Shannon, Co Clare Irish real-estate investor and operator Fine Grain Property has acquired a 124,000 sq. ft. five-floor office building in Shannon’s Westpark Innovation Campus from global company AXA Partners. With a value estimated by market sources to be c. €20m, the purchase of Building 7000 represents Fine Grain’s largest sale-and-leaseback deal in Ireland to date and consolidates its ownership of all the properties at the 40-acre business campus. AXA Partners will continue to operate from two floors of the building through its leaseback agreement. The purchase of the Shannon business campus capped a three-year run of investments by Fine Grain in which it spent €175m on properties distributed across Galway, Athlone, Limerick, Dublin and Cork. The Irish Times, 22nd June
Shannon, Co Clare French investor Corum Asset Management has increased its overall investment in the Republic and Northern Ireland to more than €300m with the acquisition for €14.725m of Dromore House, a prime regional office property in Shannon, Co Clare. Located in the East Park business campus, the subject property comprises c. 80,000 sq. ft. of office accommodation, which has been actively managed and upgraded since its acquisition by Clyde Real Estate. Dromore House has a strong tenant line-up that includes Intel, Digital River and Wipro. Intel accounts for 76% of the total annual income. The Irish Times, 22nd June
South Circular Road, Dublin 8 A private Irish investor is set to secure a NIY of 6% following their acquisition for €3.5m of Bloomfield House just off Dublin’s South Circular Road. The subject property comprises a distinctive two-storey redbrick office building dating from the 1930s. The property extends to 8,203 sq. ft. with 12 car-parking spaces situated on a 0.26-acre site. Bloomfield House is fully let, producing c. €231k pa across two tenancies. The ground floor and mezzanine levels of the property are let on a 10-year lease from September 1st, 2014, to marketing agency Boys + Girls, which has extensively modernised and refurbished its offices. The annual rent, which was reviewed in 2019, equates to €160k pa. This letting includes eight car-parking spaces. The first floor of the property is let on a five-year lease from July 1st, 2021, to mechanical and electrical building services company Delap and Waller. The annual rent, which was agreed on a stepped level, averages out at €71.25k pa over the five years and includes three car-parking spaces. The Irish Times, 22nd June
Blackrock Business Park, South Co Dublin CBRE is seeking a tenant for the ground floor office unit at Block 1, Blackrock Business Park off Carysfort Avenue in south Co Dublin. The Block 1 office space has a floor area of c. 5,360 sq. ft. with 15 designated car spaces and a kitchen. This office space is available immediately by way of a flexible new lease on competitive terms. The Business Post, 25th June
South Docklands, Dublin Aviva Investors has bought a hotel scheme in the centre of Dublin, on behalf of its European Real Estate Long Income (E-RELI) Fund. The property is under construction by Red Rock Developments and scheduled to complete at the end of 2022. Premier Inn has prelet the asset on a long-term lease. The building is at the junction of Gloucester Street and Princes Street South, within the South Docklands business district of the city Centre. The acquisition is E-RELI’s first transaction in Ireland. React News, 23rd June
O’Connell Street, Dublin 1 A Green Party TD has vowed to appeal against a council decision allowing a large expansion of a city hotel that will result in the closure of a beer garden which connects three pubs. Dublin City council granted permission to JMK Group, a British real estate company, to expand the Holiday Inn Express at its premises on O’Connell Street, adding 89 new guest rooms. JMK Group had originally applied for a seven-storey extension, but that was refused following concerns from the council about daylight loss for surrounding buildings on Parnell street. Instead, a slightly lower six-storey extension was granted. A beer garden at the rear of the Holiday Inn connects three popular bars: The Living Room, Fibber Magees and Murray’s Pub. The Sunday Times, 23rd June
Hospitality Sector Performance, Ireland The Irish hotel investment market continued its strong recovery from Covid in the first quarter of 2022, with a new report revealing transaction activity in the first three months of the year was up on pre-pandemic levels. According to Cushman & Wakefield’s latest hospitality Marketbeat report for Ireland, transaction activity hit €73.1m in the first quarter of 2022. This activity level represented a “significant improvement” on the €9.8m recorded in the first quarter of last year but also showed an increase on the level recorded before the pandemic, when transactions were just shy of €60m in the first quarter of 2020. The largest transaction of the opening quarter was Dublin Loft Company’s sale of the Hendrick Hotel Smithfield. The boutique hotel was acquired by US investment firm TPG for c. €37.5m. At the end of the first quarter, c. 5,630 hospitality beds were under construction, with 5,000 being built in Dublin. The Irish Independent, 26th June
Tallaght, Dublin 24 Tadg Riordan Motors is offering its motor showroom on the N81 Tallaght bypass road, Dublin 24 for sale (€1.5m) or rent (€100k). The offer follows the Toyota dealer’s move to a new larger showroom on Airton Road, Tallaght. The N81 bypass premises is a purpose-built retail motor showroom extending to c. 9,070 sq. ft. on c. 0.3 acres. Car storage and valeting facilities at basement level can accommodate c. 10 vehicles. Externally, the property offers additional display and customer parking for between 30 and 40 cars. The Irish Independent, 23rd June
Grafton Street, Dublin 2 Canada Goose is understood to have signed a deal for the old Monsoon Accessorize store at 64 Grafton Street in recent weeks. The luxury coat brand had run a temporary store at No. 83. A listing on the Commercial Leases Register says 64 Grafton Street has been let on a ten-year lease at an annual rent of €500k. The Sunday Times, 27th June
Washington Street, Cork A new €35m 50-apartment development is set to open on Washington Street in time for the next academic year. Despite pandemic lockdowns and soaring construction costs, the privately-owned, purpose-built Bróga House will be delivered “on time and on budget” according to John Paul Construction, the main contractor on the project, at the 0.79-acre site of the former Square Deal furniture outlet. The 100,000 sq. ft. development ranges from two-to-six storeys. The apartments, mainly eight-bed modular clusters, with individual ensuite double bedrooms with desk and storage, and a shared living/dining/kitchen (LKD) space, average 1,400 sq. ft. in size. The purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) will also include two internal courtyards and a 4,305 sq. ft. roof terrace which students can access. The development is backed by global real estate investment, development and asset management firm Round Hill Capital (Ireland). The Irish Examiner, 23rd June
Co Mayo Assura, a London-listed healthcare building developer and manager, has entered the Irish market after acquiring a Co Mayo building worth €11m. According to a recent analyst call, Assura has acquired Castlebar Primary Care Centre. The Irish Independent, 26th June
Shanganagh, Co Dublin The Land Development Agency (LDA) has appointed the contractor for the development of 597 new homes at Shanganagh, Co Dublin, with work on site (22-acre) to commence in September. The project is being delivered in partnership with Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council (DLRCC) and will be devoted 100% to affordable and social homes. On completion this will be the largest public housing scheme in the State, delivering on the LDA’s mission to unlock state land to deliver large-scale affordable housing projects. It will be a mixed tenure project with the breakdown as follows: 51% cost rental (306 homes), 15% affordable purchase (91 homes) and 34% social housing (200 homes). The first completed homes are expected at the end of 2024. Walls Construction has been appointed to lead the project. The development will offer a mix of accommodation suitable for single people, couples, and families with 99 of the new homes to have 3 bedrooms. Press Release, LDA
Mullingar, Co Westmeath A 12-acre land holding in Mullingar, Co Westmeath is being offered to the market by joint agents Bannon and James L Murtagh & Sons on behalf of St Finian’s Diocesan Trust at a guide price of €2.75m. The subject holding surrounds the diocesan office, which the trust is retaining for its continued use, and is distributed across two parcels of land extending to a combined area of c. 12 acres. The entire holding is zoned “Proposed Residential” in the Mullingar Local Area Plan 2014–2020 (as extended). The Irish Times, 22nd June
Drumcondra, Dublin 9 The appeals board refused planning permission for a five-storey BTR apartment scheme in Drumcondra. Cork-based firm Discipulo Developments Ltd had plans to demolish 42 to 44 Drumcondra Rd, including the former Quinn’s pub, to make way for the scheme. Along with the 50 BTR apartments made up of 11 studio units, 33 one-bedroom units and six two-bedroom units, the proposal also included plans for three ground-floor commercial units, including a bookmakers. The Irish Independent, 24th June
Capel Street, Dublin 7 An investment property on Capel Street with links to the arts and media sector has come to the market with a €2m guide price. The upper three floors of the 8,869 sq. ft. premises are being sold. The ground floor is owned by another person who is believed to have paid €1.5m for it which is not included in this sale. DNG is guiding €2m for the subject property. The combination of rents generated from the current tenants and the potential rent that could be generated from the top floor could amount to €154.8k pa. The Irish Independent, 23rd June
Kill Village, Co Kildare A 1.1-acre site with planning permission for 14 houses in Kill village, Co Kildare, sold at a recent auction for €1.32m (€94k per site) and c. 26% over the €1.05m price guided by Sherry FitzGerald Brady O’Flaherty. After outbidding four other bidders, a local Kildare building firm indicated its intention to start building work in the autumn. Its planning permission allows eight three-bedroom houses and six two-bedroom houses. The Irish Independent, 23rd June
Kinsale Road, Cork A subsidiary of butter giant Dairygold is to enter into a €237m property scheme. The ‘Creamfields’ development will include a 15-storey tower, one of 11 blocks, containing 609 dwellings on the site in Cork city. The major development will include 257 BTR apartments. The scheme which has been granted planning permission by An Bord Pleanála will include 189 one-bed dwellings, 338 two-bed dwellings, 48 three-bed dwellings and 34 four-bed homes. The Creamfields development is a vacant eight-acre site, the former home of CMP Dairies on Kinsale Road. It includes a residential apartment scheme with an associated primary care facility and other amenities including creche, gym, cafes and restaurants. The Irish Independent, 22nd June
Glandore, West Cork Up for sale is the former Marine Hotel in Glandore, now a mix of townhouses and apartments. The complex up for sale includes 17 lettings and holiday homes by the pier. Four of the units in the complex were sold to Cork County Council and a number of other are on long-term lets including HAP, earning €230k pa in overall rental income. Selling agents for the Glandore complex are Barry Auctioneers, jointly with Hodnett Forde, who guide at €4.75m-€5m. The Irish Examiner, 23rd June
Terenure, Dublin 6 The construction of a seven-storey, 364-unit BTR apartment scheme on former playing pitches at Terenure College in Dublin will help secure the future viability of the college, according to the head of the religious order in Ireland, the Carmelites, which own the site. Housebuilder Lioncor has lodged plans – which also include 21 houses – for the scheme that is the first to be lodged with Dublin City Council under the Large-Scale Residential Development (LRD) for Fortfield Road, Terenure. The development comprises four apartment blocks rising to seven storeys in height. It comprises 15 studios, 166 one-bed apartments, 174 two-bed apartments and nine three-bed units. The closing date for third-party submissions on the scheme is July 18th. The Irish Times, 27th June
Dún Laoghaire, South Co Dublin An Bord Pleanála will concede in a legal challenge against its permission for 102 BTR apartments in Dún Laoghaire, the High Court has heard. Mr. Justice David Holland was told on Monday that the planning board has indicated in correspondence between the parties that it will consent to an order quashing its fast-track approval for the strategic housing development (SHD) on lands at St Michael’s Hospital, Crofton Road. The Irish Times, 27th June
Help To Buy Scheme, Ireland A fundamental Government review that will determine the future of the Help to Buy scheme for first-time buyers ― which has cost c. €600m to date ― has been completed. The scheme was originally designed to help new home buyers meet the 10% deposit required by banks to obtain mortgages in the face of increased property prices. However, evidence suggests as many as a third of those who have availed of the scheme did not need it to meet the deposit requirement and instead used the scheme to create larger deposits. There were c. 8,000 claims for the scheme last year, up c. 50% on the first year. The overall cost to date for the scheme has been €559m, which is 43% above cost estimates. The maximum grant available is €30k and the average cost per grant has been €24.3k. 63% of claims last year were for properties valued above the national average price of €290k, with 70% of all grants being issued in Dublin and Cork. The Parliamentary Budget Office report said that evidence provided in a 2017 Indecon report and the 2021 tax strategy report suggested there has been “a very small increase in prices” attributable to the existence of the scheme. The Irish Times, 26th June
Global Economic Outlook, Investec The ECB has turned more hawkish amidst increasing concerns over inflation. Market sources believe the Deposit rate could rise to 0.75% by the end of this year. However economic headwinds are rising and the ECB could pause normalisation over 2023. Investec believes that the EU19 could avoid a recession, but growth is expected to be subdued, with forecasts revised lower to 2.9% (2022) and 1.4% (2023). The big risk to this view lies with the energy situation and the threat of gas shortages over the winter. However, the ECB will also need to walk a very fine line between raising rates and preventing fragmentation risks given widening sovereign spreads. Investec, 22nd June
Vacant Site Levy, Ireland More than half of Ireland’s local authorities have failed to collect a single euro of the vacant site levy from landowners since its introduction in 2018, according to figures obtained from the Department of Housing, while only 8% of the money due last year was paid. An analysis of reports submitted by local authorities to the department shows that just under €1.3m was collected last year, although owners of vacant sites were liable to pay c. €17m. The analysis also highlights that less than €4m has been paid to date while another €37.2m is due. Councils now accept that some of the outstanding money will not be paid because of appeals, changes of ownership and development of the lands. Vacant sites listed on registers totalled 203 in 2018, before peaking at 346 in 2020. The total has since decreased to 298. The Sunday Times, 22nd June
Croí Cónaithe Scheme, Ireland The state’s timeline to deliver 5,000 apartments by 2026, through a €450m scheme to subsidise construction, was labelled “ambitious” by property industry and banking sector lobbyists as the programme was being devised last year. The Croí Cónaithe scheme, launched in May, will provide developers with subsidies of between €25k and €144k per unit to help subsidise the cost of building apartments. Newly released records connected to a Croí Cónaithe “stakeholder engagement workshop” held on December 10 last year show that those in attendance questioned the ability of the scheme to deliver thousands of units within four years and raised concerns about the overall demand for apartment living. Despite the plea for upfront payments, when the scheme was launched in May, the department stuck to its initial intention to pay developers the subsidy when the apartment is completely built and sold to an owner-occupier. The Business Post, 25th June
City Centre Refurbishment Scheme, Ireland Owners of city centre buildings in Cork, Dublin, Galway, Kilkenny, Limerick and Waterford have until the end of December 2022 to avail of the tax incentive programme known as Living City Initiative (LCI). Only refurbishment and/or conversion work carried out during the next six months will qualify for tax relief. Several city councils are disappointed that so few property owners and investors applied for the tax relief. Allowing investors to combine both the RL rental income and the LCI tax relief enabled some to minimise the risks and recoup more costs more easily and quickly. Under RL, investors can do deals with approved housing bodies or local authorities for long-term leases and loans up to €60k for the repair work in return for the property being made available for social housing for at least five years. To qualify, a property needs to have been vacant for 12 months or longer and in need of repairs. Investors benefit from guaranteed rents with no risk from arrears or vacancy costs. There are two rental income options: 80% of local market rent is paid where the local authority will undertake any maintenance work, or up to 95% if the owner does the maintenance. The Business Post, 25th June
Co Kildare An Bord Pleanála has indicated it will consent to an order quashing its permission for a €70m wind farm in Co Kildare, the High Court has heard. The court heard on Monday that the board would no longer be contesting the action. The developer North Kildare Wind Farm, a notice party in the proceedings, hopes to see its planning application remitted for fresh consideration and wants a short hearing for determination of this issue. North Kildare Wind Farm Group claimed the scheme would cost €70m to build and connect to the national grid, and any delay would adversely impact the project’s commercial viability. The Irish Times, 27th June
Mortgage switching volumes and values reached their highest level in at least a decade, according to data for May 2022 from the Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI). Remortgage/switching approval volumes rose by 111.5% YoY to 1,237 while the number of top-up approvals fell by 2.5% YoY to 277. Remortgage/switching approval values rose by 129.3% YoY to €329m while the value of top-up approvals fell by 12% YoY to €27m.
The latest figures show there were 5,355 mortgage approvals in May, valued at €1.5bn. Mortgage approval activity increased in volume terms by 14.3% YoY and in value terms by 25.3% YoY. Mortgage approval volumes for property purchase increased by 0.7% YoY to 3,841, valued at €1.1bn. Residential investment letting (RIL) mortgage approval volumes decreased by 2.5% YoY to 119. RIL mortgage approval values increased by 7.8% YoY to €20m. There were 54,710 mortgage approvals in the 12 months ending May 2022, valued at €14.2bn. The Irish Times, 28th June
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Rathfarnham, Dublin 14 French investor Iroko ZEN has entered the Irish investment market with a €10.14m (NIY 5.28%, WAULT 9.8 years) deal for a newly built and fully let retail scheme developed by Ardstone in south Dublin. Located on Stocking Avenue in Rathfarnham, the White Pines retail centre comprises a purpose-built supermarket and a three-storey creche building located on a 1.98-acre site and forms part of a major residential scheme developed by Ardstone featuring a mix of one- to four-bedroomed units catering for up to 636 families on an overall site of 36.3 acres. The supermarket extends to 15,833 sq. ft. and is fully let to Tesco Ireland Limited on a 20-year FRI lease with an annual passing rent of €477.6k with rent reviews every five years. Tesco has been trading since February of this year and has 69 car parking spaces on site. The creche, extending to 6,361 sq. ft., is let on a 25-year FRI lease to Safari Childcare Limited at a rent of c. €109k pa also subject to five-yearly rent reviews. The Irish Times, 15th June
Blanchardstown Centre, Dublin 15 Fashion retailer Zara is to increase its presence at the Blanchardstown Centre after striking a deal for a new outlet on the scheme’s second floor. The unit, which had been occupied previously by Debenhams, will accommodate Zara’s womenswear, menswear, childrenswear and accessories collections. The agreement of the letting will see the Spanish-owned brand’s footprint at Blanchardstown grow from the 16,000 sq. ft. it occupies to 52,000 sq. ft. News of the deal comes just over two months after premium fashion group Flannels signed for the ground floor of Debenhams’ former premises in Blanchardstown. The Irish Times, 15th June
The Cobalt Collection, Ireland Manchester-based investment firm David Samuel Properties is in talks with US real estate investor Davidson Kempner in relation to the proposed acquisition of a portfolio of three of Ireland’s best-known regional shopping centres. The “Cobalt Collection”, as it is known, comprises Letterkenny Retail Park in Donegal, Tullamore Retail Park in Co Offaly, and Deerpark Retail Park in Killarney, Co Kerry, and was offered for sale in March at a guide price of €67.5m. Should the deal proceed, it would represent David Samuel Properties’ first investment in the Republic of Ireland. The Irish Times, 15th June
Naas Road, Co Kildare The Otter House investment on Dublin’s Naas Road has been acquired by Irish Distillers, part of the global wine and spirits group Pernod Ricard, for c. €8m. The property sits on a 3.1-acre site adjoining its existing premises in Fox and Geese at the rear of Otter House. The price paid represents a premium of 33% on the €6m agent BNP Paribas had been guiding when it offered the property to the market last October. The mixed office and warehouse Otter House occupies c. 24% of the overall site area. Irish Distillers can avail in the meantime of rental income of €512.5k pa from four long-standing tenants in Otter House, including Modern Plant Ltd, Ladbrokes Ltd, Campion Insurances Ltd and FKM Engineering Ltd. The Irish Times, 15th June
Westland Business Park, Dublin 12 Agent TWM is offering a newly refurbished office building to the market at Westland Business Park in Dublin 12. Block A comprises 25,479 sq. ft. of office space distributed across three floors, along with 70 car parking spaces. The property is available to rent, or to purchase at a guide price of €5m. TWM notes that the overall capital rate of €196 per sq. ft. is below the current build cost for the real estate without factoring in the site value. The Irish Times, 15th June
Docklands, Dublin Deutsche Bank is to rent c. 12,700 sq. ft. of office space on part of the second floor at No. 2 Grand Canal Square located in the west end of Grand Canal Dock in Dublin. The German multinational investment bank and financial services company has agreed to a rent of €57 per sq. ft. on a ten-year lease.
At 24-26 City Quay, European Refreshments and Morgan Stanley were secured for the fourth and fifth floors of 25,000 sq. ft. after Irish Life completed a major refurbishment project of the former Grant Thornton HQ. Morgan Stanley took occupation of the prime penthouse floor of 12,701 sq. ft. and agreed to pay a rent of just under €61.50 per sq. ft. on a new long-term lease. In taking 15,015 sq. ft. on the fourth floor, European Refreshments paid rent in excess of €62 per sq. ft. for a lease which includes a year-five break option, offering flexibility for potential expansion. Both occupiers are paying €4k per car parking space. The Business Post, 17th June
Office Supply, Dublin A flood of new offices hitting the market is running well in excess of post-pandemic demand which has been dampened by the big shift to remote working, the Central Bank has warned. It suggests demand would have to double from the average of c. 1.6m sq. ft. of Dublin office space taken up in 2020 and 2021 to match the supply coming onstream between now and 2024. More than 10m sq. ft. of new offices are currently at various stages of development in Dublin alone, half of it due for completion between 2022 and 2024, the analysis said. The glut of new supply is partly due to a backlog built up by site closures and other pandemic-related disruptions. Foreign direct investment is the biggest driver of large scale new office lettings in Dublin and it has held up after the initial phase of the pandemic, but there’s now significant uncertainty about the size of new offices required to host employees. The Irish Independent, 16th June
Pembroke Road, Dublin 4 Plans to demolish the eight-storey Carrisbrook House in Dublin 4 and replace it with a 10-storey office block have been stalled. Last month, Dublin City Council granted planning permission to Atria V Lux SARL for the demolition of the well-known building, which is located at the junction of Pembroke Road and Northumberland Road and across from the site of the former Jury’s hotel. The new office block scheme, at 136,594 sq. ft., will provide more than three times the gross floor area of the current Carrisbrook House. However, the scheme has been stalled after an appeal was lodged to An Bord Pleanála against the council’s decision by the Pembroke Road Residents Association and the Lansdowne and District Residents Association. Planning consultants for the scheme, John Spain & Associates, said the proposal “represents a further opportunity to secure the improvement of an inner suburban site at a strategic location”. A decision is due on the appeal in October. The Irish Times, 20th June
Cork City Centre An investment property, made up of a pub/restaurant with nine apartments is for sale in Cork city centre, carrying a €2m price guide. Listed with Savills, the property comprising Paddy the Farmers bar/restaurant with overhead and adjacent apartments, all bringing in a rental return of c. €172k from the various fully let elements. It equates to a 7.05% return at the €2m guide. Paddy the Farmers is on a new 10-year lease at €40k pa with a five-year break option. The Irish Examiner, 15th June
Glasnevin, Dublin 9 British property developer U+I is selling three adjoining industrial investments with residential development potential in Dublin Industrial Estate, Glasnevin, Dublin 11. Savills is guiding more than €6.25m for the properties. Standing on a 2.4-acre site (€2.5m per acre), the three are let to WestRock, the international packaging firm, for c. €257k pa until 2025. The site is zoned objective Zone Z6: Employment/Enterprise Zones. The Irish Independent, 16th June
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Glasnevin, Dublin 9 Situated immediately adjacent to the National Botanic Gardens and within a short distance of Dublin city centre, the Glasnevin Hill residential scheme by Fitzwilliam Real Estate comes with full approval from An Bord Pleanála for the construction of 101 apartments over two blocks of six and seven storeys respectively, along with retail and medical units at ground-floor level. The 1.1-acre site, which currently comprises a former motor garage and a dwelling, is guiding at a price of €5m through Knight Frank. While the approved development is envisaged to be operated as a PRS scheme, it has been designed to BTS apartment standards. The Irish Times, 15th June
Leixlip, Co Kildare Glenveagh, the publicly quoted housing developer, has acquired 36.38 acres of land which had been part of the Leixlip Castle estate on the edge of Leixlip, Co Kildare. According to market sources, Glenveagh paid more than €15m (€417k per acre). Not all of the land will be developed for housing as less than half, 16.46 acres, are zoned new residential, while 3.77 acres are zoned open space and amenity and 15.97 acres are zoned strategic open space with the latter to provide for an improved recreational amenity open space and green infrastructure networks. The Irish Independent, 16th June
Bulk Buying Residential Assets Statistics, Ireland Property investors and institutional funds have bulk bought more than 350 houses at a cost of over €100m since the government attempted to limit the practice. The figures released by the office of the Revenue Commissioners show the funds have paid levies of more than €30k per home to secure the properties, which is ten times the regular stamp duty levy owed when a property is purchased. Last year, in an attempt to discourage institutional funds from bulk-purchasing houses, a new stamp duty rate of 10% was introduced for any fund that bought more than ten houses in a 12-month period. The higher stamp duty rate did not apply to funds bulk purchasing apartments. Figures released by the office of the Revenue Commissioners show that at the end of May 2022, the 10% stamp duty levy was applied to the price of 351 residential units, with the duty payable totalling €10.5m. Based on those figures, property investors have bulk bought €105m worth of houses since the new 10% rate was put into effect by the Department of Finance on May 20, 2021. Investors spent an average of €299,145 per home, while the average higher-rate of stamp duty applicable to these properties was €29,914. Last week, new data from the CSO showed that the median price of a home on the Irish residential property market was €286k at the end of April. The Business Post, 19th June
Dundrum Village SHD Hammerson, which in April submitted a planning application to An Bord Pleanála for the 11-block development under the fast-track Strategic Housing Development process, says it will “continue to consider” whether the apartments will be available for sale or rent only during their construction, expected to take several years. However, indicative prices for the social housing element range from €385.3k for a one-bed to c. €789k for a three-bed apartment. Under the county development plan, the site is earmarked for residential development but it should have complementary uses such as employment, restaurant, leisure, entertainment and creche facilities. There is also a specific objective for any redevelopment of the site to “address the need for the provision of a future Dundrum community, cultural and civic centre facility”. Hammerson says its scheme is neither in conflict with the zoning or the council’s specific local objectives for the site. The Irish Times, 21st June
Hibernia Reit The State’s largest landlord Hibernia Reit formally delisted from the Irish Stock Exchange on Monday morning following the completion of its acquisition on Friday. Hibernia accepted a €1.1bn takeover by Canada’s Brookfield Asset Management in March. Under the terms of the acquisition, Hibernia Reit shareholders received €1.634 in cash for each Hibernia Reit share. This would be made up of €1.60 per share and a dividend of 3.4 cent per share. The acquisition, including the dividend, values the entire issued and to be issued share capital of Hibernia Reit at c. €1.089bn on a fully diluted basis. It was valued at c. €781m in the market. The Irish Times, 20th June
Construction Industry, Ireland The results from Knight Frank’s latest annual survey of Ireland’s top residential developers show that the new homes construction industry recovered strongly from last year’s Covid-induced disruption which effectively shut the sector for the first four months of the year. In all, 55% of respondents stated that their development activity in 2021 was stronger than in 2020. This was also reflected in official data from the Department of Housing as 31,000 units commenced construction in 2021 — the highest number of new housing starts since comparable data were first published. Although 56% of respondents believe that their development activity will be stronger again in 2022, the survey highlights a number of critical issues such as the shortage of residential development land, planning delays and spiralling labour and material costs, which raises questions about the industry’s ability to deliver sustained improvements in the number of completions over the medium term. The Irish Times, 21st June
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North Docklands, Dublin Developer TIO (Targeted Investment Opportunities) has secured a further two occupiers for its North Dock office scheme in Dublin’s north docklands. Interactive Brokers and HEAnet join existing tenants Gilead Sciences and Blueface, both of which have established their EMEA headquarter operations at the development. North Dock bears the distinction of being Dublin’s first nZEB (nearly zero energy building) office development. The scheme extends to 202,000 sq. ft. in total, distributed between North Dock One (95,000 sq. ft.) and North Dock Two (107,000 sq. ft.). The Irish Times, 8th June
Adelaide Chambers, Dublin 8 An investment team led by Chartered Land has sold Adelaide Chambers, a redeveloped office building, for €13.5m. That reflects a premium of €500k on the price quoted by Knight Frank. The purchaser is IBI Group Holdings, which is listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange. Its price reflects a NIY of c. 5.29%. Chartered Land bought the building out of receivership in 2017 for more than €7m and along with their letting and property management agents Knight Frank and asset manager iReal Capital, undertook a substantial refurbishment and letting programme that increased the income and value of the property. Its main tenant, Decawave/Qorvo, now occupies two-thirds of the building. The HSE is another tenant. The Croatian Embassy occupies the top floor of the east wing but its section was not included in the sale. The vacant office suites are expected to be refurbished by the new owner. Located c. 400m west of St Stephen’s Green, Adelaide Chambers extends to 19,639 sq. ft. and comes with 31 car spaces. The Irish Independent, 10th June
Red Cow Junction, Dublin 12 Block A in Westland Park beside the Red Cow Junction in Dublin 12 is available to rent or buy with a purchase guide price of €5m. The 25,478 sq. ft., three-storey structure is a newly refurbished, modern own-door office building with a great profile onto the New Nangor Road and 70 surface car park spaces. The Business Post, 11th June
Cork City Piling is complete at The Prism, a €20m construction project set to deliver one of Cork City’s most eye-catching office blocks. Work got underway on the narrow site next to the city’s bus station in Parnell Place late last year and is due for completion by August 2023. The 15-storey glass tower will provide c. 64,583 sq. ft. of office space on a 3,230 sq. ft. site. The Irish Examiner, 9th June
Dawson Street, Dublin 2 American software giant ServiceNow is taking 90,000 sq. ft. on a 12-year lease at the 60 Dawson Street office development in Dublin, Ireland. The deal marks the first letting for the office scheme being built by Mark and Irish investment management group BCP. ServiceNow will occupy the top four floors of the building to serve as its new headquarters in Ireland. Overlooking Trinity College, 60 Dawson Street will be delivered by Kells ICAV by the first quarter of 2023 and comprises 145,000 sq. ft. of grade A office space. Aside from workspace, the property will also host 46,000 sq. ft. of retail and leisure space adjacent to Grafton Street, and target LEED Gold and Wellness Silver status. The building is part of a wider-mixed-use development known as Grafton Place, which BCP and Meyer Bergman purchased in 2016 via a €100m+ debt facility from Goldman Sachs. Construction began in 2019. React News, 13th June
Dún Laoghaire, South Dublin Dún Laoghaire ferry terminal, which has lain idle for seven years, will be leased by Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council as a “co-worker, incubator space” opening later this year. The deal will see the publicly-owned building leased to Quartermaster Innovations Ltd for at least 13 years. Councillors voted, with 35 in favour and five against, for the disposal of the terminal building to the company established by Hilary Haydon, an accountant and former president of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown Chamber of Commerce, specifically for this project. It will pay rent to the council of €400k pa, starting in year two. The Irish Times, 13th June
Stillorgan, South Dublin Just over 14 months after signing up as tenants for the second floor of Maple House in Stillorgan, Pax Asset Management (trading as Ask Paul and Pax Financial) have acquired the building in its entirety for €5.2m. The sale of the south Dublin property was brokered by BNP Paribas Real Estate on behalf of the vendor, a private company which has held the investment since it was developed in the 1990s. Located at a prominent corner position directly opposite the Stillorgan Village shopping centre, Maple House comprises a modern three-storey mixed-use building of 11,963 sq. ft. with 19 car parking spaces to the front and rear. The building is fully let and producing c. €336k in rental income annually across three tenancies, namely KBC Bank, Pax Asset Management and Durkan Homes, along with supplemental telecom-mast income. All three tenancies are held under long, FRI leases with a WAULT of 5.3 years. The sale price of €5.2m reflects a NIY of c. 6%. The Irish Times, 8th June
Talbot Street, Dublin 1 According to market sources, Chartered Land is close to a deal for the sale of Independent House, the mixed-use building on Talbot Street which includes the offices of The Irish Independent and a SuperValu store. Knight Frank is guiding €29m for that investment which generates a combined annual rent roll totalling c. €1.8m (NIY 5.6%). In 2018, Chartered Land paid €24.3m for the property along with 10 adjoining Brett Court apartments. The Irish Independent, 10th June
Santry, Dublin 9 Works are expected to begin soon on site on the first of two phases in a mixed-use €16m residential/commercial scheme at Northwood in Santry in Dublin 9. The scheme, led by property investment firm Kategale, which is linked to British-based property development firm Westhill, is building a two to seven-storey block of 99 apartments, including a residents’ concierge desk, hot-desking space, meeting rooms, ESB sub-station and parking. The site is at the northeastern side of Northwood Avenue and Domville Wood on the old Ballymun Road. The Business Post, 11th June
Kilcock, Co Meath McGarrell Reilly Group has submitted a planning application to build a €124m mixed-use development in Kilcock, Co Meath. The development includes 530 residential units consisting of 454 houses and 76 apartments. Also included is a new 16-classroom primary school, community centre and crèche. The gross floor area of the proposed development is 676,748 sq. ft. The Business Post, 11th June
Westmoreland Street, Dublin 2 One Westmoreland is being offered to the market by CBRE at a guide price of €6m. The property comprises a six-storey building with full planning permission for the development of a 38-bedroom boutique hotel. The proposed hotel is set to include a ground-floor reception area and a cafe space with capacity for 40 covers. The Irish Times, 8th June
Monasterevin, Co Kildare Building works at Paddy McKillen and U2 frontman Bono’s €50m whiskey distillery and visitor centre along the banks of the Grand Canal on the site of Ballykelly Mills in Monasterevin, Co Kildare has been completed. Developed by McKillen’s Dublin-based company Jewelfield, the Church of Oak distillery and visitor centre spans 37,436 sq. ft. and involved restoring the 200-year-old building with the help of ODOS Architects. The Business Post, 11th June
Dundalk, Co Louth Kennedy Wilson, an American real estate investor, is preparing to bring Marshes Shopping Centre in Dundalk, Co Louth, to the market for an estimated €40m. Marshes, which was built at a cost of €150m in 2005 has big-name tenants including Penney, Dunnes Stores, H&M, River Island and JD Sports. The shopping centre, which has 285k sq. ft. of retail space, also includes development land with potential for a second phase of construction. Kennedy Wilson purchased Marshes in August 2014 for €44.5m. In 2017 the centre was part of a €284m refinancing that the American giant completed with Bank of Ireland across seven of its Irish assets. The refinancing extended the debt term and released €54m of equity for the company. It also owns the shopping centre Stillorgan Village in Dublin. The Sunday Times, 12th June
Clane and Newbridge, Co Kildare QRE Real Estate Advisers is seeking a combined guide price of €3.75m for two retail warehouse assets in Co Kildare. The first asset is located on the Dublin Road in Clane and extends to 25,000 sq. ft. over ground and mezzanine levels and comprises retail/warehouse space, and first-floor office accommodation. The asset is situated on a 1.61-acre site with extensive car parking and is held under freehold title. The entire property is let to Multi-Home Retail Limited, trading as The Choice under a 20-year FRI lease from May 1st, 2021. The passing rent is €200k pa. The guide price of €2.6m reflects a NIY of 7%.
The second property comprises Units 6E & 6F Cill Dara Industrial Estate in Newbridge. Unit 6E comprises 6,588 sq. ft. of trade-counter retail space and back-of-house warehouse space. Unit 6F extends to 2,099 sq. ft. and comprises ground-floor retail warehouse accommodation, with staff ancillary space. Unit 6E is let to Screwfix Direct (Ireland) Ltd on a 10-year lease with open-market rent reviews at a passing rent of €52k pa. Unit 6F is let to Crown Paints Ireland Ltd with 10 years of term-certain income, and open-market rent reviews at a passing rent of €28.5k pa. The combined rent for the two assets equates to €80.5k pa. The guide price of €1.15m reflects a NIY of 6.37%. The Irish Times, 8th June
Penney’s Flagship Store, Cork City Centre Plans for the redevelopment of Penney’s flagship store in Cork City centre have been delayed following an appeal. While planning permission was granted last month the decision is now being appealed by a third party. The plans included an increase in the store size by 17,000 sq. ft. to 54,000 sq. ft., with the project encompassing a site that stretches from Robert St to Cook St, and from St Patrick’s Street to Oliver Plunkett St. The grant of planning last month followed a lengthy consideration of the application lodged last August, which included a request for further information amid planners’ concerns about the scheme’s potential impact on the built heritage of the area. In response, Penneys said the redevelopment project would help reduce the number of vacant premises in the city. The Irish Examiner, 13th June
Clonskeagh, South Dublin La Francaise Real Estate Managers (REM) has secured its first healthcare asset in Ireland, paying €10.65m for Ballintaggart House in the south Dublin suburb of Clonskeagh. The acquisition of the property, which is let in its entirety to Sims IVF until March 31, 2033, will provide the French investor with a NIY of 4.77%. Ballintaggart House is a three-storey building comprising 19,558 sq. ft. of refurbished, high-quality accommodation in medical clinic use and 57 car parking spaces. The property sits on a substantial site of just under one acre. The subject property is well located in Clonskeagh and sits just 5km from Dublin city centre and a 10-minute drive from the M50 motorway. The Irish Times, 8th June
Kinsealy, North Co Dublin Works are under way on 32 detached two-storey houses: six at Greenwood Close, 16 at Greenwood Drive, and ten at Greenwood Park on Kinsealy Lane, in Kinsealy in north Co Dublin. The houses are part of a €7.9m housing development by Michael Woods’ Kinsealy Lane Ltd and Town Park Estates. The Business Post, 11th June
Ballincollig, Co Cork O’Flynn Construction has lodged a SHD application to build 123 apartment units and a crèche in Ballincollig, Co Cork. The proposed development includes 39 one-bed and 84 two-bed units. The overall floor area would be 112,579 sq. ft., and the estimated cost €19.7m. The Business Post, 11th June
Mallow, Co Cork Reside Capital has been granted planning permission to build 299 residential units comprising 185 two, three and four-bed houses; 50 one, two and three-bed apartments/duplex units; and 64 one and two-bed apartments in two four-storey blocks with basement parking and a 4,843 sq. ft. crèche/childcare facility in a scheme with an estimated cost of €52m at Annabella, Mallow, Co Cork. The Business Post, 11th June
Housing Construction, Ireland The number of new houses built is set to increase over coming years but will still fall short of the Government’s targets, according to predictions published by EY’s economic advisory arm. The firm estimates that house completions will rise to 25,000 this year, up from just under 20,500 in 2021. In a report compiled for the Euroconstruct industry forecasting network, EY estimates that completions will rise to 27,000 next year, and 32,000 in 2024, but these are still below the levels required to address the housing crisis as laid out in the State’s Housing for All plan. EY warns that rampant cost inflation in the construction sector is affecting the viability of many schemes and the challenges impacting upon the housing crisis are “gathering momentum”. The firm estimates that construction inflation will reach 10% this year, before slipping back to 6% in 2023 and 4% in 2024. Overall construction output this year is estimated by EY at €29.1bn, or c. 6.2% of the value of the economy as measured by GDP. Construction output last year was valued at €25.2bn, with much of the rise accounted for by inflation. The Business Post, 13th June
Housing Legislation, Fingal County Council Locals will have first refusal on the purchase of large numbers of affordable homes in north Dublin under new measures due to be voted on by Fingal county councillors on Monday. Councillors are expected to approve plans to give priority to housing applicants who can prove they have lived in Fingal for at least five years when allocating c. 30% off new affordable homes. An applicant does not have to be currently resident in Fingal and may have only lived in the area as a child, as long as they can prove they spent five years in the area. The Government’s affordable housing regulations introduced in April allow local authorities to use their discretion in allocating 30% of the homes in affordable purchase schemes to locals. Fingal’s priority scheme has already been approved by the Department of Housing and is expected to apply to all its affordable housing development from now on. The Irish Times, 13th June
Housing Legislation, Ireland A total of 16,000 new homes have been ring-fenced for individual buyers following a government ban on “bulk buying” by institutional investors. The planned sale of 115 homes in the Mullen Park estate in Maynooth estate to Round Hill Capital, a global investment firm, caused a political furore last year. It led to the government bringing in new legislation to impose a higher stamp duty charge of 10% on investment funds if they bought up ten or more houses in housing estates. New planning regulations were also introduced to prevent multiple housing and duplex units being sold to a single buyer. An Bord Pleanála has confirmed that the developers of 7,988 homes in 23 SHDs are banned from selling them in bulk under the conditions of planning permissions granted in the past 12 months. City and county councils have also imposed the same conditions on a further 7,895 homes which have got planning permission in the past 12 months, bringing the total number of homes ring-fenced for individual buyers to c. 16,000 homes. The Business Post, 9th June
Castlemartyr, East Cork Land within and beside an East Cork village’s boundary is up for sale, zoned for development, and with scope to deliver up to 200 new homes, subject to planning permission. Listed with Lisney, is a block of 33 acres guiding €2m, the equivalent of €10,000 per house ‘stand’. The Irish Examiner, 9th June
Clonburris, South Dublin Plans for the construction of 115 homes in the new Dublin suburb of Clonburris, just over half of which will be sold under the affordable housing scheme, have been approved by South Dublin county councillors. The council project will see 59 affordable purchase homes and 56 social homes built on a site just south of the Grand Canal and less than 10 minutes’ walk from Clondalkin train station. The low-rise estate will have 27 three- and four-bedroom houses, 42 apartments in two-storey blocks, 27 apartments in nine three-storey blocks, and a four-storey block of 19 apartments. The scheme will be the first developed by the council on its landholding in the new Clonburris Strategic Development Zone (SDZ), which is designated for more than 8,400 homes. The Irish Times, 13th June
Cabra, North Dublin Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has emerged victorious in her opposition to plans for a 117-unit BTR apartment scheme at the former Matt’s of Cabra pub site. This follows the appeals board refusing planning permission to R&D Developments Ltd for the 67 one-bed unit and 50 two-bed unit apartment scheme at Faussagh Avenue, Cabra. Planning consultants for R&D Developments Ltd, Thornton O’Connor Town Planning, contended that the scheme would provide suitable alternative housing accommodation types for people seeking residential accommodation in Dublin. However, in her objection, Ms. McDonald argued that the BTR development does not meet the needs of the local community, neither does it foster active citizenship. The scheme also faced opposition from a number of local residents. The refusal by the board follows a recommendation by Dublin City Council to deny planning permission. The Irish Times, 13th June
Lackaroe and Monkstown, Cork The appeals board has refused planning permission to O’Brien and O’Flynn for 171 units at a site 10km southeast of Cork city at Lackaroe and Monkstown, Passage West. The scheme — which faced local opposition — comprised 145 houses and 26 apartments. The appeals board refused permission after concluding that the scheme would endanger public safety by reason of traffic hazard. The Irish Times, 13th June
Nama made an average €30k profit from each of the 13,000 homes whose construction it backed since 2014, its chief executive, Brendan McDonagh, confirmed on Thursday. Nama, established 12 years ago to bail out Irish banks following the financial crash, will wind up its operations by the end of December 2025. Debtors still owe it €14bn in loans dating from a property bubble that precipitated the crash in 2008. In all, Nama has aided the building of 24,400 new homes in the Republic. Along with the 13,300 it financed, developers built a further 11,100 on sites where the agency got planning permission, funded enabling work or covered legal and other costs before selling the land. The agency expects to pay a total €4.5bn surplus to the State once it is wound up. Adding €400m in corporate taxes that it has already paid, its total contribution will be €4.9bn. The surplus will be what the agency has left after repaying its debts and covering its costs. In 2020 Nama repaid the €31.8bn it originally borrowed to buy the banks’ loans, leaving the agency with no liabilities. The Irish Times, 9th June
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Baggot Street, Dublin 4 The owner of AIB’s 52-54 Upper Baggot Street branch has instructed Turley Property Advisors to offer it to the market with full vacant possession for €3.2m. The agent expects to see interest from a range of developers, investors and owner occupiers given the building’s potential to facilitate several uses including a boutique hotel, supermarket or even a pub. The Irish Times, 1st JuneFitzwilliam Street, Dublin 2 Having engaged Cushman & Wakefield to secure an occupier for its Fitzwilliam Street offices on the basis of a lease assignment just four weeks ago, Slack’s new owner, US tech giant Salesforce, is understood to have received an approach from Savills on behalf of SMBC Aviation Capital for the entire building. While the talks are still at an early stage, should a deal be agreed between the parties, the IFSC-based aviation leasing specialist would take on the long-term lease Slack Technologies committed to in early 2020 at a rent of €7.7m pa. Having been acquired subsequently for €27.7bn by Salesforce, the workplace collaboration specialist will now relocate its entire operations to Salesforce’s new European headquarters in the city’s north docklands instead. The Fitzwilliam 28 scheme is owned by Amundi Real Estate, a specialist subsidiary of Europe’s leading asset manager Amundi, a company with c. €1.527tn in AUM. Amundi acquired Fitzwilliam 28 for €180m in November 2020. The Irish Times, 31st May
George’s Quay, Dublin City Centre Professional services consulting firm, Aon Ireland has agreed to pre-let c. 35,000 sq. ft. of office accommodation from Iput at Block B in the George’s Quay complex in Dublin city centre. While the deal will provide the company with sufficient space for over 300 workers, it will likely be a further two years before it occupies its new premises. Iput is set to carry out a full refurbishment of Aon’s new offices in the interim as part of its plans for the redevelopment of the five-storey building. Block B had been occupied in recent years by Ulster Bank as part of its wider headquarter operations at George’s Quay. Iput secured planning permission in November 2020 to add two floors to the property, increasing its overall floor area from 56,188 sq. ft. to 84,464 sq. ft. The approved development also provides for the addition of a new facade to the building along with the development of a café facing on to Georges Quay at ground-floor level. The Irish Times, 31st May
Dawson Street, Dublin 2 American software giant ServiceNow has signed a 12-year lease with private real estate investment management firm, MARK, and BCP Asset Management to let space at 60 Dawson Street, a new 144,990 sq. ft. Grade A office development in Dublin city centre. ServiceNow will take a little over 89,986 sq. ft. across the top four floors and will make its offices at 60 Dawson Street its Irish headquarters. The Business Post, 4th June
Rathmines, Dublin 6 A mixed-use investment property in Dublin’s southside suburbs has been brought to the market by Knight Frank at a price of €3.5m. Extending to 6,250 sq. ft., it comprises a ground floor retail unit and nine residential units above. At a guide price of excess €3.5m, its total passing income of c.€286k equates to a gross return of 8.2%. Spar grocery occupies the entire ground floor with storage to the back. Its lease extends to May 2031 with an annual rent roll of €75k. The residential units generate c.€184k per year and these are one-bedroom flats, studios and three-bed duplexes. An advertising sign on the gable wall generates €26k pa. The Irish Independent, 2nd June
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Cork City The Rendezvous Bar, a long-standing fixture of Cork City’s suburban pub trade, is up for sale for €2m. Occupying 0.4 acres on Model Farm Rd selling agent Casey & Kingston expects “considerable interest”. The two-storey 6,757 sq. ft. over basement premises includes bar/restaurant on the ground floor, with a fully fitted kitchen and toilets overhead and cold rooms and storage in the basement. During the pandemic, the business created more seating outdoors and can now accommodate 200 customers to the front of the building. Inside, the bar area can seat 180. Parking for c. 25 cars is out back. The pub last sold four years ago when Joe O’Sullivan, with experience in the trade, bought it for c. €1.5m. It had gone to market for €1.25m. The Irish Examiner, 2nd June
Hatch Street, Dublin 2 The owner of Ashford Castle has secured planning permission for a boutique five-star 60-bedroom hotel for the capital. An Bord Pleanála granted planning permission to Red Carnation Hotels (UK) Ltd for the conversion and extension of a former Jesuit university students’ residence at Hatch Hall into the hotel. The plan, which includes a new eight-storey extension, was put on hold last year after a resident lodged an appeal against the Dublin City Council decision to give the project the green light. The Irish Times, 3rd June
College Green, Dublin 2 Hawksmoor, the upmarket British steakhouse chain, is adding Dublin to its slate, opening a restaurant in a former Bank of Ireland building on College Green. The chain will be taking over Abercrombie and Fitch’s previous abode. Plans lodged with Dublin City Council last week ask to change its use from a retail space to a licensed restaurant. No. 34 College Green belongs to Clarendon Properties, owned by Paddy McKillen and Tony Leonard. The Sunday Times, 6th June
Harcourt Developments Shopping Centre Portfolio The sale of a €100m+ portfolio of Irish shopping centres is about to get under way. The six regional centres are owned by Harcourt Developments, Donegal developer Pat Doherty’s property company. Harcourt Developments has been trying to refinance debt held against the assets since last year, a process complicated by the impact of the pandemic on retailers. Apollo Global Management bought loans attached to the centres from Nama in 2017. The current process is understood to be a consensual sale by Harcourt Developments and Apollo. The portfolio includes Donaghmede shopping centre in Dublin, the Longwalk centre in Dundalk, Co Louth, and the Letterkenny shopping centre in Donegal. JLL, who is advising on the sale, is understood to be exploring the sale of the six assets as a portfolio and in individual lots. React News, 1st June
Celbridge, Co Kildare A property group owned by Eric Kinsella, is investing €100m in a new logistics park in Co Kildare. Esprit Investments has applied for permission from Kildare County Council to build 11 warehouses and light industrial units on a site off the M4 motorway in the townlands of Mooretown and Crodaun, Celbridge. The industrial estate will total 290,625 sq. ft. The Sunday Times, 6th June
Brookfield Road, Dublin 8 A development site on Brookfield Road, which extends to 0.6 acres and has full planning permission for 79 apartments is being offered for sale by Savills at a guide price of €6.75m. The permitted scheme comprises a mix of 14 studios, 48 one-bedroom and 17 two-bedroom apartments. The various unit types extend to an average floor area of 422 sq. ft., 496 sq. ft. and 830 sq. ft. respectively. The approved scheme will benefit from 6,795 sq. ft. of residential amenity space. The planning permission also provides for 18 car parking spaces, two motorcycle spaces and 140 bicycle spaces all at lower ground-floor level, while a further 26 bicycle spaces are to be provided at surface level. The Irish Times, 1st June
Ranelagh Road, Dublin 6 CBRE is inviting offers of c. €5.6m (GIY 6%) for a residential portfolio comprises 16 apartments within a Georgian period property located at 74-75 Ranelagh Road. All units which have been refurbished to what the selling agent describes as an “exceptional standard”. The portfolio – a mix of four studios, 11 one-bedroom apartments and one three-bedroom apartment – is fully income-producing, with one unit retained vacant for show purposes. The projected tabilized gross rental income is c. €337k pa, assuming 100% occupancy. The Irish Times, 1st June
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Nama Land Sales Nama has sold 13,536 acres of land since 2011 with a potential for 86,145 homes to be developed on it but to date, fewer than 11,000 units have been built, new figures from the Department of Finance show. The bulk of the Nama land and potential residential units were in Dublin, Cork, Kildare, Wicklow, Meath, Galway and Louth. Cork County Council saw the biggest area of land sold through Nama disposals (3,138 acres) with a potential for 11,669 residential units. 780 acres with a potential for 11,792 units were sold in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown while Dublin City Council accounted for 415 acres of Nama land sales with a potential for 11,240 units. Fingal County Council accounted for 1,300 acres with a potential for 9,890 residential units while Meath County Council accounted for 1,403 acres with a potential for 8,679 units. The estimate of potential units was based on planning permission where a suitable permission was granted or estimates from planning consultants until the time Nama’s security over the property was sold. The Irish Times, 6th June
Brennanstown Road, Dublin 18 The Glendruid Dolmen Public Group (GDPG) has hit out at plans to construct 534 BTR apartments close to a site containing the Glendruid portal tomb in south Dublin. The scheme by Cairn Homes Properties Ltd is across eight blocks with one block up to 10 storeys in height on a site at Winterbrook and Barrington Tower, Brennanstown Road, Dublin 18. The scheme comprises 30 studios, 135 one-bed units, 318 two-bed units and 51 three-bed units. Planning documents lodged with the Strategic Housing Development (SHD) state that the scheme is “of a very high-quality design and with ready access to amenities such as resident lounges, entertainment space, gyms and cinema rooms, while also being located close to good quality public transport”. More than 20 objections have been lodged against the proposal. A decision is due on the scheme in August. The Irish Times, 1st June
East Road, Dublin 1 Investment management firm Harrison Street and pan-European real estate investment manager Eagle Street have formed a joint venture to develop a BTR scheme with 554 residential units at East Road in Dublin’s north docklands. Eagle Street, founded by Justin Bickle and Shane Scully, will serve as developer of the project through its operating platform, Resident Space, the two companies said. The lands at 1-4 East Road came with full planning permission for the 554 apartments, which will be distributed across nine buildings ranging in height from three to 15 storeys. The development will also include 43,162 sq. ft. of commercial space comprising offices, a cafe, a daycare facility and retail units. The Irish Times, 1st June
Ballincollig, Cork Plans for 123 apartments at a site in Ballincollig have been unveiled. O’Flynn Construction Co Unlimited Company has applied for permission for a SHD scheme at Old Fort Road, Ballincollig. The 3-acre site is located north of the Main St in Ballincollig. The development includes proposals for 123 apartments in three blocks, ranging in height from three to six storeys. They will all be one and two-bed apartments. The new application includes, a creche/childcare facility, internal residential amenity space and multi-purpose amenity room are proposed, while the developers also propose set-down areas, footpaths, a cycle lane, and table-top junction arrangement, and associated amenities for pedestrian/cyclist facilities. The Irish Examiner, 1st June
New Tax Breaks, Ireland Small landlords would be incentivised to charge cheaper rents in return for being taxed less, under proposals set to be considered by the government. Officials at the Department of Finance are conducting a review of the tax treatment of landlords and are due to deliver a report in the coming months. Their findings will then feed into the tax strategy papers for the upcoming budget. It is understood a tax incentive for so-called “mom and pop” or small landlords is one of the key measures under consideration and, if implemented, would require the property owner to charge rents a certain percentage below the relevant market rate to qualify for the scheme. There is a growing appetite in government to address the tax treatment of small landlords, who currently pay up to 52% in tax on rental earnings. The latest Daft rental report showed that average rents had risen by 12% in the first quarter of this year to close to €1,570 per month. The Business Post, 5th June
BlackBee Investments, a prominent seller of property investment to retail clients, is winding down operations by restructuring its extensive property assets and disposing of its European licence to offer investments to the public. It follows the settlement of a dispute with management at its Aperee nursing homes business that had obstructed the sale of most of Aperee’s properties to a large European real estate fund. The decision by one of the country’s largest alternative investment managers to exit the business was influenced by rising interest rates, according to sources. Agreement is believed to be imminent on the sale of its regulated business to a British investment firm that plans to use the Central Bank licence to establish a presence in Ireland and to passport investment services from Ireland into other EU markets. BlackBee is also reassessing its property portfolio, assembled over the past seven years, with a view to “disposing or restructuring” some of the assets, which include residential and commercial real estate as well as nursing homes, according to sources. Its most valuable assets include offices at the Parkgate business park in Dublin and iNua Hospitality, a chain of hotels in regional centres including Radisson Blu hotels in Cork, Limerick, Athlone and Sligo. BlackBee’s residential property interests include plans for a BTR apartment scheme on the site of the former Quinn’s pub in Drumcondra in Dublin. The Sunday Times, 5th June
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Patrick’s Street, Cork The owners of the Savoy on Cork’s Patrick’s Street have secured a tenant for the former Quills store. The Clarendon Group, owners of the complex, have lodged a fresh planning application to reconfigure the internal layout of the historic building, significantly enlarging the former Quills store, incorporating some of the smaller units that were located within the centre. A former barbershop, travel agent and juice shop would all be amalgamated into unit number two, resulting in a significantly larger retail unit. The Savoy Centre has been vacant for some years. Planning was granted in 2018 to merge the former A Wear unit fronting onto Patrick’s Street with the sports shop to the rear of the shopping centre to form one large JD Sports retail outlet. The identity of the future tenant has not been disclosed. Their arrival on Patrick’s Street is expected to provide a significant boost to an area severely impacted by the Covid pandemic. The Irish Examiner, 25th June
Chandos One of the state’s largest retail landlords is currently pursuing six high-street outlets through the courts and is seeking to settle rent disputes with these tenants through summary judgment. Chandos Investments, a real-estate fund set up in 2014 by Goodbody, owns the Bloomfield Shopping Centre in Dún Laoghaire as well as Kilbarrack Shopping Centre in Dublin 5 and retail parks in Dundalk, Co Louth, Blackrock, Co Cork and the Showgrounds Shopping Centre in Clonmel, Co Tipperary. Over the past year the fund has launched legal proceedings against six high-profile retail outlets: Heatons, The Art & Hobby Shop, Boots, Regatta, Easons and Bushgrove, a subsidiary of Euro General, the discount chain. Chandos have retained JW O’Donovan LLP, the Cork city law firm, to represent them in these cases. Financial filings for the company for the year ending June 2020 show the impact of the pandemic on the retail sector. Chandos now values its entire portfolio at €227 million down from €253 million, in the year ending June 2019. Its total rental income across the two sub-funds was €21.3 million; this is down from €22.2 million on the year previous. The Business Post, 27th June
Core Portfolio Having offered the Core portfolio to the market in April, CBRE and Eastdil are understood to have selected four international investors to advance to the next round of the sales process. It is understood that the remaining parties M7 Real Estate, Palm Capital, Arrow Capital Partners, and Ares Management have submitted offers of up to €150 million. While those numbers are below the €170 million figure the joint selling agents had been guiding when they offered the portfolio for sale, should a sale be completed at the lower level, it would still represent a significant uplift on the valuation Core had ascribed to its assets in 2018. In an announcement published in advance of its then-proposed IPO, the company said its 106 industrial assets and 167 acres of land (of which 36.7 acres were zoned for development) in the greater Dublin area had a value of €82.9 million in total as at November 30th, 2017. It is understood the portfolio now being offered for sale differs in terms of its composition. The Irish Times, 23rd June
Lexlip, Kildare German-headquartered logistics provider DB Schenker has acquired 14.2 acres of land at the Liffey Business Campus in Leixlip, Co Kildare for a new logistics facility. The site at the former Hewlett Packard campus will be used to accommodate a new 219,000sq ft unit comprising a 200,000sq ft of warehouse and 19,000sq ft of offices, along with room for a further 50,000sq ft expansion to support the growth of the company’s customers in the technology and healthcare markets. The new unit will occupy a high-profile position within the wider Liffey Business Campus, which the Swiss-based investor Stoneweg purchased from BlackRock Real Estate Assets and the O’Flynn Group for €100 million earlier this year. DB Schenker is understood to have agreed the acquisition of its 14.2 acre site from BlackRock and the O’Flynn Group for around €5.7 million prior to their sale of the wider campus. Agent CBRE has been appointed by DB Schenker as project manager for the new site, which has already secured full planning permission from Kildare County Council. The Irish Times, 23rd June
Farnham Court, Cavan Both private and institutional investors will be interested in the sale of a residential rental portfolio which is being offered for sale by online auction specialist, BidX1. The portfolio, which comprises 58 of the 60 apartments at the Farnham Court scheme in Cavan, is guiding at a price of €4.5 million or an average of €77,586 per unit. Distributed across the development’s two blocks, the portfolio is fully occupied (with one apartment kept vacant in order to facilitate viewings during the sale process) and is generating €458,400 in rental income per annum. The guide price reflects a gross yield of 10.2 per cent. Farnham Court occupies a landscaped site of almost 1 hectare (2.5 acres) amid mature woodland. The scheme is situated just 1km from Cavan town centre and 600m from Cavan General Hospital. The Irish Times, 23rd June
Blessington, Wicklow Agent DNG is guiding a price of €4.5 million for a ready-to-go residential development site in the long-established commuter town of Blessington, Co Wicklow. The subject property, known as Burgage Castle, comes for sale with full planning permission for 54 houses and two apartments on a site of 1.867 hectares (4.61 acres). The approved scheme, which has been designed by architects Kruger Lyons, comprises a mix of semi-detached and detached houses with generous living accommodation and options for additional bedrooms in the properties’ extended roof spaces. The Irish Times, 23rd June
Dublin Docklands Glenveagh Properties has sold a Premier Inn hotel site in the Dublin docklands to German investor Union Investment. The Dublin-listed company sold the planned 262-bedroom hotel site as part of an approximately €70m forward-funding arrangement that will result in Union Investment taking ownership of the hotel. In a statement, Glenveagh said The Premier Inn hotel will form a “key component” of a wider mixed-use development at Castleforbes in the docklands. This development also includes 1,256 apartments and 135,000 sq. ft. of office space known as the Freight Building. Construction of the hotel will begin next month, and it is scheduled to be ready for business in autumn 2023. The Irish Independent, 25th June
Thurles, Tipperary A residential development site in Thurles, Co Tipperary, has been brought to the market with a guide price of €2.1m. In May 2008, Tipperary County Council granted planning permission for the construction of 173 residential units on the site – 131 houses and 42 duplexes. This permission has since lapsed. The entire site extends to about 14.37 acres and is zoned Existing Residential under the Thurles Town and Environs Development Plan 2009 as varied in May 2017. It is situated within a 1km walk of the town centre, which provides a wide range of shops, restaurants and bars. Additionally, Thurles Shopping Centre, which is anchored by Dunnes Stores and accommodates 24 other shops, is also in close proximity. The Irish Independent, 25th June
Kinsealy & Delgany Three sites have been launched to the market with one being in Kinsealy, North Dublin and the other two in Delgany, Co. Wicklow. The Kinsealy site is located on Kinsealey Lane in close proximity to the village itself and 4km south of Malahide. The property comes with full planning permission for 32 four-bed detached houses, with each dwelling extending to 1,830 sq ft. The Kinsealy site is being offered for sale on behalf of a private client with a guide price of €4.5 million. The two sites in Delgany, meanwhile, have been placed on the market on the instructions of receiver BDO at prices of €1.9 million and €5.75 million each. The properties at Convent Road and Kindlestown House offer the potential for the delivery of 19 and 58 residential units respectively, according to the feasibility studies prepared in advance of the sale. Both sites fall under the Greystones, Delgany & Kilcoole Local Area Plan 2013–2019 (still in effect), and are zoned “existing residential”, the purpose of which is “to protect, provide for and improve residential amenities of adjoining properties and areas while allowing for infill residential development that reflects the established character of the area in which it is located”. The Irish Times, 23rd June
Whitehall, Dublin 9 An Bord Pleanála has rejected ‘fast track’ plans for a €200 million apartment complex scheme on Dublin’s northside. The appeals board has refused planning permission to Kieran Gannon’s Eastwise Group for the 475 apartments after concluding that the Strategic Housing Development (SHD) scheme did not meet the zoning objective of retaining 20% of the lands as accessible open space. The scheme – made up of seven blocks ranging in height from four to eight storeys – was to be located on the Swords Road between Drumcondra and Santry, Hartfield Place at Whitehall, Dublin 9. It was reported earlier this year that German fund Patrizia AG was closing in on the forward purchase of the development for a figure in excess of €200 million. RTE News, 28th June
Chatham Street, Dublin 2 Lioncor is to begin construction within the coming weeks of a new visitor centre and offices for the European Parliament on Chatham Street in Dublin city centre. News of the commencement of works on the site of the former Chatham House follows formal approval yesterday from the EU’s Committee on Budgets to acquire the new building for €42.7 million. Having purchased Chatham House for a reported €10.6 million in 2019, Lioncor looks to be in line for a significant return on its original investment even after the estimated €20 million cost of developing the EU’s new Dublin premises is factored in. While the new six-storey building, which is scheduled for completion in November 2023, will serve principally as the European Parliament’s liaison office in Ireland, it will also feature the Europa Experience, the aim of which will be to educate visitors in relation to the EU’s work. The Irish Times, 23rd June
Applegreen, Dublin 6 An Applegreen petrol station on the Clonskeagh Road in south Dublin has been put up for sale. Located just minutes from both Donnybrook and Ranelagh villages, Belfield and Richview office parks, and UCD, the subject property is being offered to the market by agent Colliers at a guide price of €3.5 million. The investment, which comprises a petrol filling service station on a site of .21 acres, is held on a 21-year lease from July 2013 with just over 13 years remaining to lease expiry and no break options. The passing rent is €247,500 a year, with the next rent review in July 2024. The guide price equates to a net initial yield of 6.4 per cent, after allowing for standard purchaser’s costs of 9.46 per cent. The Irish Times, 23rd June
Fortwell Capital Fortwell Capital, a British-based lender to property investors and developers, has launched its services in the Irish market with a €21 million construction loan to Red Rock Developments Ltd, the property company led by Irish developer Keith Craddock. Fortwell has teamed up with Dublin-based real estate investment, development and finance specialist Warren Private, which will act as Fortwell’s Irish partner in origination and underwriting. Fortwell is seeking to establish a €300 million Irish loan book and is structuring loan sizes of €10 million to €50 million to support the purpose-built residential, retirement living/care homes and commercial sectors, identifying experienced developers requiring leverage of up to 75 per cent loan-to-value or 85 per cent loan-to-cost. Loan terms will extend up to 36 months. Red Rock Developments will use the new Fortwell construction facility, which is also Fortwell Capital’s first loan outside Britain, to develop its inaugural hotel, a 113-bedroom scheme on Gloucester Street in Dublin’s central business district, pre-let to Premier Inn and offering panoramic views of the River Liffey and across Dublin city. The Business Post, 27th June
Athenry, Galway Apple, the technology giant, is set to make a second attempt to develop an €850 million data centre in Athenry, Co Galway. The US company has submitted a fresh application to Galway County Council seeking a five-year extension to the planning permission it was first awarded in 2016 to develop a data centre on the 490-acre site it owns at Derrydonnell. Planning permission for the centre is set to expire in September this year and Apple is seeking to extend planning approval to 2026, according to documents seen by the Business Post. Apple, the world’s largest technology company, abandoned its original plans to develop an €850 million data centre at the Athenry site due to delays in the Irish planning process after the project became mired in controversy and legal challenges. In April 2019, the Supreme Court dismissed an appeal by two local residents who had challenged An Bord Pleanála’s decision to approve the development of a data centre campus. Apple had already abandoned the project by the time the Supreme Court made its ruling. Instead, the US company said it would build a second data centre at an existing site it operated in Denmark. However, Apple never constructed a second data centre in Denmark and the company now looks set to try for a second time to develop the Athenry site. The Business Post, 27th June
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Fonthill Business Park, Dublin 22 DCC subsidiary, Exertis Ireland, has agreed terms for a new headquarter facility at Fonthill Business Park. The deal will see the assignment of the lease on Unit 21 on behalf of Healthcare 21 following its decision to relocate to a new warehouse off the Naas Road. While the lease on Exertis Ireland’s new premises has just over two years to go to expiry, the company will have the right to apply to renew it. In making the move to Fonthill, Exertis will benefit from a rent that is well below current market levels at €650,000 per annum. The figure equates to just €7.53 per sq. ft for two years. Unit 21 comprises a modern detached premise of 86,252 sq. ft on a site of 1.65 hectares (4.07 acres). The unit’s 10m-high warehouse extends to 52,679 sq. ft with an additional 3,638 sq. ft of sub-mezzanine space. The Irish Times, 16th June
M50 Business Park With Exertis Ireland’s move to Fonthill now imminent, its current office and logistics facility at the M50 Business Park in Ballymount, Dublin 12 is being offered to the market by FJ Frisby & Associates at a guide price of €9 million. The unit comprises 4,569 sq. m, including 24,000sq ft of office space, on a 1.32-hectare (3.3 acre) site with parking for 184 cars. The property comes for sale with full planning permission for the construction of a new 13,700 sq. ft warehouse extension with an ancillary trading area, offices, staff site entrance, and the reconfiguration of the existing car park. The Irish Times, 16th June
Glanmire, Cork Planners have given the go-ahead for the €6m expansion of the Vienna Woods Country House Hotel. The expansion, which will add 42 bedrooms to the existing 45, will be the second major investment in the hotel, which has already undergone a €5m upgrade since 2006. There are also plans to add a spa, as well as a 25-seat cinema, a virtual golf facility, and a cardio workout/gym area. The extension will not interfere with the original house, a listed building dating back to 1756. Vienna Woods Country House Hotel, on 22 acres of woodland in Glanmire, is a 15-minute drive from Cork City centre. The Irish Examiner, 17th June
Courtown, Co Wexford While the price paid by Active Tribe for the Courtown Adventure & Leisure Centre has not been disclosed, The Irish Times understands the complex changed hands for in excess of €1 million. The sale of the property was handled by agent JLL on behalf of Neil Hughes and Conor Noone of Baker Tilly. The Courtown facility comprises a wide range of amenities, including a 25m indoor swimming pool, a spa pool, a 65m water slide, gym, two high rope courses, a climbing wall, dual zip wires and a forest walk. The complex also incorporates a standalone seal visitor and rehabilitation centre, which is operated under licence by Seal Rescue Ireland (licensee not affected). The sale of the property also included a 53-acre land holding, which contains lands zoned “commercial leisure”, “open space and amenity” and “natural amenity” under the Courtown and Riverchapel Local Area Plan. The Irish Times, 16th June
Dundrum, Dublin Conversion of the old Dundrum Shopping Centre lands from retail to a mainly residential development has been copper fastened by two recent moves by the owners of Dundrum Retail Limited Partnership (DRLP), the Business Post reports. The redevelopment project is a joint venture between Hammerson and Allianz. A Hammerson spokesperson told the paper it expected to undertake a pre-application Strategic Housing Development submission to An Bord Pleanála within the next six months with a full application to follow. In advance of that, DRLP has requested DLRCC to amend its draft development plan in relation to the site of the old shopping centre. It requested that the plan says the redevelopment would be “predominantly” residential. The Business Post, 20th June
Montague Street, Dublin 2 An investment property with ground floor retail and five overhead apartments in Dublin city centre is for sale with a €1.9 million guide price. All five apartments are vacant, as is one of its two retail units. Located at 4 and 4A Montague Street, the four-storey terraced property is positioned on a route linking Wexford Street and Camden Street with Harcourt Street. Selling agent Eamonn Maguire estimates that the 4,100 sq. ft building could generate open-market rents totalling €166,000 pa. At ground level a 700 sq. ft fully fitted restaurant trades as Café Bliss. The adjoining 390 sq. ft retail unit had been occupied as Jack’s Barbers. At first- and second-floor levels there are four one-bedroom apartments ranging in size from 476 sq. ft to 585 sq. ft. At third-floor level is a two-bedroom 935 sq. ft penthouse. The Irish Independent, 17th June
Malahide, Co. Dublin Colliers is guiding a price of €2.2 million for a fully let investment opportunity in the sought-after coastal town. Numbers 5 and 6 St James’s Terrace (8,911 sq. ft) are let to 16 separate tenants at a passing rent of €133,920 per annum. The tenant mix includes Jaipur Restaurant and Natural Organic. No 5 St James’s Terrace includes a self-contained restaurant in the basement and a hairdresser on the ground floor. The basement and ground floor of 6 St James’s Terrace comprises individual office suites, and a gym. The first and second floors of the two buildings are interlinking and are laid out in a mix of individual office suites and consultation rooms. While the property is currently in office use mostly, the agent says it could easily lend itself to conversion for hotel or residential use, subject to planning permission. The property overlooks Malahide’s beach, yacht and tennis club and is situated within a short walk of a host of local amenities. The Irish Times, 16th June
Park West, Dublin 12 QRE Real Estate Advisers is handling the sale of Block 17 in the Park West Business Campus in Dublin 12, for which it is seeking €3.5 million. The building is let in its entirety to Petrogas Group trading as Applegreen and serves as the global headquarters for the publicly listed Irish service station operator. Applegreen occupies Block 17 on the basis of a 20-year and one-month lease from August 2007 at an annual rent of €352,540, with a break option in January 2024 subject to six months’ prior written notice and a six-month rental and service charge penalty. Block 17 comprises a modern three-storey office building of some 27,340 sq. ft. The property provides a mixture of open plan and cellular office space and comes with 36 surface car spaces. The guide price reflects a net initial yield of 9.16 per cent based on a contracted rent of €352,540 pa. The Business Post, 20th June
Foley Street, Dublin, 1 Agent Colliers is guiding a price of €2.55 million for a fully let office investment in Dublin city centre. The sale of the third floor of Ulysses House (6,740 sq. ft) on Foley Street offers the prospective purchaser the opportunity to secure long-term rental income from a strong tenant in a well-established location. Ulysses House is within a short walk of the IFSC, the north docklands, Henry Street and O’Connell Street. The subject property is fully let to Moore, a leading accountancy and advisory services firm, on a 15-year lease from January 2016, at a passing rent of €182,500 per annum. The guide price reflects a net initial yield of 6.5 per cent. The Irish Examiner, 16th June
Arts Centre, Dublin 2 The sale of the former City Arts Centre on Dublin’s City Quay has seen strong interest from a number of the country’s biggest developers. Having been brought to the market at a guide price of €35 million, the property which has lain dormant for the past 18 years is understood to have attracted bids of up to €40 million. RQTwo, RGRE, Marlet Property Group and Hines are understood to be among the parties to have submitted offers for the last remaining waterfront site in the city’s docklands. While little has happened with the property since it was last sold in 2003 for €4.2 million, the area surrounding the building has been transformed. A feasibility study drawn up by RKD Architects in preparation for the site’s sale by Savills suggests it could accommodate a 145,000sq ft (net) office development, subject to planning permission. The Irish Times, 16th June
Charlemont House, Dublin 2 The four-storey office building of 9,294 sq. ft is being offered to the market on behalf of Kennedy Wilson at a guide price of €6.5 million. Charlemont House comes for sale fully let to Glennon Insurance at a contracted rent of €367,210 per annum. The firm signed a new 10-year lease with no break option from July 2020. Charlemont House occupies a high-profile position overlooking Dublin’s Grand Canal and immediately adjacent to the Luas green line stop at Charlemont. The area is home already to a number of high-profile corporates while Amazon is due to take occupation shortly of a new 170,000sq ft campus at Charlemont Square. The Irish Times, 16th June
Beech Hill Office Park, Clonskeagh The 42,000 sq. ft property, which had until recently served as the Irish headquarters of global telecommunications company, Ericsson, is being offered to the market on behalf of the Layden Group at a guide price of €10 million. Joint selling agents Knight Frank and JLL believe it will hold a particular appeal to those parties seeking a value-add opportunity as the prospective purchaser will also have the benefit of a speculative development site immediately adjacent to the existing property. The current owner has secured planning permission for a five-storey, 34,250sq ft office development. Boole House itself comprises efficient floor plates of 14,000sq ft that could be further sub-divided, if required. There are also 89 car parking spaces available with the building. The Irish Times, 16th June
House Prices Irish house price inflation rose for the 4th consecutive month in April to 4.5% YoY according to official CSO data released last week. This is the fastest rate of growth since January 2019 and house prices now sit 14% below their 2007 peak. Prices grew 0.8% mom both in and outside of Dublin, with annual house price growth reaching 3.5% and 5.3%, respectively. There has, however, been a recent increase in price momentum in the Dublin market, with annualised growth in the past three months rising to c.10%. The robust demand trends seen in April’s mortgage approval data leads Goodbody’s Economics team forecast 5% house price inflation for 2021. Goodbody’s also note that there is some evidence of increased mobility due to new working-from-home trends. The strongest growth in home sales in the year to date is in the Midlands (+32%), while Dublin (-16%) continues to lag in both the new (-42%) and second-hand market (-5%). The fall in new home sales may be a reflection of a decline in new supply in Dublin. Central Statistics Office & Goodbody Stockbrokers, 16th June
Investment Funds Purchase of New Homes New information published by the CSO sheds more light on who is purchasing new homes. In 2020, there were 11,519 new homes purchased (-12% YoY). Just 61% of these new homes were purchased by households, with the remaining 39% purchased by “non-households”. This is up from 34% in 2019 and the highest share since the data began in 2010. Crucially, the public sector (Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs), Local Authorities etc) were the biggest non-household purchasers of new homes last year, buying 21% of the new homes sold. The finance and real estate sectors bought 10% of new homes combined. The narrative that funds are buying up vast swathes of new housing is incorrect; the inability of the government to ramp up its own building programme sufficiently is leading to a situation where it is competing for homes with the private sector. Central Statistics Office & Goodbody Stockbrokers, 16th June
Goatstown, Dublin 14 An Bord Pleanála has turned down planning permission for the eight-storey €186 million development in Goatstown. In its ruling, An Bord Pleanála concluded that the 299 unit proposal would result in a visually dominant and over-bearing form of development. The apartment scheme on the 4.6-acre site was made up of four apartment blocks ranging from five to eight storeys in height and proposed to retain the Goat bar and grill. In total, 148 submissions were lodged with the board, including ones from several residents’ associations in the area vehemently opposed to the scheme. As part of the plan, Mr Chawke’s firm put an indicative price tag of €16.4m on 30 apartments it was proposing to sell to the county council to comply with social housing requirements. The company was planning to sell 17 one-bedroom and 13 two-bedroom apartments to the council and put an indicative price range of €408,237 to €595,028 on the one-bedroom apartments. The indicative cost of the two-bedroom apartments was €676,169 to €768,297. The Irish Independent, June 18th
Planning Crisis The ‘fast track’ planning system for housing is in crisis with “an immediate and lengthy timing risk” to plans for more than 60,000 housing units. Several planning and construction sources told the Sunday Independent that because permission for so many new homes has been overturned by the High Court, planners have downed tools and strategic housing developments (SHDs) has come to a complete halt. Plans for thousands of homes due to enter the SHD planning system have been “put on ice” because of the growing logjam, said sources. Planning permission for 7,500 homes has been overturned by High Court judicial reviews, with 6,500 awaiting reviews. Ominously, a recent referral to the European Commission, puts at risk up to 64,000 units that are at various stages of planning. The article quotes an analysis by Tom Philips Associates that has calculated that 92% of judicial reviews into Strategic Housing Developments (SHDs) since 2018 have resulted in plans being quashed. Sunday Independent, June 20th
Merrion Road, Dublin 4 The property developer Bartra has won approval to build a €25 million co-living scheme on Merrion Road in Ballsbridge, Dublin 4. An Bord Pleanala has gone against its inspector’s report to permit the construction of the development, which will comprise 99 bed spaces in a three- to five-storey building. Bartra originally applied to Dublin city council for 111 bed spaces on the half-acre site but the local authority granted permission for 93. There were 38 objections to that application. Bartra must ditch five of its bed spaces to enlarge the communal kitchens/dining rooms. The development must also be owned and operated by an “institutional entity” for a minimum period of 15 years. Any move after that to sell units individually will need planning permission. The Sunday Times, 20th June
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The Park Collection Sale Joint agents Savills and Cushman & Wakefield are selling The Park Collection on behalf of Marathon Asset Management, quoting a guide price in excess of €78 million for the entire. The collection comprises three established retail parks at Belgard Retail Park in Dublin, M1 Retail Park in Louth and Poppyfield Retail Park in Tipperary which are also available for sale individually. Belgard Retail Park is fully occupied and anchored by B&Q. Other occupiers include Home Store + More, Dealz, Carpet Right, Halfords, Right Style Furniture, Burger King Drive Thru and Starbucks. There is surface car parking for 482 cars. The total current annual rent is c.€3.13 million with a Wault (weighted average unexpired lease term) of 7.3 years. Poppyfield Retail Park is a dominant retail park occupying a pivotal location on the western side of Clonmel town. Woodie’s DIY and SuperValu are the anchor tenants and other noteworthy businesses in the park include Harry Corry, Maxi Zoo, EZ Living, World of Wonder and D.I.D Electrical. The total current rental income is c.€1.43 million per annum and a Wault of about seven years. M1 Retail Park, is located just off the M1 Motorway in Drogheda. Much of the scheme constitutes retail and leisure use (89 per cent) and is anchored by Woodie’s DIY. The park boasts a strong and diverse range of tenants including Smyth’s Toys, Sports Direct/Brand Max, Dealz, Equipet and EZ Living, among others. The total current rent is c.€2.44 million per annum with a Wault of 8.4 years. The Business Post, 13th June
New Look The Sunday Times report that New Look has agreed deals with some of its landlords, months after it lost an application for an examiner to be appointed to its Irish operations. A recent filing on the property price register shows that the company has entered a five-year lease at an average annual rent of €300,000 for its Wilton Shopping Centre store in Cork. It was previously paying €365,000. It has also struck deals with its landlords at Opera Lane and Blackpool in Cork, the Square and Northside shopping centres in Dublin and Cruise Street in Limerick. Property sources say the register filings may indicate base rents only, and that leases are on flexible terms. The Sunday Times, 13th June
Adidas, Kildare Village Adidas will open its first standalone Irish store in Kildare Village this autumn. The German sportswear brand will open the shop in the so-called phase three project, a multimillion-euro development that will add 31 new brands and a multistorey car park to the outlet shopping complex. It is estimated that the new development will create 500 jobs. A number of new brands are scheduled to open at the outlet. Irish athleisure brand Gym+Coffee opened a shop there. Fashion brands Pinko and Zadig & Voltaire and footwear chain Skechers are due to open locations this summer, alongside Murphy’s Ice Cream. The Sunday Times, 13th June
South West Business Park Industrial and logistics specialist Rohan Holdings has launched its latest business park in south Dublin. The commencement of works on South West Business Park, as it will be known, will bring Rohan’s pipeline of speculative logistics units either available or under construction to 500,000sq ft by the end of this year. Located on the R136 outer ring road, off the M7, the new scheme will account for just over 300,000sq ft of that space upon completion. The planning application for the first four units at South West Business Park has already been submitted, while the application for the fifth is due to be submitted later this month. The units range from 20,000sq ft-162,500sq ft and will have extensive frontage on to the outer ring road. The proposed specification includes secure yards of up to 50m, clear internal heights of up to 14m and air-conditioned offices. In terms of environmental sustainability and staff wellbeing, there will be a “greenway” through the park, while the units will have LEED Silver accreditation and a generous provision of amenities for staff. The Irish Times, 9th June
Ballycoolin, Dublin 11 An infill development site of 4.35 acres in the Stadium Business Park in Ballycoolin, Dublin 11, is being offered for sale with a price of €1.96m being quoted. The site is regular in shape and is zoned objective ‘GE’ under the terms of the Fingal Development Plan 2017-2023. The ‘GE’ zoning objective is “to provide opportunities for general enterprise and employment”. Philip Harvey of selling agent Harvey comments that the site has a proven planning history, and there is an expired permission for a high-density business unit scheme of 9,140sqm. The Irish Independent, 10th June
Tralee, Kerry The prospect of secure long term income is expected to see strong interest from a range of domestic and international investors in the sale of a Tralee apartment portfolio which is fully let to two Approved Housing Bodies. The investment which comprises 40 units in An Sean Mhuileann, North Circular Road and 29 units in Parklands, Ivy Terrace, is being offered to the market by agent Colliers at a guide price of €10.75 million. The portfolio is producing a current net income of €524,000 per annum and offers the prospective purchaser the opportunity of a 4.66 per cent net initial yield. In the case of An Sean Mhuileann, the Tuath Housing Association has taken 20-year leases on the 40 units with staggered commencement dates from July 2018 to October 2019. The gross annual rent payable for the 21 three-bed and 19 two-bed units is €362,355. The remaining 29 units at Parklands on Tralee’s North Circular Road have been taken on 20-year leases by Co-operative Housing Ireland with staggered commencement dates from July 2018 to September 2019. The gross annual rent payable for the 26 two-bedroom, two one-bedroom and one three-bedroom units is €255,510. The Irish Times, 9th June
Naas, Kildare Ballymore, the property development firm owned by Sean Mulryan, has applied to extend permission to develop a site in Naas, Co Kildare, which includes approval to build 385 units. The planning application to Kildare County Council shows that Ballymore is seeking to extend the permission granted in 2017 by five years as the current permission runs out in 2022. The developer is also delivering the final phase of its 250-unit development at Bellingsfield in Naas, and the first phase of its 370 family homes built around landscaped green spaces in Station Walk, Newbridge, Co Kildare. Ballymore has also started initial works on its latest scheme, River Walk, along the banks of the River Liffey in Ballymore Eustace. The Sunday Independent, 13th June
Marlet, Howth Marlet Property has begun construction works on an apartment development comprising 512 units at a site with an address known as ‘Claremont’ at the Former Techrete site on the Howth Road in Dublin 13. The project – valued at €101 million – will also contain four commercial units with 2,637 square metres gross floor area including a 1,705 square metre anchor unit, a restaurant (of 243 square metres), an 86 square metre café and one retail unit of 603 square metres. Works are expected to take in the region of 36 months to complete. The Business Post, 13th June
Bartra, Dublin 7 Bartra Capital has submitted a strategic housing development application for 1,047 residential units. The €400 million residential development is located at the Former O’Devaney Gardens Site in Dublin 7 and will comprise 23 three-bedroom houses and 1,024 apartment units containing one-bedroom/two-bedroom/three-bedroom units. The total gross floor space of the overall development is 102,940 square metres, of which 100,646 square metres is residential and 2,294 square metres are non-residential. A decision is expected to be made by September 2021. The Business Post, 13th June
Beach Road, Dublin 4 Maxol Property has submitted a strategic housing development application for a €25 million apartment development located at the Maxol Filling Station on Beach Road, Dublin 4. The overall application includes the demolition and removal of all existing buildings and associated structures above and below ground (totalling 1,311 square metres) and the construction of a six-storey apartment building, with set-backs at third, fourth and fifth floor levels. The scheme will include 112 apartments, split evenly between one and two-bed units, and 297 square metres of communal space primarily comprising a gym, lounge, work space, bookable room, office and parcel store over a single basement level. The basement will accommodate 79 car parking spaces, including two car club spaces, four motorbike parking spaces, 224 bicycle spaces, together with ancillary areas including circulation, plant, attenuation tank, waste management storage areas and service areas. The Business Post, 13th June
Reddit, Dublin Reddit, the US-based social media company, is currently searching for a new Dublin office as it plans to build out its team to 50 employees by the end of the year. The company, which opened its first office in St Stephens Green in 2019, is considering three locations. It has identified potential offices in Dublin’s Silicon Docks, the Quays and close to its current office on St Stephens Green. Reddit said the new roles would be adding for its Dublin hub would not be confined to the city. The positions would be available to those based outside of the capital as it has a flexible working policy. The social media company currently employs around 1,000 staff, has 52 million daily active users and 50 billion views each month. There are also over 100,000 communities on the website, with tens of thousands of volunteer moderators. The Sunday Independent, 13th June
Central Plaza, Dublin 2 Hines, the international real estate firm, and Peterson Group, the Hong Kong based property investment company, have achieved full occupancy of the office space at Central Plaza on Dublin’s Dame Street, after securing an agreement with private investment manager, Neuberger Berman, for the remainder of the scheme’s accommodation. The deal, which was brokered by Knight Frank Ireland, will see the US headquartered investment firm occupy all 2,650sq ft of space on the second floor of 2 Central Plaza. News of the transaction comes just four months after The Irish Times reported the Pokémon Company’s agreement of a long-term lease for 5,000sq ft of office space at 2 Central Plaza, the classical commercial building immediately adjacent to the former San Stephenson-designed headquarters of the Central Bank (now known as One Central Plaza). Central Plaza also includes adjoining properties at 6-8 College Green and 9 College Green. The eight floors of office space at One Central Plaza have been leased to flexible workspace provider WeWork, and with Amtrust Financial occupying 6-8 College Green, the scheme is set to house more than 1,300 office workers. Upon completion, it is expected that the Dame Street complex will create more than 300 new full- and part-time retail and hospitality jobs across the five buildings. The Irish Times, 9th June
Churchtown, Dublin 14 Churchtown Business Park in south Dublin has been put up for sale. The 21-unit scheme, which is fully let and producing annual rental income of €484,000, is being offered to the market by agent Finnegan Menton for €7 million. The guide price reflects a yield of 6.25%. Churchtown Business Park extends to a total area of 41,260sq ft on a site of about of two acres. The scheme’s commercial units are in use as showrooms, workshops, stores and offices, and unit sizes generally range from about 1,400sq ft to 2,500sq ft, with one unit of 7,645sq ft. The current tenant line-up consists of a number of high-profile tenants including Senator Windows, Tipperary Crystal, Skön, Danish Kitchen Design, Avista Medical and Webshirts Limited t/a Louis Copeland. The Irish Times, 9th June
BidX1 Auction A number of residential investment portfolios are featured in the next BidX1 auction on June 25 which will offer 250 lots with combined reserves of around €40 million. The most valuable lot is a tranche of eight apartments in Dublin’s Liberties which come with a €1.85 million price tag. Located at Apartments 8, 13, 14, 15, 21, 23, 28 and 29, Liberty View, Longs Place, Dublin 8, five of them are let (other 3 are vacant) at rents ranging from €10,723 to €11,808 per annum thus generating a combined €56,419 per annum. A commercial investment property with development potential on Nutgrove Avenue, Rathfarnham, Dublin 14, has a €1 million guide price. Known as Ely House it includes an office building and warehouses. The building floor areas extend to 1,002 square metres. The two-storey Ely House itself has eight rooms occupied under informal tenancies and generates €43,320 per annum. The former Golf Hotel, Main Street, Ballybunion, Co Kerry is guiding €850,000 and there is a building on the South Mall in Cork guiding €850k. The Business Post, 13th June
Ballymahon, Longford Center Parcs has announced plans to invest a further €85 million in its Longford Forest holiday village, near Ballymahon, which will see it add 200 lodges to the 400ac site and create an additional 250 jobs. The company said it will submit a planning application for the expansion by the end of this year. Construction is likely to commence in 2023 and as well as the 250 permanent jobs to be created on the site, there is likely to be in the region of 300 jobs created during the construction phase. Center Parcs UK & Ireland’s chief executive Martin Dalby said that despite the pandemic, which saw the park closed for most of the last 12 months, the first two years of its operation in Ireland had been “a huge success” and he said the company had kept on its 1,000 staff, most of whom were from the local area, since the beginning of the pandemic. Dalby added that in spite of travel restrictions meaning visitors from the UK had been unable to visit the site since March of last year, there had been sufficient demand amongst Irish holiday makers to ensure that bookings had been solid during the periods when the site was allowed to re-open. Since it opened in July 2019, Center Parcs Longford Forest has had average occupancy of 90 per cent during peak periods. The Irish Times, 15th June
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Dublin Docklands Irish Life Investment Managers has completed the sale of Block A, Riverside IV in Dublin – a prime office building located at Sir John Rogerson’s Quay in Dublin’s south docklands – to German investor Deka Immobilien Investment GmbH for about €164 million. Developed originally by Sean Dunne, Riverside IV is a seven-storey over basement building comprising 12,355sq m (133,000sq ft) of grade A office space with more than 65 metres frontage to the River Liffey. The developer sold the property in 2006 in part exchange for the Irish Life-owned Hume House next to his extensive former Jurys hotel site in Ballsbridge. Riverside IV was valued at the time at €170 million while the 7,432sq m (80,000sq ft) Hume House had a sale price of €130 million. The sale of the property now to Deka comes just over one year after Matheson, Ireland’s largest law firm, committed to a new long-term lease of the entire building. In April 2020, and at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, the company provided a significant boost to the Dublin office market when, rather than exercise a break option on Riverside IV, it signed a new 12-year lease on the property at a rent of €55 per sq ft. The Irish Times, 4th June
Burlington Road, Dublin 2 AIB’s decision to move to a hybrid-working model and the resulting reduction in its requirement for office space has opened up an opportunity for companies seeking headquarter accommodation in Dublin’s central business district. Having served up until now as the headquarters of the bank’s subsidiary, the EBS Building Society’s premises at No 2 Burlington Road is being offered to the market by way of assignment/flexible sub-lease with a head lease expiry date of 2027. Aisling Tannam and Patrick Kiersey of Cushman & Wakefield are quoting a rent of €592 per sq m (€55 per sq ft) and €3,500 per car parking space per annum. The subject property comprises a modern six-storey grade A office building of 85,200sq ft and 33 basement car-parking spaces, and is available to let in its entirety or sublet on a floor-by-floor basis to accommodate the requirements of potential occupiers. News of No 2 Burlington Road’s arrival on the letting market comes just 10 months after it was acquired by the German investment fund KGAL from UK property company Henderson Park Capital in a €94 million deal. The Irish Times, 2nd June
Swords, North Dublin Doosan Bobcat, the US engineering and construction machinery manufacturer, has committed to a new 10-year lease on premises at Swords Business Campus in north Dublin. It is understood that the US company has agreed to pay about €16 per sq ft for 10,000sq ft of office space at the development – a fraction of the €50 plus per sq ft it would pay in Dublin’s central business district. While Doosan Bobcat had been based in the Swords business park already, it exercised the break option on its previous offices and had been looking for new space in north Dublin. Having explored a number of options in the area, the company decided to relocate to a new building at Swords Business Campus. The Irish Times, 2nd June
Eyre Square, Galway Part of Hardiman House in the heart of Galway city is being brought to the market for sale, guiding €2,500,000. Located on Eyre Square, the property extends to 11,500sq ft and comprises self-contained office space over four floors, which are vacant and in need of refurbishment. The portion for sale does not include the two-front ground-floor retail units occupied by EBS mortgage lenders and ReMax estate agents, while Irish Life also owns a part of the property. It’s expected to appeal to a pool of buyers, including property investors, developers, and business owners who might like to acquire an office for their own needs. The Irish Independent, 3rd June
Ballsbridge, Dublin 4 A two-storey office building in the heart of Ballsbridge in Dublin 4 is being offered for sale, with an €875,000 guide price. The red-brick terraced property at No 168 Pembroke Road, extends to 1,175sqft and could be extended. Its guide price equates to €576 per square foot on a gross internal area. Agents TWM say the owner may consider letting it for around €53,000 per annum (or €45 per square foot). The property could be converted to residential or extended, subject to planning permission. The building was formerly occupied by John O’Connor Solicitors and is located opposite the US Embassy. The Irish Independent, 3rd June
Bray, Wicklow Penneys, the fast fashion discount retailer, has agreed a deal to take a unit at Bray Central, a new shopping centre being built off the Co. Wicklow town’s main street by Oakmount, Paddy McKillen Jr’s development company. The three-storey Bray Central will comprise 270,000 sq ft of mixed-use space, which includes 12 retail units, a bowling alley, cinema and restaurant space. Confirmed occupants include Stella Cinema, Wowburger and Elephant & Castle, all hospitality outlets run by McKillen Jr’s Press Up outfit. Sean Mulryan’s Ballymore Properties acquired the centre for €53 million but plans for a residential development and shopping centre failed to get planning permission. The site ended up in the hands of Wicklow county council, which appointed Oakmount as development partner in 2018. The Sunday Times, 6th June
Ballycoolin, Dublin 15 JD Sports has agreed the letting of a new logistics facility in Dublin to fulfil its online orders and minimise disruptions to its business from Brexit. The UK-headquartered sportswear retailer is to base its first dedicated Irish distribution centre in Unit 35 at Rosemount Business Park in Ballycoolin, Dublin 15. The property extends to a gross external floor area of 8,640sq m (93,000sq ft), and will be occupied by JD Sports on a 10-year full repairing and insuring lease. As part of the deal, and in line with its focus on environmental, social, and corporate governance, the building’s owner Irish Life Investment Managers plans to make a significant investment in the property in advance of the British sportswear giant taking occupation. The investment will focus on major improvements to the building’s sustainability credentials with the aim of improving the BER from its current D2 certification to a much-improved B1 energy rating. The property’s previous tenant, office supplies specialist Office Depot (formerly Viking Direct), had occupied the premises since 2000. The Irish Times, 2nd June
Ratoath, Meath Kingscroft, the Abbey Group’s Irish housebuilding division, is understood to have paid about €10 million (c.€671k per acre) for a ready-to-go residential development site in the Meath town of Ratoath. The price paid represents a premium of just over 11 per cent on the €9 million agent Knight Frank had been guiding when it brought the site to the market last autumn. Located to the south of Ratoath town, the site extends to 14.9 acres and has full planning permission for 228 homes. The approval given by An Bord Pleanála in December 2019 provides for the development of 114 houses, 52 apartments in two blocks, 32 three-bedroom duplex units with six blocks with 30 apartments at second-floor level, along with a childcare facility. The lands are situated adjacent to the existing Broadmeadow residential development and are accessed via the recently constructed Ratoath outer relief road which offers ready access to the M2 via the R125. The M3 Parkway park-and-ride railway station is within 6.5km providing regular commuter services to Dublin city centre. The Irish Times, 2nd June
Donegal Bartra are seeking €3.8m for the Donegal Boardwalk resort. Situated overlooking Sheephaven Bay and at the heart of Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way, the complex is being offered to the market by agent Bannon with the tourism expertise of Niamh Walsh from TDL Horizons at a guide price of €3.8 million. The Donegal Boardwalk Resort is a successful trading asset comprising 27 holiday villas arranged across three cul-de-sacs. All 27 units have all been recently upgraded by Bartra and are in turn-key condition, fully fitted and presented to a very high standard. Each villa benefits from a private deck/patio. The development is located within a short distance of the popular north Donegal tourist villages of Carrigart and Downings and sits just 30km from Letterkenny. It is within a three-hour drive from both Dublin Airport and Galway and a two-hour drive from Belfast. As the tourism sector begins to reopen this month, the villas are all fully booked for the months of June, July and August and look very promising, according to the selling agent, for the “shoulder season” to follow. The Irish Times, 2nd June
Foxrock, Dublin 18 The sale of two adjoining properties in Foxrock should see strong interest from developers involved in the delivery of accommodation aimed towards the upper end of the city’s residential sector. Located at the junction of the Leopardstown Road and White’s Cross on the N1, the two properties – Ceiliurlann and Mount Salem – are being offered to the market by Knight Frank and JLL at guide prices of €2.5 million and €3 million, respectively. While the sales processes for the properties are being handled separately, interested parties may well pursue the purchase of both with a view to combining their sites for development. A feasibility study for the two properties is in place and can be requested from either agent. Ceiliurlann, which is for sale through Knight Frank, currently comprises an un-modernised detached house and adjacent mews, with secondary access, dating from 1968. Its grounds extend to 0.323 hectares (0.8 acres) and have 36m (118ft) of frontage onto Leopardstown Road. The property would be ideal for a multi-unit residential scheme subject to planning permission according to the selling agent, or to be retained as a single-family home. Mount Salem, formerly for sale without its associated mews, has been returned to the market now in its entirety by agent JLL. The property comprises a listed five-bedroom period residence of 380sq m (4,090sq ft) with a two-bedroom detached mews of 98sq m (1,051sq ft). The grounds of the property extend to 0.377hectares (0.93 acres). The Irish Times, 2nd June
Sites, Dublin Agents JLL have brought two Dublin development sites to the market with residential development potential. Of the two, the largest comprises 16.5 acres of residential zoned land off Citywest Avenue in Citywest, Dublin 24, which is being sold by Davy Hickey, the developer of most of Citywest. The asking price is over €12m. The other site is located at the corner of Townsend Street and Lombard Street in Dublin city centre, and also has potential for other uses. The guide price is €5.5m. The Citywest site includes 6.46 acres with ‘ready to go’ planning for 98 residential units, comprising 59 houses as well as 39 duplexes and apartments. A further 1.23 acres has potential for 17 houses. The whole lot is located to the north-east of Citywest Village and west of the Cheeverstown Luas stop. The city-centre site is located at 19/20 Lombard Street and 112/114 Townsend Street, Dublin 2 and extends to 670sqm (0.165 acres). The Irish Independent, 3rd June
Turners Cross, Cork A pub on Evergreen St in Cork which is close to Cork City’s home ground Turners Cross is set for conversion into seven residential units. The Evergreen Bar, at 31-35 Evergreen St, is on the market for €850,000, with full planning permission for seven homes. The property, on 0.25 acres, includes two single-storey wings either side of a two-storey and a three-storey mid-section. Planning is granted for a one-bed home in each of the single-storey wings, a five-bed house in the three-storey section, two one-bed homes in the two-storey section, and two semi-detached bungalows to the rear. The Irish Examiner, 3rd June
Huckletree, Dublin Huckletree, a co-working space company co-founded by Dubliner Andrew Lynch, has plans to at least triple its footprint in the capital city over the next three years. The company, which also has spaces in London and Manchester, operates the 30,000sq ft 19th century Academy building on Pearse Street, Dublin 2. Huckletree opened the D2 space for workers in 2017. Lynch said Huckletree would be looking to expand its portfolio in Ireland due to a trend toward flexible workspaces. He also stated, “Our biggest push is to get our D2 facility on Pearse Street up and running,” he said. “From our perspective, our growth ambitions haven’t changed since pre-Covid. If anything, they’ve accelerated, because of this trend we’re seeing across our markets, toward a flexible approach to workspace.” The Sunday Independent, 6th June
Hodson Bay, Athlone The owners of the four-star Hodson Bay resort near Athlone plan to develop a major eco-tourism facility for the midlands on a 145-acre peninsula acquired from members of the Lenihan family. The specially protected conservation area, Yewpoint, on the shores of Lough Ree, was bought by the O’Sullivan-family owned Hodson Bay group using a special purpose vehicle, New Island Resorts, backed by outside investors. The acquisition also includes two small islands, Horse Island and Robin Island. Since the deal last year during lockdown, the group has already opened a series of walking trails on the land in time for the summer season at Hodson Bay, a 176-bedroom resort on the lake shore beside the golf club. The longer-term plan, however, is to build small villages of eco-cabins on the peninsula, from which cars will be banned and the only guest access will be via golf buggies. The area’s potential for eco-tourism was considered as part of a development masterplan for the Shannon region, which was launched by the Government in March. It is believed New Island Resorts paid about €1 million for the land. Development of the eco resort will require far more capital and is likely to be done in several stages, depending on the implementation of the Shannon plan and the limitations of planning permission on such an ecologically sensitive plot. The Irish Times, 8th June
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KPMG Dublin KPMG has selected Hibernia Reit as the preferred bidder for the delivery of its new Dublin headquarters. Following the receipt of proposals from six of the country’s leading developers, the Big Four accounting and advisory firm had refined its deliberations in recent weeks to consider two other schemes being delivered by Shane Whelan’s Westridge Real Estate and the Kenny family’s Clancourt Group respectively. Hibernia Reit’s Harcourt Square scheme will comprise a 31,866sq m (343,000sq ft) development on the site of the current Dublin regional Garda headquarters on Harcourt Street. KPMG currently occupies two buildings in Dublin city centre, one at Stokes Place on Harcourt Street, and another in the IFSC, but is looking to accommodate its entire complement of 2,500 office-based workers under one roof following the expiration of its existing leases in 2026. The Irish Times, 28th May
North Wall Quay, Dublin 1 Those looking to secure a high-profile headquarters in Dublin city centre may be interested in the latest offering from developer Paddy McKillen Jnr’s Oakmount and partners Core Capital. Occupying a pivotal position beside the headquarters of the Central Bank and Dublin Landings in the city’s north docklands, The Heysham, as it will be known, will comprise 2,322sq m (25,000sq ft) of office space upon delivery in the third quarter of next year. The building is expected to command a rent of about €65 per sq. ft. The Heysham’s glazed structure will, upon completion, extend seven floors above No 73’s restored redbrick two-storey facade and be accessed via the building’s original Victorian arches. The office floors will range in size from 232sq m (2,500sq ft) to 279sq m (3,000sq ft), have floor-to-ceiling heights of 2.7m (8.8ft), and offer uninterrupted views of the river Liffey. The Heysham will also include private terraces on the second and eighth floors, high-speed passenger lifts, along with 60 bicycle spaces and seven self-contained showers with changing rooms and drying-room facilities at basement level. The Irish Times, 28th May
Park West, Dublin 12 Block 8 in the Park West business campus has come up for sale. Located at the heart of the Dublin 12 business and technology campus, Block 8 comprises 2,266sq m (24,387sq ft) of flexible office accommodation over three floors, together with 32 car parking spaces. The building is fully let to US-headquartered Exela Technologies since 2014, and has almost 3½ years remaining on the lease, at a passing rent of €349,850 a year. Agent Colliers is guiding €3.8 million for Block 8, which equates to a net initial yield of 8.37 per cent, and a capital value of €156 per sq. ft, after allowing for standard purchaser’s costs of 9.96 per cent. Block 8 is located within a seven-minute walk of Park West railway station, and benefits from a range of amenities including a coffee shop, restaurant, shops, creche and fitness centre. The Irish Times, 26th May
Treasury Building, Dublin 2 Google are due to submit a planning application for a major 10-storey extension and redevelopment of the former Treasury building on Grand Canal Street, Dublin. The proposed extension will add around 600 work spaces and take total capacity in the complex to 1,700 staff. Google’s Dublin offices already have capacity for around 8,000 staff – the vast majority of whom have been working remotely for the past 15 months. The latest expansion is a strong indication that the US firm’s longer term plans involve a significant number of office based staff in its Dublin base, at least a significant amount of the time. Google bought the existing Treasury Building office block for €120m from Johnny Ronan and Paddy McKillen. The Irish Independent, 1st June
Arrow Capital Partners Australian-headquartered real estate investor Arrow Capital Partners has deepened its involvement in Ireland’s industrial and logistics market with the acquisition of a further two properties in Dublin. Arrow’s latest Irish purchases consists of assets located at Fingal Bay Business Park off the M1 and Mygan Business Park in Finglas. In the first instance, the company has secured ownership of the Bridgestone Building, a 7,000sq m unit which is fully leased to Bridgestone Europe and acts as the company’s national tyre distribution centre for the island of Ireland. The site is located just off the M1 and 25km north of Dublin Airport. Arrow’s other purchase comprises a detached 3,000sq m warehouse leased to MVI Hazel, one of the largest distributors of kitchen fittings and furnishings in the country. It is located 1km from the M50 motorway, and 7km from both Dublin Airport and Dublin city centre. While the company declined to comment on the individual prices paid, the purchases form part of Arrow’s wider plan to invest more than €200 million here on warehouses in “last-mile” and other strategic locations by the middle of next year. The money comes from Arrow’s $3 billion (€2.7 billion) strategic industrial real estate (SIRE) investment platform. The Irish Times, 26th May
Rosemount Business Park, Dublin 15 The home of Branagan Meats is being offered to the market by Savills and McKay Asset Valuers and Auctioneers at a guide price of €3 million. Extending to 1,964sq m (21,140sq ft) on a site of 0.44 hectares (1.087 acres) with a concrete mezzanine of 438 sq m, the detached production facility is being sold with a full range of modern processing equipment for the cutting, cold storage and rewrapping of bovine, ovine, porcine and poultry products. There is temperature-controlled space for chilling and freezing throughout the production area and loading accesses is via four dock levellers and two ground-level roller shutter doors. The eaves height ranges from 7m-9m and the property also has the benefit of a retail outlet which is open to the public. A full inventory of all plant and machinery is available through McKay Asset Valuers & Auctioneers. A family business established in 1984, Branagan Meats has been trading from the Dublin 15 facility since 1999. The property is being offered for sale as the directors of the company have decided to retire from the business. The Irish Times, 26th May
Unit 101 Slaney Road, Glasnevin Harvey has been instructed to handle the sale of Unit 101 at Dublin Industrial Estate for €1.45m. The building extends to a total of 1,803 sqm, of which 1,579 is industrial/warehouse space and 224 sqm is office space and staff facilities. The 1.4 acre gated site would lend itself to potential extension of the building, subject to planning permission. Unit 101 is just 650 metres from Broombridge Luas Stop. The Business Post 30th May.
Camden Court, Cork An apartment block investment, comprising 49 units being sold in one lot along with a retail unit, has a €12 million price, nearly twice was it last sold for three years ago, before refurbishment and with a rent roll increase in train. The multi-family investment is located at Camden Court, on Cork city’s Carroll’s Quay, just 100 metres from the city’s Opera House. It is the first significant residential holding of this scale to come to the open market since the same units were offered in a slightly larger lot by the same selling agent Pat Falvey of Coldwell Banker. Acting at that time for NAMA, Mr Falvey had guided 55 units at €6.85m at that time, and they sold in two lots, to two investors, with this section of 49 apartments then making a reported €5.85 million. Falvey says that with currently high levels of price hikes in building materials, the €12m guide for the 49 offered in the block is still well below construction/replacement costs. Average values at the AMV are c €245,000 per unit. The Irish Examiner, 27th May
Citywest Site, Dublin The sale of a site with full planning permission for 98 new homes at Citywest is expected to attract strong interest. Extending across a total area of 6.68 hectare (16.5 acres), the property at Citywest Avenue is being offered to the market by agent JLL at a guide price of €12 million. There is scope for the prospective purchaser to increase the density of the development by seeking and securing permission for additional homes on the lands. While the existing planning approval provides for 59 houses and 39 duplexes and apartments on a 2.61 hectare (6.46 acre) portion of the site, a further 15 houses could be accommodated on 0.5 hectares (1.23 acre) adjacent to it subject to planning permission. The remaining 3.565 hectares (8.81 acres) of zoned land to the east of the approved residential scheme includes five acres designated for the development of a new school. These have not been required to date by the Department of Education however, and offer potential, according to the selling agent, for a further residential development subject to planning. The Irish Times, 26th May
Kill, Kildare Agent Coonan Property is guiding a price of €10 million for a prime, ready-to-go residential development site on the outskirts of Kill, Co Kildare. Extending to a total area of 6.35 hectares (15.69 acres), the lands come with full planning permission from An Bord Pleanála (Ref: ABP-307013-20) for the delivery of 164 homes comprising a mix of detached and semidetached houses, duplexes and apartments. The subject site is well located adjacent to the existing Earls Court residential estate and St Brigid’s national school on the eastern side of Kill village. It is situated just off the N7 and a 5km drive from Naas and 27km from Dublin, making it a popular location for first-time buyers seeking affordable homes within commuting distance of the capital. The Irish Times, 26th May
Albert Quay, Cork Plans for a 25-storey apartment development in the heart of Cork city have been scrapped as being non-viable financially, with the quayside site set to become a 16-storey office block instead. Noting much stronger than expected take-up of offices in Cork city, despite the setbacks of Covid-19, developers JCD Group has applied to Cork City Council for a totally revised proposal for a 170,000 sq ft office tower on the former Sextant bar and Carey Tools site on Albert Quay. It would be double the height of any previous offices schemes in Cork city centre, and just a floor under the height of the 2008-built Elysian apartment tower. Planning had been granted to JCD a year ago for a 25-storey ’build to rent’ apartment development. But, following a detailed appraisal process and review by Deloitte, it was found that even at existing high market rents “the cost of delivering the project is 15% higher than the anticipated value on completion, making the project completely unworkable,” said the company. Rents required to make the 201-apartment project financially viable would have had to rise an average of 21% from current levels, to as much as €2,800 per month for a two-bed unit, which JCD say “is not sustainable in the Cork market”. The Irish Examiner, 29th May
Dublin Sites 19/20 Lombard Street & 112/114 Townsend Street has come to the market with a guide of €5.5m The city centre prime development site is zoned Z5 under the Dublin City Development Plan 2016-2022 “to consolidate and facilitate the development of the central area and to identify, reinforce, strengthen and protect its civic design character and dignity”. The corner site extends to 0.165 acres with potential for a development of about ten storeys. The Business Post, 30th May
Malahide, Co. Dublin Plans to build 411 homes in Malahide, in the grounds of the former home of Ulick McEvaddy, an aviation tycoon, are being opposed by residents of a nearby development. There have been more than 54 submissions to An Bord Pleanala in relation to the proposed scheme, which includes 102 houses and 309 flats in blocks of up to six storeys. Auburn House, McEvaddy’s period home, would be preserved. Savaron, a management company representing the 50 houses in the Abington development, which sell for more than €2 million each, has submitted a 49-page objection. It includes a letter from Malahide Community School stating that it has no spare capacity. It concedes that its plans breach the current Fingal county plan but it argues that government policy is to increase building height and density in “accessible suburban locations”. The Sunday Times, 30th May
Edward Square, Galway Developer Gerry Barrett’s Edward Capital has secured the green light from Galway City Council for the delivery of one of Ireland’s largest and most ambitious urban regeneration schemes. Located on an eight-acre site adjacent to Ceannt Station, Augustine Hill, as it will be known, will include a mix of 229 apartments, a 130-bed hotel, a six-screen cinema, restaurants, retail and a craft food market distributed across 11 new and fully-pedestrianised streets and four large public spaces. The residential element of the scheme will be housed in seven blocks with a 21-storey tower as its centrepiece. Augustine Hill is a joint development by CIÉ, which owns the land, Edward Capital, and Summix Capital. CIÉ held a competition in 2017 to find a developer for the site. The approved scheme represents a somewhat scaled-down version of the developer’s original proposal, which had included plans for a total of 378 apartments and a 180-bed hotel The Irish Times, 26th May
Mortgage Approvals Mortgage approvals remained strong in April as first time buyers flocked to the market, new data showed. Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) said a total of 4,362 mortgages valued at just over €1 billion were approved during the month, the highest value for April since the organisation began collecting the data in 2011. First time buyers accounted for almost 55 per cent of the total volume of approvals and a similar percentage of value, with movers accounting for 23.2 per cent in volume and 27.3 per cent in value. Approvals overall were 0.9 per cent higher month-on-month, and 98.3 per cent higher than the same period in 2020, when the pandemic had taken hold. Value was 2.4 per cent higher month on month and 107.5 per cent higher year on year. The annualised figures show 46,131 mortgage approvals in the 12 months ending April 2021, valued at €11.2 billion, the highest value since the data series began in 2011. The growth was mainly driven by first time buyers approvals, which rose 5.9 per cent to almost €6.2 billion in the 12 months ended April 2021. The Irish Times, 1st June
Dublin Central Hammerson has detailed its proposals for the regeneration of an “important” site in Dublin’s north inner city to include a fully integrated Metrolink station for O’Connell Street. The “Dublin Central” masterplan proposals include two new public squares, new pedestrian routes and the restoration of historically important laneways. It also ensures the area around numbers 14 to 17 on Moore Street, a National Monument due to its role in the Easter Rising, is appropriately restored as part of the project. Three out of six planning applications for the proposed mixed-use development were submitted today to Dublin City Council, with more to follow in the coming months. There is an existing planning permission for over 1 million sq. ft of retail for a shopping centre which was granted in 2009. Hammerson are bringing forward a totally new vision for a mixed-use scheme which includes 94 units residential, 210 hotel beds, 44,000 sq. m of office space, 8,000 sq m of retail with food and beverage uses. RTE News, 1st June
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Drogheda, Co Louth Joint agents Lisney and Robert B Daly & Son are guiding a price of €5.75 million for a 15.11 acre (€380.5k per acre) residential development site with full planning permission for 217 new homes (137 houses and 80 duplexes) in Drogheda, Co Louth (c.€26,500 per unit). The houses comprise 15 four-bedroom units, 100 three-bedroom units and 22 two-bedroom units while the duplexes comprise a mix of 40 three-bedroom units, 38 two-bedroom units and two one-bedroom properties. The residential element of the development will be complemented by a two-storey building at the entrance to the scheme comprising a creche, gym, cafe and meeting room. The site is located on the Termonfeckin Road, just 2.5km from Drogheda town centre. The Irish Times 24th June
County Kildare Joint agents Coonan Property and DNG Doyle are guiding €1.8 million for a 6.84 acre (c.€263k per acre) site with full planning permission for 49 housing sites (€37k per unit) near Prosperous in Co Kildare. The five-year planning permission was granted last month. There is easy access to Naas and Maynooth via the M4/M7 motorways and Sallins and Maynooth train stations are both located within driving distance. The Sunday Business Post, 28th June
Western Road, Cork Planning permission has been sought for the development of a five-storey apartment building at Carmelite Place on the Western Rd in Cork. The proposal includes some 30 apartments, 11 car parking spaces, 69 bicycle spaces, and a roof terrace. The development comprises of three studio apartments, seven one-bed apartments, 16 two-bed apartments, and four three-bed apartments. The Irish Examiner, 25th June
Blackpool, Cork City Planning permission has been sought to build 42 new apartments on a site in Blackpool, Cork City. Located on Brocklesby St, the development is earmarked for a site that currently houses a creche. If approved, developers plan to build 23 one-bedroom apartments, 18 two-bedroom apartments, and one three-bedroom apartment in four blocks of two to four storeys in height. The Irish Examiner, 25th June
Dublin Residential Market Both rent collection and occupancy within many residential rental schemes in the Irish capital have performed exceptionally well over recent months despite the economic backdrop. In addition, demand for residential units to rent has remained consistently strong since the beginning of the year, it remains to be seen if this trend continues over the coming months as the Irish economy gradually emerges from lockdown. However, CBRE are of the opinion that with supply of modern rental accommodation remaining severely constrained, the likelihood is that this trend will continue. CBRE & MD Residential Report, June 2020
Balbriggan, North Dublin The Brenta Group has secured the OPW as tenants for an additional 24,300 sq.ft. of office space in Paramount Place at the Balbriggan Business Campus in north Dublin. The letting, which was handled on Brenta’s behalf by agent TWM, brings the total floor area occupied by the State at the campus to just over 31,000 sq.ft. The new lease is a 20-year full repairing and insuring lease with a break option at year 10. The rent equates to €15 psf and €250 per car space. Paramount Place is well-located within the Balbriggan Business Campus, and is just 22 minutes drive from Dublin Airport on the M1 motorway. The scheme also offers occupiers quick access to Dublin city centre by rail thanks to its proximity to Balbriggan train station. The Irish Times 24th June
Barrow St, Dublin 2 Savills is guiding €55 psf for the Bottleworks on Barrow St, Dublin 2. The new office scheme will comprise 28,000 sq.ft. of fully-serviced working spaces and meeting rooms arranged across five floors within a self-contained building. The property has been designed to suit a range of working options capable of accommodating multi-occupancy tenants or small to medium-sized companies seeking a headquarter premises. The Irish Times 24th June
Harmony Row, Dublin 2 QRE Real Estate Advisers has brought a city centre office suite with vacant possession to the market with a guide price of €1.95 million. The 3,093 sq.ft. (€630 psf) unit in Harmony Court on Harmony Row, Dublin 2 comprises a ground floor self-contained office suite in a six-storey over-basement level office block, with a curved glass facade. There are also two basement car parking spaces. The Sunday Business Post, 28th June
Cork City Cork City Council planners are due to make a decision on whether the Leisureplex on MacCurtain St and Brian Boru St, Cork, can be redeveloped to accommodate a 171-bedroom hotel. The plans were lodged by International Investment ICAV who proposed to redevelop the site to allow for a new five- to seven-storey hotel. It would include the demolition of existing structures, and the retention and modification of the facade of the former postal sorting offices, which is a protected structure. The Irish Examiner, 25th June
Irish Hotel Sector A recent sentiment survey conducted by Crowe addressing the impact of Covid-19 on the Hotel industry found that 87% of hotels were fully closed for the last three months, with all hotels expected to re-open. For the respondent’s sample, 2019 occupancy of 73% is set to fall dramatically to 32% for 2020 and their average room rate of €111 in 2019 is set to fall to €94 for 2020. 53% of hotels are operating with just three months’ working capital reserves, highlighting the need to reopen and trade profitably. In addition, extending the temporary work scheme supports, reducing the VAT rate, extending the rates waiver and other supports are seen as critical to the hotel sector until demand levels allow for revenue and profit recovery. Crowe 2020 Irish Hotel Sector Sentiment Survey
Bid X1 Auction A total of 15 properties generated more than €11.49 million in sales as a result of a recent BidX1 online auction. The largest sale was a portfolio of five vacant apartments in Dublin’s suburbs for just over €1m. The lot had a €1.1m guide price. They are dispersed across several locations in Dublin including Belgard Square, Tallaght; Westend Village, Blanchardstown; Valencia House, North Circular Road and The Bridge complex, Shankill and they range in size from 527 sq.ft. to 753 sq.ft. The Irish Independent, 25th June
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