchase price. Each of the four had included Centric Health, the Irish healthcare provider. Three of the investments were acquired by a Dublin investor with the fourth investment in Ennis acquired by a Clare investor. The Irish Independent, 3rd July
Patrick Street, Cork City Urban Outfitters, which has just one other Irish store in Temple Bar, is set to open at 101 St Patrick’s Street in September, which has been empty since the 2019 closure of Dorothy Perkins-Evans. The deal was put together by Mc2 Accountants which owns the 6,000 sq. ft building. At one stage the building was on the market with letting agents Savills, seeking a rent of €230,000 pa. However, it was bought from its investor owner by Mc2 for a sum thought to be between €1m – €2m. Separately, a planning application is due to be lodged shortly for the redevelopment and reuse of the former Debenhams at 12-17 St Patrick’s Street which will seek to reinvigorate key frontage onto St Patrick’s Street and Maylor St. The Irish Examiner, 4th July
Westmoreland Street, Dublin 2 Big Mamma Group, a French-owned Italian restaurant chain renowned for its extravagant interiors, is set to open its first outlet in Ireland. It has a signed a 20-year lease with MHL Hotel Collection for the old AIB bank branch at 41 Westmoreland Street. Renovations of the building, which is located next door to the College Green Hotel, are under way and the restaurant will open by the end of the year. Big Mamma operates about 30 eateries across Europe under various names. The Irish restaurant will be its third Gloria Osteria. The Sunday Times, 6th July
Nationwide Tesco Ireland has announced plans to open 10 new stores nationwide over the next 12 months, creating 400 jobs. The plans are part of a €40m investment aimed at expanding the retailer’s operations across Ireland. 100 of these new opportunities will be created at Tesco’s new Fermoy store, set to open at the end of July. In addition to Cork, new Tesco stores will be opened in Dublin, Galway, Louth, and Meath, with recruitment for supermarkets in both the M1 Retail Park and Howth set to start in the autumn. The new stores will include larger supermarkets and smaller express shops, bringing Tesco’s total presence in Ireland to 193 locations. The Business Post, 7th July
Goatstown, Dublin 14 Orchid Residential Limited has been granted planning permission for a 204-bed development on the current home to Vector Motors. Initial permission to build on the site was granted in 2020 by Dun Laoghaire Rathdown Council. After a series of appeals and re-drafts, planning permission was granted by An Coimisiún Pleanála (“ACP”) on a number of conditions. The original proposed student accommodation was to accommodate 220 student bedspaces, including 10 studio apartments across the five-storey building. However, after appeal, the commission ruled the fifth floor was to be omitted and replaced by a “green roof”. The commission was “not satisfied” there was sufficient demand to warrant a net density of 155 units per hectare, and revised the plans to accommodate 16 fewer bedspaces, bringing the total down to 204 for a net density to 150 units per hectare. The Business Post, 4th July
Camden Street, Dublin 2 Permission has been granted for a seven-storey, 195-bed hotel just off Camden Street. ACP granted permission for the development to ORHRE Camden Row. The project involves demolishing the existing building for the development of the hotel, to include a gallery, restaurant, patio area and a garden at the ground floor level. According to planning documents, it would comprise a total floor area of approx. 59,250 sq. ft. The Business Post, 4th July
Ballycoolin, Dublin 15 New Frontier Properties is understood to have secured about €12.8m from a French fund for Unit 1 at Stadium Business Park. New Frontier acquired the building in October 2017 for €8.65m. At the time, the 78,441 sq. ft detached industrial/warehouse headquarters was occupied by Viking Direct on a 20-year FRI lease from August 2007 at a rent of €743,518 pa. Following its acquisition, New Frontier oversaw a significant refurbishment of the property before letting it to Dunnes Stores, who occupy the building under a 15-year FRI lease from March 2022, incorporating a tenant break option in March 2032. The annual passing rent is €775,000, and the first rent review is due in March 2027. The new owner stands to secure a net initial yield of 5.5%. The property has a clear internal height of 39 ft, eight dock levellers, two level-access doors, an ability for HGVs to circulate the building, dedicated trailer parking and a passenger lift. The sale of Unit 1 was handled by Harvey with BNP Paribas advising the purchaser. The Irish Times, 2nd July
Mount Merrion, Co. Dublin Sherry FitzGerald Commercial is guiding €4.75m for an investment in Mount Merrion. Fitzwilliam Court is a block of 11 apartments consisting of nine two-bedroom units, a one-bedroom apartment, and a three-bedroom penthouse. The building benefits from 17 secure basement car-parking spaces. The portfolio is currently generating a gross annual rent of approximately €203,580 from eight tenancies. The three vacant units offer immediate reletting potential and scope for significant rental uplift. The Irish Times, 2nd July
Sallins, Co. Kildare Coonan Property is guiding €4.9m for a 35.7-acre landholding on the outskirts of Sallins. The site, which is near the Waterways residential scheme and Sallins train station, is a short drive from the M7/N7 interchange via the R407 Sallins-Naas Road. While the lands are zoned for agricultural use, they lie just outside the development boundary of the Local Area Plan (2016–2022). The lands are laid out in eight divisions and contain a number of vacant buildings along with a four-bedroom dormer-style residence on approximately 0.5 acres. The Irish Times, 2nd July
Killarney, Co. Kerry Land capable of taking a €100m housing development, just opposite the 26,000-acre Killarney National Park and Golf Club, is guiding €9.5m. The 15.3 acre site on the Port Road comes with full planning granted by ABP for 224 units. The €9.5m cited by Savills equates to €42,000 per site. Approval was given by the appeals board to Portal Asset Holdings late in 2024, after a 2022 application for a marginally higher density (228 units) was rejected. The planning mix approved at Port Road is for two-storey houses, townhouses, duplexes and apartments spanning one, two, and three bedrooms, and 96 one and two bed apartments in three blocks, at a standard density of 30-40 units to the hectare. The Irish Examiner, 2nd July
Kinsealy, Co. Dublin Fingal County Council has granted planning permission to the LDA for 193 homes on a site of the former Teagasc Research Centre at the Malahide Road, despite local opposition. The LDA lodged the plans in February after Teagasc agreed to transfer the lands to the LDA for the development of affordable housing. The scheme comprises 193 residential dwellings including 153 houses and 40 duplex units arranged in three storey blocks on a site 4km southeast of Kinsealy village centre. The scheme also provides for 229 car parking spaces, 345 bicycle spaces and four acres of public open space. The Irish Times, 7th July
Apartment Regulations A major overhaul of regulations for building apartments is under way by the Government to boost construction, with the aim of cutting the cost of building by as much as €100,000 a unit. Restrictions will be lifted on the number of one-bedroom apartments allowed in any development, which under current laws stands at no more than 50% within any scheme. The minimum size for studio apartments will be reduced from approx. 400 sq. ft to 344 sq. ft. Current restrictions on not having more than 25% studio apartments in a given development will also be removed. In addition, current guidelines require at least 33% of units to be dual aspect in urban locations and 50% in suburban locations. The new guidelines will create a single standard of 25%. The Government believes this will create greater certainty and allow for increased standardisation in building design and flexibility. The current guidelines also limit the number of units that can be provided per lift to a maximum of 12 units. The new guidelines are expected to remove any limitation on the number of units per lift, subject to compliance with Building Regulations. The Sunday Independent, 6th July
Home Building Levels of home building fell for the second month in a row in June, according to AIB’s latest purchasing managers’ index (PMI) report. The PMI rate in the report was 48.6, down from 49.2 in May, indicating a modest fall in total construction activity. A PMI rate above 50 corresponds with growth, while below means stagnation. The rate of decline was modest, but the fastest in almost a year-and-a-half. Civil engineering activity was also down, leaving commercial as the sole source of growth during the month. Commercial activity increased for the fifth month running, and at the same solid pace as in May (53.4). The AIB construction PMI was compiled by S&P Global from a series of responses to questionnaires sent to a panel of roughly 150 construction companies in Ireland. The Business Post, 8th July
Investment Market A total of €394m was invested in the Irish commercial property market in the second quarter of 2025, taking the total spend for the year to date to just over €940m. While the figures for the first six months of 2025 are less than half the 10-year historical average spend of €1.9bn, CBRE says it sees “clear signs” that investment is continuing to recover gradually from the lows of 2023 and 2024. They believe this interest is being driven by the series of cuts to ECB interest rates which have taken place since June 2024. While the retail sector accounted for the most valuable transaction in the second quarter, the office sector proved to be the most attractive to investors overall, accounting for nearly 50% of the €394m spent. The Irish Times, 1st July
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Ballsbridge, Dublin 4 Numbers 47 and 49 Northumberland Road, two adjoining properties at the junction with St Mary’s Road, are being offered to the market by Knight Frank with the benefit of full vacant possession at a guide of €5m. The buildings were converted around 40 years ago to their present use as an educational facility. The properties have the potential to be converted into a boutique hotel, a high-end apartment development, an office headquarters, an embassy, or two city residences. The accommodation extends to 9,472 sq. ft over three floors, with both properties interconnecting on each level. The buildings have been well maintained and retain numerous original period details. Numbers 47 and 49 have a southwest-facing garden which is laid out as a play area for the school, with direct access off St Mary’s Road. The Irish Times, 25th June
Kilcoole, Co. Wicklow Lidl has been refused planning permission for the development of a mixed-use, town centre scheme anchored by a discount food store in Kilcoole. It was the third refusal, having submitted a revised proposal in September last year, following an unsuccessful application in February 2023. The application relates to a single storey building with a mezzanine plant deck for the food store supermarket with ancillary off-licence use, over a total floor space of approx. 27,000 sq. ft. The scheme also includes the delivery of a café and a terrace of five two-bedroom, two-storey homes, which is intended to be completed on a phased basis. However, the council considered the proposed development “would not represent an efficient and sustainable use of zoned lands in a town centre” and was not in keeping with national and local planning policy objectives”. The Irish Independent, 30th June
Henry Street, Dublin 1 Colliers is guiding €2.6m for number 17 Henry Street. The property, two doors down from Arnotts, comprises a five-storey over-basement building of 5,144 sq. ft, which includes 1,658 sq. ft of ground-floor retail space. The property is fully let to David Fun Max Limited, trading as Gifty, a mobile and electronics retailer. The Henry Street lease commenced in November 2024, for a term of 10 years, at a contracted rent of €200,000 pa. A tenant break option is in place at the end of year six. Sports Direct and Zara are due to open new flagship stores in the coming months within the former Debenhams department store premises, which is undergoing redevelopment. Should a sale proceed at the €2.6m price, the new owner would be in line for a net initial yield of 7%. The Irish Times, 25th June
87-93 Middle Abbey Street, Dublin 1 Dublin City Council has given the green light to Summix Capital for a nine-storey student accommodation block on the former site of the Independent Newspapers HQ on Middle Abbey Street. The Large Scale Residential Development application comprises a 316 student bed-space scheme and is made up of standard and accessible 272 rooms in 42 clusters ranging from five bed spaces to nine bed spaces at 87 to 93 Middle Abbey Street, known collectively as Independent House. The student spaces are to be used as short term lets during student holiday periods. The planning application comes almost one year after Summix Capital purchased Independent House from Penney’s owner, Primark, in a deal understood to be worth about €9m. The building closed in the early 2000s and has been vacant for more than two decades. Rte.ie, 30th June
Hook Peninsula, Co. Wexford Oakmount has cut the price they are asking for Loftus Hall. When the property, which overlooks Hook peninsula and the landmark Hook lighthouse, was put on the market earlier this year, Colliers were guiding €4.5m. They are now guiding €3m. Oakmount is reported to have paid €1.75m for the manor-style house and 68 acres in 2022 and spent millions more on its restoration, with plans to transform it into a luxurious boutique hotel. Reputed to be Ireland’s most haunted house, it comprises a detached nine-bay, three-storey house with a total gross internal area of 26,487 sq. ft. The Irish Independent, 25th June
Frankfield Business Park, Cork City Joint agents Behan Irwin and Gosling and Downing Commercial are guiding €1m for a fully let property comprising five modern industrial units producing a combined gross rent roll of €89,000 pa. Located within the well-established Ballycurreen Industrial Estate, each of the units in the self-contained business park is occupied by a number of tenants. They include Fox Flowers, who have more than two years left on their lease; Hockey World, whose lease runs until 2033; and Alan Perrott Manufacturing, who hold a 10-year lease on two of the units, starting from September 2018. Individual units, which range in size from 1,950 sq. ft to 3,275 sq. ft, are generating annual rents of €19,000 – €28,000. The Examiner, 26th June
Balbriggan, Co. Dublin Park Developments has paid just over €15m for a 19.2-acre site with potential for hundreds of new homes in Balbriggan. The three lots within the holding, immediately adjacent to existing housing in the Stephenstown area of the town, are zoned in their entirety for residential use under the terms of the Fingal Development Plan 2023 – 2029. The lands are not subject to a local area plan. A feasibility study prepared by O’Mahony Pike Architects in advance of the sale suggests the site has the potential to accommodate about 322 new homes along with a purpose-built creche facility. The Stephenstown site, which is in agricultural use currently, has extensive frontage to Clonard Street, the primary arterial road from Balbriggan to the M1 motorway. The Irish Times, 25th June
Naas Racecourse, Co. Kildare Ballymore has acquired approx. 13 acres of the lands at Naas Racecourse. The Irish Times understands that Ballymore paid upwards of €7.8m in an off-market deal for the lands which are zoned for residential use. The price paid equates to an average of €600,000 an acre, which is broadly in line with the sums being paid for zoned residential land elsewhere in Dublin’s commuter belt counties. Ballymore is expected to submit a planning application to Kildare County Council within the coming months for the development of between 250 and 300 homes on the site, consisting of a mix of houses and duplexes. The Irish Times, 25th June
Dublin Sales Close to one fifth of all home sales in Dublin this year involved landlords selling investment properties, new research from DNG has found. DNG also expects that sales of investment properties are expected to “spike in the short to medium term as landlords decide to exit the sector” following the recent rental sector measures announced by government. DNG research has found 19% of all homes sold in the capital during the first six months of this year were landlords exiting the rental sector. DNG noted that “the main issue facing landlords going forward will be that many will no longer be able to terminate a lease in order to sell the property with vacant possession, forcing small landlords to have to wait six years to get vacant possession and large landlords will have to sell with a tenant in situ at a discounted price.” The Business Post, 25th June
House Prices Further analysis by DNG reveals that the average price of a second-hand home in Dublin rose beyond €600,000 in the first half of this year. Data from the agency has also shown that outside Dublin, the average price of a resale home has increased to €313,453, up 8.7% in the 12 months to June 2025. In the Dublin market, where the average price of a second-hand home has risen to €600,047, price inflation has slightly slowed. Last December, average resale home prices were up 9.6% in the year, but inflation was 8% in the year to June 2025. The Business Post, 25th June
Private Rental Sector (PRS) More than 42,000 properties have exited the PRS over the past five years, according to Sherry FitzGerald. The group’s quarterly residential analysis reported a net loss of 42,300 rental properties owned by private investors between January 2020 and March 2024. The analysis said the “ongoing trend of landlords exiting the sector has become particularly pronounced in recent years, underscoring the mounting challenges faced by the rental market”. The report found that housing transaction activity for the first quarter of 2025 increased by 1.4% compared with the same period in 2024. However, activity in the secondhand market declined by 2.1%, with 7,833 units sold in the first quarter. The report found that investor purchases only accounted for 9% of secondhand home purchases, while they made up 31% of those who sold properties. The Business Post, 30th June
BidX1 Auctions Two properties sold for well over their guide prices at recent BidX1 auctions. The most valuable of these was a former school in Cork city. Rockboro School, Boreenmanna Road, Ballintemple, sold for €2.01m or 67.5% over its €1.2m guide price, in a receivership sale. The 11,868 sq. ft building sits on a 1.48-acre site 1.5km south-east of Cork city centre. In Wicklow, a residential investment property, Kilmurray Grove, which had failed to sell at previous auctions, sold for €722,000. Its guide price had been cut from €975,000 in September 2024 to €590,000 earlier this month. Located on the N11 in Kilmacanogue, it comprises a two-bedroom cottage, two three-bedroom houses and a terrace known as The Stables comprising a two-bedroom house and two one-bedroom houses, most of which had been generating rent. The six range in size from 570 sq. ft up to 1,100 sq. ft. The Irish Independent, 25th June
Dublin Airport A private Irish investor has acquired a 129 acre land holding at Dunsoghly in north Dublin for €3.35m (€26k per acre). The price paid represents a 26% discount on the €4.5m Knight Frank had been guiding when it offered the property to the market in October of last year. While the lands, which are located a kilometre from the grounds of Dublin Airport and 6.5km from the airport terminal, are agricultural and laid out in tillage at present, the new owner is likely to look to have them rezoned in the future. The entire holding is zoned Objective Green Belt under the Fingal Development Plan 2023-2029. The aim of this designation is “to protect and provide for a greenbelt”. About 75 acres of the lands are located outside the Airport Public Safety Zones. The Irish Times, 25th June
Oranmore, Galway The state will need to buy more than 300 acres of the land required for the proposed 1,000-acre semiconductor megasite in the west of Ireland. A Business Post analysis of land registry filings has shown IDA Ireland has already been actively buying land in Galway near the proposed site for more than two years. Peter Burke, the enterprise minister, is expected to bring plans to cabinet in the coming weeks that would propose development of a €3.2bn advanced semiconductor fabrication facility in Oranmore. Burke is expected to propose the use of an old Defence Forces firing range in Oranmore, which was previously identified for an Intel project in 2021 that ultimately went to Germany, for the new plant. A Business Post analysis of land registry records for Oranmore has shown state entities already control close to 671 acres on the outskirts of the town that has a population of about 6,000 people. The former Defence Forces firing range site, which is roughly 500 acres in size, represents most of the state’s land ownership in the area. The Business Post, 1st July
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Newbridge, Co Kildare The sale of the Keadeen hotel in Newbridge has been agreed. The current owners of the 69-bedroom property, the O’Loughlin family, have agreed to sell it to the O’Callaghan family, who own both The Fairways Hotel and The Gateway Hotel in Dundalk. The owners indicated that they have plans to invest in the property, which currently has 160 staff. The Keadeen will be managed by Cliste Hospitality. The Irish Independent, 26th July
Capel Street, Dublin 1 An Bord Pleanála has granted planning permission for an eight-storey hotel on Dublin’s Capel Street, undercutting Dublin City Council’s de facto ban on the construction of new hotels in parts of the city. In January 2023, The July group, a Dutch hospitality company, was told by Dublin City Council it cannot build a 105-bedroom hotel on a derelict site on Capel Street. The company appealed the decision and the local council’s initial ruling has now been overturned by An Bord Pleanála. The Business Post, 25th July
Cork The 153-bedroom Moxy Hotel and 53-bedroom Residence Inn, co-located at Camden Quay, are due to open in Cork after the half acre site was developed by the JMK hospitality group. The group also has plans for an Adagio-aparthotel on South Terrace. The Irish Examiner, 25th July
Wellington Quay and Essex Street East, Dublin 2 An application to retain a new Temple Bar superpub, the Giddy Dolphin, which has been operating without planning permission, has been refused by Dublin City Council planners. The new owners of the Clarence Hotel and Dollard House lodged plans in May seeking retrospective approval for a change of use from retail (artisan delicatessen) to licensed premises with food service at the Giddy Dolphin in Dollard House on Wellington Quay and Essex Street East. The Irish Times, 24th July
Ashtown, Dublin 15 A mixed-use investment property in Ashtown is being offered for sale with a €8.5m guide price. The investment comprises 15 units in The Village Centre and nine units in the River Centre at Rathbourne/Ashtown. The passing annual rent is €996.8k. There are four vacant units in the River Centre that could generate a further €100k pa. The total floor area of the units amounts to 38,765 sq. ft. The Irish Independent, 25th July
Crumlin, Dublin 12 Lidl Ireland has secured planning permission to develop a new supermarket plus more than 40 apartments on the site of a former Ford dealership in Crumlin despite strong opposition from local residents. The development will involve the construction of a six-storey building with 41 apartments on the upper floors. The Irish Independent, 25th July
Dundrum, Dublin 14 Hammerson is close to refinancing the debt secured against Dundrum Town Centre according to its CEO. The property group and its 50:50 Dundrum joint venture partner, Pimco are seeking to refinance €600m of loans secured against Dundrum Town Centre, which fall due in September. The Irish Independent, 24th July
Hammerson wrote down the value of its flagship Irish shopping centre interests by a further 7.7% in the first half of this year. The value of the Irish portfolio, which also includes 50% stakes in the Ilac Centre and Pavilions shopping complex in Swords declined by £49m (€58.3m) over the period. Following an additional foreign exchange rate hit, the combined value of its stakes in the three centres fell to £568m. All told, Hammerson has reduced the value of its Irish flagship malls since the start of 2020 by £320m. The Irish Times, 25th July
Charlemont Square, Dublin 2 Global drinks giant Mark Anthony Brands International has signed a new 12-year lease to occupy the sixth and seventh floors at One Charlemont Square in Dublin city centre. The agreement will see the company move from its existing base at Donnybrook House in Dublin 4 and expand its footprint to 44,000 sq. ft. The new office will serve as Mark Anthony’s European headquarters. The Irish Times, 25th July
Dublin Office Market 1.55m sq. ft of office space was delivered in Dublin in Q2. Of this, Block N, Central Park in Sandyford was the only building to complete in the suburbs, delivering 200k sq. ft of space. The remaining 1.35m sq. ft was located in city centre locations of Dublin 1 and 2. There are eight buildings due to complete throughout the rest of 2024 with approx. 53% of the space already pre-committed. Two components, grey space coming back to the market and a significant delivery of new space, have driven up the vacancy rate over the last two years. The Business Post, 27th July
North Docklands, Dublin 1 Glenveagh Properties has partnered with XDanu, a work space designer and real estate management company, which is to open a 12,916 sq. ft serviced office in the Freight Building in Dublin’s North Docklands. XDanu’s planned space will deliver a blend of office, meeting, content and podcast studios. It has been reported that XDanu has taken a lease for a ten year term, and that Glenveagh is fitting out the office space and profits from its operation will be split between the parties. The Business Post, 27th July
Cork Plans for a €20m+ 55,000 sq. ft four-storey primary health care centre have been lodged for a site at Cork’s St Patrick’s Woollen Mills, along the side of the N40 south ring road. The July application from an entity listed as Infrastructure Investment Fund IVAC Valley Healthcare Fund is for a four-storey building to include two GP practices plus 1,334 sq. ft retail unit. The application was made by the private developer Valley Healthcare. The Irish Examiner, 24th July
Housing Completions Fewer houses may be built this year than were completed in 2023, the latest survey by the CSO indicates. In the first six months of 2024, there were 12,730 new dwelling completions, down 8.6% on the same period last year, the CSO said. This suggests last year’s figure of 32,695 new houses being built may not be matched. The survey shows there were 6,884 new dwelling completions in the second quarter, down 5.4% on the same three months of 2023. Apartment completions fell particularly steeply, down 15.1% YoY to 1,566 in the quarter. Dublin had the second-biggest decrease, at 10.6%. The Irish Independent, 26th July
Citywest, West Dublin An Irish developer is selling a commercial development site in Citywest, Dublin. The site is 3002 Lake Drive which extends to 1.9 acres and Lisney is guiding €1.35m for it. The vendor of site 3002 purchased it after it was offered for sale in 2022 as part of a portfolio of three sites at the business campus which had a combined 5.3 acres and a guide price of €2.5m. They were divided into 1.1, 1.9 and 2.3-acre plots. The Irish Independent, 25th July
Mortgage Activity A rebound in first-time buyer (FTB) activity helped the Irish mortgage market to return to growth in the second quarter of 2024, new figures indicate. According to the BPFI, the value of overall mortgage drawdowns grew 3.3% YoY in the second quarter of the year, following four consecutive annual declines. The 6,300 FTB drawdowns represented the single largest segment by volume (62.3%) and by value (63.9%), with volumes reaching their highest second-quarter level since 2007. Overall, the second quarter of the year saw 10,110 new mortgages totalling €2.85bn drawn down. The Business Post, 29th July
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Kildare Village Hammerson, the UK-based shopping retail giant that part owns the Dundrum Town Centre scheme in Dublin, has sold its stake in Value Retail, the parent firm of Kildare Village. Hammerson said it was disposing of its “overweight, non-controlling and yield-dilutive interest” in Value Retail, which generated cash proceeds of €712m for the company. The Business Post, 22nd July
Blanchardstown, Dublin 15 US-headquartered private equity giant Strategic Value Partners (SVP) has become the latest party to enter the competition for the Blanchardstown Centre. The Irish Times understands that SVP has tabled an offer of between €550m and €600m for the largest shopping centre in the State. It remains to be seen if SPV’s offer is accepted. The Irish Times, 16th July
Jervis Street, Dublin 1 Jervis Street Shopping Centre’s owners JSC Properties Ltd has brought proceedings against Tessuti (Ireland) Ltd and Tessuti Ltd. JSC is asking the court to order the specific performance of a 10-year lease agreement last January with Tessuti (Ireland) to keep open for trade a ground and upper floor unit in the shopping centre. It also seeks declarations that the defendants are required to pay rent and associated charges on the premises under the lease and that Tessuti Ltd is obliged to perform the lease as guarantor for Tessuti (Ireland). It further seeks judgment for approx. €1.72m, primarily comprising rent due. The Irish Times, 22nd July
Bolands Mills, Dublin 2 The mixed-use space at Bolands Mills is due to open on a phased basis between late 2024 and early 2025. The list of occupiers includes a bakery, pilates and yoga studio, a bar and food market, a speciality coffee shop and a hair salon. Two units remain available to let at Bolands Mills. The 150-year-old Miller’s Lodge measures 6,000 sq. ft while Unit 7 extends to 4,000 sq. ft. The Irish Times, 17th July
Temple Bar, Dublin 2 Hard Rock Hotels is set to close down its first and only Irish operation after Leonardo Hotels snapped up the property it trades from. The hospitality giant has taken over Hard Rock’s premises in Temple Bar, which it intends to rebrand under its umbrella of NYX hotels. It comes less than five years after the hotel first opened its doors. The value of the transaction has not been disclosed. However, company filings valued the property in excess of €30m in 2022. The Business Post, 18th July
Armagh The City of Armagh Hotel is to be launched for sale at the end of July with a £9m (approx. €10.7m) guide price. Following recent investment the venue is being upgraded from a 3 star to 4 star status and is being offered for sale with CBRE Ireland on the instructions of the owners. The Business Post, 19th July
Clonliffe Road, Dublin 3 Work has commenced this week on a new four-star Dalata hotel situated 140 metres from Croke Park in the grounds of the former Clonliffe College. Set to open in 2026, the 200-bedroom property will be operated by Dalata under its Maldron hotel brand under the terms of an agreement with the GAA. The hotel is situated at the junction of Clonliffe Road and Jones’s Road. The Irish Times, 23rd July
Earlsfort Terrace, Dublin 2 Intercom has completely jettisoned plans to relocate to new headquarters in Earlsfort Terrace in Dublin. The company, which in 2019 agreed a deal to pre-let the entire Cadenza building on an 18-year lease, has decided instead to remain at its current offices on St Stephen’s Green. The move is not totally unexpected as Intercom last year leased half of the Earlsfort Terrace building to KKR and recently relocated to Indeed’s former offices at 124-127 St Stephen’s Green. The Business Post, 21st July
Sandyford, Dublin 18 Following the recent sale of an office suite at The Mall, Beacon Court, Sandyford for 8.6% over its guide price, BidX1 is bringing two more suites in the building to auction on July 25. This time the guide price is €1.6m. The July lot comprises Suite 28 and 29 whose combined floor area extends to approx. 6,770 sq. ft (€245.6 per sq. ft). Suites 28 and 29 are vacant and their accommodation is spread over ground, first, second and third floor levels. The Irish Independent, 18th July
George’s Quay, Dublin 2 Premier Lotteries Ireland, operator of the National Lottery, has confirmed that it will move from its long-standing offices on Dublin’s Abbey Street to a new base at 1 George’s Quay (1GQ) later this summer. The move southside across the river follows 36 years at the Irish Life Centre on Abbey Street. 1GQ, which can house up to 180 staff, was modernised, extended and renamed by Irish Life in 2017. The Irish Times, 18th July
Clonshaugh, Dublin 17 French investor Alderan has made its first investment in Ireland’s commercial real estate market, paying €10.75m (€155 psf) for Grattan Business Park at Clonshaugh. Grattan Business Park comprises 69,363 sq. ft of logistics space distributed across 33 units within three buildings. There are 24 active leases, with an average lease length of 3.8 years. The overall occupancy rate is 96%, and a 24-month rental guarantee covers the two vacant units. The transaction has resulted in a yield of approx. 8%. The Irish Times, 17th July
Baldoyle, Dublin 13 Quality Building Materials has acquired Unit 81A at Baldoyle Industrial Estate in Dublin 13 for approx. €2.4m (€123 psf). Unit 81A is a detached industrial/warehouse and office facility that extends to 19,494 sq. ft including 2,508 sq. ft of two-storey offices to the front. The Irish Times, 17th July
Haddington Road, Dublin 4 The owner of Smyth’s of Haddington Road has plans to demolish the bar and build a mixed-use site that includes flats. Courtney’s Lounge Bars recently submitted a planning application to Dublin City Council seeking to demolish Smyth’s and build a development that includes a new pub and six flats. The proposed mixed-use building would increase in size from two floors to four with part of the building rising to five storeys along the Percy Place frontage. The Irish Independent, 21st July
Housing Investment Ireland’s sovereign wealth fund has announced four new investment commitments worth approx. €230m that will be earmarked for the delivery of new housing. The investments include a total of €100m to Avenue Capital Group. The Ardstone Residential Income Fund (ARIF) will also receive €75m for the delivery of mid-market rental properties in the GDA. Summix Capital, a UK-based property developer, will receive €29m in funds to help fund its regeneration projects around the country. A further €25m will be invested in the Irish Homebuilding Equity Fund, a collaboration between Pearl Property Managers and Bank of Ireland. The Business Post, 19th July
Mount Street Lower, Dublin 2 An Bord Pleanála has given the green light to Hibernia to demolish the former Scruffy Murphy’s pub off Dublin’s Mount Street Lower to construct 15 apartments in a six-storey scheme. The scheme was put on hold after objectors, Power’s Court Residents Association and The Residents of Verschoyle Court, lodged third-party appeals to An Bord Pleanála. Hibernia paid €2m for the storied pub in 2021. In the appeal on behalf of the Power’s Court Residents Association, a spokesperson raised concerns that during construction both owners and pets will suffer disrupted sleep leading to increased anxiety and stress. The Irish Independent, 17th July
John Sisk & Son has seen a surge in its profits last year, according to its latest filings, as the company benefited from strong activity in the Irish construction industry. Operating profits jumped from €5.2m in 2022 to €34m in the twelve months to the end of December 2023. Turnover grew by 51% from €1.03bn to more than €1.5bn. The Business Post, 23rd July
Investment Activity A rebound in commercial property investment activity could see as much as €2bn worth of Irish property change hands this year, according to TWM. This follows figures which show that 29 deals saw €514m worth of property sell in the second quarter of the year bringing the first half total to €676m. The full-year forecast would be ahead of the €1.85bn of Irish investment trades completed in 2023, but that was the lowest level of spend since 2013. Second-quarter activity was spread across a range of sectors including retail (28%), office (18%), healthcare (18%), residential (17%) and industrial (8%). The Irish Independent, 18th July
Clearance Sale Nama is weighing up a clearance sale of its most troubled loans as it nears its end date of December 2025. A portfolio sale of the loans, which run to hundreds of millions of euros, would face challenges, however, because of the nature of the assets. In the agency’s annual report, Brendan McDonagh, the chief executive, said that at the end of March this year there were 98 debtors in Nama. The rump loans consist of a large number of individual debtors with a low value of assets. McDonagh also raised the prospect of some debt being written off. The Sunday Times, 21st July
Dublin Port Dublin Port Company is to lodge €1.1bn plans with An Bord Pleanála for a 15-year permission for its 3FM Project. The overall planning application site area extends to approx. 2,471 acres and the 3FM Project is to be developed on existing brownfield lands in the port, focusing primarily on the Poolbeg Peninsula. The project is to deliver approx. 20% of port capacity required by 2040. The 3FM Project includes the construction of a new bridge across the River Liffey as part of the southern port access route. The Irish Independent, 23rd July
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Fumbally Lane, Dublin 8 BCP Asset Management has appointed CBRE to sell the Fumbally Estate office complex in Dublin for approx. €25m (29% discount to purchase price of €33.5m). The complex consists of four buildings with 44,186 sq. ft of Grade A office space. The sale also includes four two-bedroom apartments and a 0.37-acre development site to the rear of the complex. The site has full planning consent for a six-storey enterprise centre, extending to approx. 57,329 sq. ft. Currently, the Fumbally Estate is generating an annual rental income of €1.7m from its existing tenant line-up. Green Street News, 12th July
Wilton Park, Dublin 2 EY Ireland has confirmed it has selected Wilton Park, developed by IPUT Real Estate, as the location for its new Dublin headquarters. As revealed by Green Street News earlier this month, the company has agreed a long-term lease at the Wilton Park estate located alongside the Grand Canal and expects to begin occupying the building in the summer of 2026. EY will bring all of its Dublin team together at the new city centre location. Green Street News, 16th July
Cavendish Row, Dublin 1 The Rotunda Hospital has paid €4.275m for the “Cavendish Collection”, a portfolio of two Georgian office buildings located next to the hospital’s main campus in Dublin city centre. Nos. 1-2 Cavendish Row (11,485 sq. ft) briefly comprise a four-storey, over-basement building while 5 Cavendish Row (5,748 sq. ft) comprises a two-bay building facing the entrance to the Gate Theatre. The subject property will be used as offices by the Rotunda. The Irish Times, 10th July
Sandyford, Dublin 18 Aldgate Developments has secured its seventh tenant at its Termini Building at Sandyford. John Paul Construction has signed a 12-year lease for its new corporate headquarters and will occupy 20,000 sq. ft of space on the fifth floor of the LEED Gold-rated office scheme. While the rent has not been disclosed The Irish Times understands the company has agreed to pay close to the quoting rent of €35 per sq. ft. The Irish Times, 10th July
QRE Market Update The Dublin office market demonstrated notable improvement in Q2 2024, with 930,190 sq. ft of office space transacting across 52 deals. This is a significant increase from the 177,000 sq. ft from 33 transactions in Q1. This brings the total take up of H1 to 1,107,190 sq. ft. from 85 transactions which is an increase of 375,000 sq. ft from H1 2023. The average deal size increased to 17,890 sq. ft., from 7,770 sq. ft. in Q2 2023. The financial sector led the market, contributing to 30% of the total take-up. Geographically, the CBD dominated the market, accounting for 80% of the total take-up with 755,450 sq. ft. QRE, 12th July
Letterkenny and Killarney Investcorp has bought Letterkenny Retail Park in Letterkenny and Deerpark Retail Park in Killarney from Davidson Kempner. Financial details have not been disclosed by Investcorp, although sources said the deal was approx. €40m (blended NIY approx. 9%), which span 337,000 sq. ft. Letterkenny Retail Park is currently fully leased to 34 tenants. Deerpark Retail Park is currently 94% leased to 11 tenants. Green Street News, 11th July
Tyrrelstown, Dublin 15 NewKey Homes continues to expand its retail portfolio with the acquisition of a site known as Kilmartin Local Centre in Tyrrelstown from Glenveagh PLC. The price is understood to be approx. €4m, which was the asking price quoted by Cushman & Wakefield. Extending to 4.53 acres, the greenfield site received full planning consent for a 50,000 sq. ft retail centre last year, including a supermarket unit extending to 36,630 sq. ft, three retail units, a cafe, medical centre and surface parking for 157 cars. The Irish Independent, 11th July
North Dublin Two of the best-known hotels on Dublin’s north side have been put up for sale with a combined price tag of approx. €70m. The 203-bed Grand Hotel in Malahide is understood to be marketed with a guide price of approx. €60m, while the 48-bedroom Marine Hotel in Sutton is priced at approx. €10m. Both hotels are owned by the Ryan family. The Irish Times, 15th July
Aungier Street, Dublin 2 Paddy McKillen Jr has sold The Lucky Duck pub at 43 Aungier Street. The sale price was not disclosed, however it is believed to have been bought by a private investor for less than the €2m which CBRE had been quoting for it earlier this year. Oakmount development group acquired the property in 2017 from Dublin city council for €831k after it had been closed for a number of years. The Irish Independent, 11th July
Temple Bar, Dublin 2 Lisney Commercial Real Estate is guiding €8.75m for the River House Hotel and Mezz Bar in Dublin’s Temple Bar area. The subject property, which has been owned and operated by the Conway family since it was originally developed in 1995, briefly comprises a 29-bedroom hotel and a licensed premises. The Mezz licensed premises extends to 7,200 sq. ft. The Irish Times, 10th July
Herbert Street, Dublin 2 QRE is guiding €1.25m for a Georgian building at 9 Herbert Street. Herbert Street links Mount Street Crescent and Baggot Street Lower in the Dublin’s traditional CBD and Georgian Quarter. No. 9 Herbert Street is a tenanted mixed-use property with a variety of commercial and residential tenancies. It comprises a two-bay, four-storey-over-basement, mid-terrace Georgian building extending to approx. 3,500 sq. ft. The guide reflects a gross initial yield of 7.72% and a capital value of €357 per sq. ft. The Business Post, 12th July
Santry, Dublin 9 Chancerygate and its joint-venture partner, Bridges Fund Management, have secured planning permission for 119,500 sq. ft of logistics space at a site on Swords Road in Santry. Approval for the new urban logistics park comes just more than two years on from Chancerygate and Bridges Fund Management’s acquisition of the five-acre site for €4.5m from Carey Building Contractors. Construction of Airport Trade Park, as it will be known, is scheduled to commence this autumn, and the scheme will have a gross development value of approx. €40m upon completion. The Irish Times, 10th July
Lease Term Emergency legislation to ban 51-week student leases has been signed into law, in a bid to prevent accommodation providers from forcing students to pay for accommodation over the summer period. The Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No. 2) Act was signed into law by President Michael D Higgins. The legislation ensures that leases will be based on a 41-week academic year instead. The typical academic year lasts around 35 weeks and runs from September until May. The Journal, 12th July
Mount Merrion, South Dublin Oakmount development business is selling the former Union Cafe site in Mount Merrion and JLL is guiding €5.75m for it. An Oakmount subsidiary had received planning permission for a development of 50 apartments on the Union site across two four-storey blocks and a 12,530 sq. ft three-storey commercial block, along with 32,130 sq. ft of basement parking. It is also located next to The Pinnacle development where Oakmount is building 100 apartments. Last November, Press Up Hospitality Group, which operated Union Cafe, closed the premises so the building could be demolished to make way for the new apartment blocks. The Irish Independent, 10th July
Santry, Dublin 9 Chadwicks, a building materials supplier, has appealed the approval of a 321-unit apartment block in Dublin. Dwyer Nolan Developments applied for permission to build the €120m, 13-storey residential project at the junction of Santry Avenue and Swords Road, Santry. Dwyer Nolan Developments’ application to build the project was made under the Large-Scale Residential Development scheme. This is the developer’s third attempt to build housing on the site. The Business Post, 10th July
Dunboyne, Co Meath Approx. 13 acres of zoned lands in Dunboyne Business Park are for sale through Coonan Property with a guide of approx. €5.2m (€400k per acre). The lands are zoned Objective E2 General Enterprise and Employment in the 2021-2027 Meath Development Plan. The Business Post, 13th July
BidX1 Survey As many as 78% of respondents to a property investor sentiment survey said that they intend to buy a property within the next 12 months although as many as 63% consider that purchasing is somewhat or very risky at the moment. BidX1 conducted the survey with its database and generated 1,439 responses and found that 77% of respondents preferred to buy a residential property with only 7% focused on commercial investments. The remaining 16% are open to either type of property. Those focused on commercial properties included people with a wide range of targets ranging from retail (17%), to industrial at 14%, but offices are attracting only 5% of buyers. The Business Post, 13th July
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Grafton Street, Dublin Quanta Capital has acquired nos. 69 and 72 Grafton Street from Iput on behalf of the Goldstein Icav for approx. €20m. No. 69 Grafton Street, which extends to 4,853 sq. ft, is let to Dune Shoes and Robert Chambers Hair Salon and is generating €324k in annual rental income (WAULB is 6.4 years and WAULT is 8.1 years). No. 72 Grafton Street, which extends to 8,818 sq. ft, is let to TWC Retail (Ireland) Limited with a guarantee provided by The White Company (UK) Limited and is generating annual rental income of €570k. The break option and rent review is due on February 29th 2028, while the lease expires on February 28th 2033. The Irish Times, 3rd July
South Frederik Street, Dublin 2 Quanta Capital is understood to have completed the purchase of No. 3-4 South Frederick Street. The building comprises a stand-alone office building dating from the 1940s and extending to 7,118 sq. ft. The property was offered for sale by Savills on behalf of New Ireland Assurance at a guide price of €2.6m and is understood to have been acquired by Quanta at around this level. The Irish Times understands that the new owners have already agreed a deal to let the building in its entirety to the Cork-headquartered insurance company, McCarthy Insurance Group. The Irish Times, 3rd July
Dublin and Galway A fund managed by Arkèa REIM has acquired a pair of office developments in Dublin and Galway. With a combined price of approx. €30m, the transactions were made on behalf of SCPI Transitions Europe. Both properties were sold by Aviva Life & Pensions Ireland DAC. Transitions Europe purchased Plantation House on 29 Herbert Street, Dublin 2, which comprises 13,434 sq. ft of office space. The asset was guiding a price of €7.6m. It had a WAULT of 9.5 years and an annual rental income of €546k (6.5% yield). The fund also bought Citypoint, a €21.5m mixed-use development in Galway spanning 81,899 sq. ft. Located off Eyre Square in the city centre, Citypoint is fully let and generates a total passing rent of approx. €1.87m (yield approx. 8%). The property has a WAULT of 8.5 years. Green Street News, 8th July
Yew Grove Portfolio The Canadian owner of a portfolio of 22 commercial properties in Ireland faces increased financial pressures after defaulting on its loans. Shares in Slate Office Reit, which bought the portfolio of publicly quoted Yew Grove Reit for €170m in 2022, have plunged by 82% in the past year. The Toronto exchange has put the Reit’s listing under review. The company’s properties, which include offices in Dublin, Kildare, Westmeath and Cork, are valued at €171m. The Sunday Times, 7th July
JLL Report The volume of office space leased in Dublin in the second quarter of this year was up 355% on the first three months of 2024, according to a new report from JLL Ireland. The study found that 919,000 sq. ft of office space was leased in the capital during the quarter, representing a 125% increase on the same period last year. According to JLL Ireland, there was a total of 7.6m sq. ft of vacant office space in Dublin in the second quarter of this year, resulting in a vacancy rate of 15.7%, up 0.3% from the previous quarter. The Business Post, 8th July
Glengarriff, West Cork The Eccles Hotel in Glengarriff has gone to market with a €5m guide price. Current owners are hoteliers Ray Byrne and Eoin Doyle who are now selling via CBRE. The four-star Eccles Hotel & Spa now has 59 refurbished bedrooms, wedding/conference and banqueting facilities and a spa with three treatment rooms. The Irish Examiner, 7th July
Castleknock, Dublin 15 The developer of Ashleigh Centre, a neighbourhood shopping centre in Castleknock Village, is offering The Twin Oaks pub in the shopping centre for sale for €1.75m or for rent at €100k pa. Extending to 5,328 sq. ft, the Twin Oaks property accommodates an extensive licensed premises and restaurant. Its ground floor extends to approx. 3,014 sq. ft and comprises a coffee shop and a lounge-bar/restaurant. The basement of approx. 2,314 sq. ft contains a food preparation area and kitchen. The Irish Independent, 4th July
O’Connell Street, Limerick Joint agents Rooney Auctioneers and JLL have brought 94 O’Connell Street to the market with a guide of €1.75m. Located in Limerick City, the former Bank of Ireland premises offers full planning permission for a mixed-use development featuring 24 modern apartments and 6,383 sq. ft of ground-floor commercial space. Planning permission was granted in August 2023. The Business Post, 5th July
Santry, North Dublin Planning approval has been granted for a speculative 120,000 sq. ft logistics development in Dublin, to be delivered by a joint venture between Chancerygate and Bridges Fund Management. To be called Airport Trade Park, the five acre site in Santry was acquired from Carey Building Contractors in May 2022. The park will have a total of 14 units ranging in size from 3,600 sq. ft to 22,370 sq. ft. The partnership intends to begin construction this autumn, with the scheme having a projected gross development value of approx. €40m. Green Street News, 3rd July
Quintain Ireland Lone Star is on the cusp of selling the majority of its interest in Quintain Ireland, the property developer, to Texas-based fund TPG. The more than €200m sale deal will include the Quintain Ireland platform, its operational team and its sites at Adamstown, Clonburris and Portmarnock. Collectively, these plots have the capacity to deliver approx. 4,500 homes. The deal does not include the developer’s 3,000-home Cherrywood site, which has a build-to-rent focus. The Business Post, 6th July
BNP Paribas Real Estate Ireland Report Activity in residential construction grew as the commercial sector slumped in June, new data has shown. Total construction in Ireland was down last month posting at 47.5, below the 50 mark, which denoted a solid reduction in construction activity, the latest construction PMI from BNP Paribas Real Estate Ireland showed. Despite the overall fall in activity, residential construction activity continued to grow, up to 52.4 on the index compared to 52.0 in May. The research by the property agency also showed new orders began to fall during the month, down to 51.8 from 52.9 the month prior. The Business Post, 8th July
Donnybrook, Dublin 4 Red Rock Developments has made several bids to redevelop the Circle K petrol station site in Dublin 4 in recent years, which have faced severe opposition from both locals and the planning authority. In April, Red Rock Developments asked Dublin City Council for clearance to build a PBSA block on the site. The project would involve construction of 225 bedspaces across a new ten-storey building. Dublin City Council approved the application on the condition Red Rock Developments would reduce the height of the building to eight storeys. The developer added it is willing to reduce the height of the development to nine storeys, which would result in a block of 202 bedspaces. A decision is expected in October. The Business Post, 9th July
Cairn Homes, the Irish housebuilder, saw revenues increase 66% in the first half of the year compared with the same period in 2023, and “is poised to deliver an exceptional output and financial performance in 2024.” In a trading update, the company said that it delivered 894 closed units in the first six months of this year, generating turnover of €365m. This compares with 35 closed sales and €220m revenue in the first half of 2023. Cairn’s closed and forward orderbook increased to 3,100 new homes, with a net sales value of approx. €1.2bn. The Business Post, 3rd July
CBRE Research In December 2023, the Economic Development Office of Dublin City Council appointed CBRE Research to provide analysis and data around the implications of increased remote working on Dublin. Some of the most notable findings are: Dublin city companies are now reporting a 50% office attendance rate on average across the working week; this is down from 65-70% prior to the pandemic. Office attendance was 35% on Mondays and 29% on Fridays. Of the 100 office-based employees surveyed, 76% were working remotely at least one day per week. Findings from the retailers surveyed are: approx. 50% of retailers reported that footfall has been lower by 21-40% in city centre stores since the pandemic. 48% of respondents selected Friday as the day on which they had seen the most notable decline. The Irish Times, 3rd July
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