05th April (Issue 40)

Welcome to the Origin Capital Weekly Irish Property Review. This update is designed to provide you with a full recap of the latest property news from the media over the last seven days.

 

 

LOAN / PORTFOLIO SALES

NAMA Loan Sales: After recently launching the sale of the loan portfolios Emerald and Ruby, which have a cumulative par value of c. €4.7bn, NAMA is reportedly preparing to dispose of a further €8bn of par value loans. In 2010 NAMA had loans linked to c. 800 borrowers, however this number has since decreased to c. 350 following a number of loan sales. Accounts for NAMA for Q3 2015 show that the agency was managing loans with a book value of €9.6bn and a par value of €50.7bn, equivalent to a book value of less than 20c on the Euro. NAMA Wine Lake, 3rd April

Lone Star Disposal: In 2014 a company linked to Lone Star, Shoreline Residential, purchased a number of Irish Nationwide home loans from IBRC. Last week Shoreline informed the homeowners that these home loans are now being sold to Bank of Ireland. The homeowners were informed by Pepper Asset Servicing, who services the loan book for Shoreline. While no sales price has been revealed, Shoreline valued the loans at €453m in their 2014 accounts. It is understood that Bank of Ireland and other traditional lenders are interested in purchasing performing loan portfolios, as their own loan books continue to shrink as customers repay debt faster than they borrow. The Sunday Times, 3rd April

 

RETAIL

Blanchardstown Shopping Centre: The Irish Independent reports that Chartered Land, Blackstone and a fund on behalf of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) have progressed to the second round of bidding for Blanchardstown Shopping Centre. Green Property currently own the shopping centre, which went on the market through JLL and Eastdil Secured in February for c. €1bn. First round bids for the shopping centre, which has an annual rent roll of c. €50m, were submitted in late March. The Irish Independent, 2nd April

 

OFFICE

One Spencer Dock: Hines has reportedly obtained financing from German pension funds which will allow them to complete the purchase of PWC’s headquarters at One Spencer Dock in Dublin’s North Wall Quay. One Spencer Dock consists of three office blocks with a total floor area of 226,624 sq. ft. Joint agents CBRE and Savills are handling the sale process and it is understood that two other firms have expressed an interest in purchasing the property. PWC occupy the entire office space under 25 year leases which have more than 15 years remaining. Per the terms of the lease, PWC are understood to be paying annual rent of over €11m for the office space, with upward only rent reviews every five years. The Irish Times, 30th March

Exo Building: Dublin City Council has approved a planning application from receivers Grant Thornton to develop the 73m Exo building in Dublin’s north docklands. Grant Thornton submitted the application under the instruction of NAMA, who will fund the development of the €80m building. Upon completion, the 17 storey Exo building will be Dublin’s tallest office block. The Exo is expected to take c. two years to develop and should accommodate c. 2,000 workers upon completion. The Irish Times, 1st April

Adelphi House: A Dublin investor has paid €2.85m (€100k above guide) for nine office suites in Adelphi House in Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin. The size of the suites ranges from 1,259 sq. ft. to 3,455 sq. ft. Seven of the nine suites are let and generating annual rental income of c. €215k. Once the remaining suites are let the total annual income will rise to c. €260k. Adelphi House is an office, retail and residential complex which was developed in 2008 and also features two retail units and 11 apartments. The Irish Times, 30th March

 

HOTEL

Ormond Hotel: Monteco Holdings has sought planning permission from Dublin City Council to redevelop the former Ormond Hotel on Ormond Quay, Dublin, into a five storey, 121-bed hotel. The Ormond Hotel closed down in 2005. In 2006 the developer Bernard McNamara purchased the property for €17m, before then trying to sell it again in 2009 for €7m. Monteco eventually emerged as the successful purchaser of the property, paying below €2.5m. Monteco previously sought planning permission from Dublin City Council and An Bord Pleanála in 2013 to develop a 170-bed hotel, however this application was rejected. The Irish Times, 2nd April

Hotel Sales: CBRE’s latest research on hotel sales has revealed that there were 14 hotels sold in Q1 2016 for over €47m. The hotels sold include the Tara Towers Hotel, the Clarion Hotel, Sligo and the Abberley Court Hotel in Tallaght . CBRE noted that the outlook for the remainder of 2016 is strong. For 2015, there were 63 hotels sold for c. €710m, however this included two hotel portfolios. There are no hotel portfolio sales projected for this year. The Irish Independent, 31st March

Gresham Hotel: After going on the market with a guide price of €80m, the Gresham hotel is now expected to sell for over €100m. A sale price of over €100m would make the hotel a very lucrative transaction for NAMA, who previously acquired loans linked to the Gresham. NAMA is understood to have paid c. €30m-€40m for loans which had a par value in excess of €100m, therefore the agency could make a profit of over €60m on the transaction. The potential bidders for the Gresham include Tifco, John Malone and Blackstone. The Sunday Business Post, 3rd April

Coombe Hotel Development: The Hodson Bay Group, through a newly formed entity Realmside, has sought planning permission to develop a 263-bed hotel in The Coombe, Dublin 8. The application proposes that a number of derelict buildings are demolished to make way for the hotel, which would have a total floor area of c. 148,000 sq. ft. and stand at six storeys tall at its highest point. The Hodson Bay Group also own the Galway Bay Hotel in Galway and the Sheraton Athlone Hotel in Westmeath. The Sunday Times, 3rd April

 

RESIDENTIAL / LAND

Robswall Portfolio: Ardstone has paid c. €6.5m for a residential portfolio located at the Robswall development in Malahide, Co Dublin. The portfolio consists of 26 apartments / penthouses and one duplex house. Once all the units are let, the portfolio will generate a return of c. 6.55%. The selling agent was QRE Real Estate Advisors who sold the portfolio on behalf of U+I. The Irish Times, 30th March

Blackberry Fair: The student accommodation sector got a boost last week when another application was lodged with Dublin City Council. The application proposed the development of 106 units on the site of Blackberry Fair on Lower Rathmines Road. Should approval be granted, then the existing buildings will be demolished and replaced with a 50,000 sq. ft. complex. NAMA Wine Lake, 3rd April

John Player Factory: NAMA has given the go ahead for a transaction which could facilitate the development of a c. €500m housing scheme on the site of the former John Player factory in The Coombe, Dublin 8. Grant Thornton were recently appointed as receivers over the c. 10.67 acre site, for which the original developer is Ciaran Larkin. NAMA and Larkin are understood to have agreed a deal over the past year which will allow Larkin to manage the development of the site. At current market rates, the sale of a completed scheme on the site would allow Larkin to clear his debts with the agency. There is an expired planning approval from 2008 when permission was granted to develop 754 apartments, significant retail space and ancillary services. The Sunday Business Post, 3rd April

House Prices: The latest house price figures from the CSO show that prices in Dublin fell for the fourth month in a row in February. House prices in Dublin fell by 0.3% in February and prices are now 3% below their values from last autumn. For the twelve months ending February 2016, house prices were 4% higher. Outside of Dublin, prices rose slightly and they are now 11.5% higher than a year ago. For the country as a whole, house prices were up 8% for the twelve months ending February 2016. The Irish Times, 31st March

Asking Prices: A new report from MyHome.ie and Davy shows that on a national level, the asking price for newly listed residential properties rose by 2.1% in Q1 2016. Asking prices in Dublin rose by 0.9% in the same period. On a mix adjusted basis, the average national asking price for a property is now €208k. The stock of homes for sale reached a new low in Q1 2016, with just 21,650 properties available. The report also estimates that national house prices will increase by c. 5% in 2016. The Irish Times, 4th April

Mortgage Lending: The Irish mortgage market shrunk by €327m in February 2016, according to new figures from the Central Bank. For the twelve months to February, the total value of mortgage loans outstanding decreased by 2.4% (€1.9bn). With the decrease in lending, banks now hold €3.6bn more in household deposits than they do in household loans. In early 2009, household lending exceeded household deposits by c. €53.5bn. Excluding lending to international entities, total loan issues from the Irish banking system reduced by €2bn in February. The Irish Independent, 31st March

 

OTHER

Portobello Portfolio: Browne Corrigan Chartered Surveyors is guiding €9m for two adjoining properties in Portobello, Dublin 8. The first property, Portobello House, is for sale with an asking price of €4m. The property is currently being used for educational use and generating annual rental income of €150k. However, the selling agent believes the rental income can be increased to c. €250k following upgrades to the property. There is also a 0.21 acre site to the rear. The second property, Harbour House, extends to 26,650 sq. ft. and is being sold with vacant possession. Following their sale, the properties are likely to be converted into either a hotel or residential accommodation. The Irish Times, 30th March

Barrington’s Hospital: The Bon Secours hospital group is believed to be in advanced talks to acquire Barrington’s Hospital in Limerick for c. €15m. Should the group acquire the hospital, a c. €10m expansion may also be undertaken. Barrington’s Hospital was opened in 1829 by Joseph Barrington. Accounts for 2014 show that Barrington’s Hospital had a turnover of €12.5m and a profit of €438k. The Sunday Business Post, 3rd April

 

 


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