10th July (Issue 154)

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.

 

OFFICE

4-5 Dawson Street, Dublin 2:Agent Cushman & Wakefield has sold 4-5 Dawson Street in Dublin 2, to its tenant Trailfinders for €12.4m (€1,158 psf), €4.65m above the asking price of €7.75m. The five storey over basement property extends to 10,709 sq. ft. and produces an annual rent roll of €399,360 (€37.29 psf). The Irish Times, 4th July

New Century House, IFSC:The Irish Times reports that Credit Suisse are currently the top bidder for New Century House in the IFSC at €66m (€825 psf). The 80,000 sq. ft. building comprises seven storeys with 87 car parking spaces in the basement. The property was previously bought by Hibernian Reit four years ago for €47m (€588 psf). The annual rent roll in excess of €2.8m equates to c. €30 psf. A feasibility study carried out believes the property could be extended by a further 31,000 sq. ft. The Irish Times, 4th July

Webworks, Eglington Street Cork:Lisney is seeking €16m (€372 psf) for a 42,964 sq. ft., 4 storey office building on Eglinton Street in Cork with an annual rent roll of €800k, equating to a net initial yield of 4.6%. Webworks has c. 11 years remaining on their lease and it is thought the rent review in May 2019 could increase the current rent of €16.50 psf to €25 psf. The Irish Times, 4th July

Dublin Suburb Office Rents: Goodbody Stockbrokers anticipates Dublin suburb office rents could increase by as much as 14% in the next year as a result of occupiers seeking more economical alternatives to city centre leases. Prime rents in Sandyford and Leopardstown have reached €30 psf, half the €65 psf achievedin the city centre. Brexit-related mandates, of which the IDA confirmed there have been 42, are also thought to be contributors to increasing rents. The Irish Independent, 9th July  

Airton Close, Tallaght: The Davy Irish Property Fund has completed contracts to lease One Airton Close in Tallaght, Dublin 24, to the Institute of Technology (ITT). The new tenant has agreed an annual rent of more than €400,000 (€13 psf) for the 30,000 sq. ft. building, which will be used for administration as well as office functions. The 20-year lease includes 83 car parking spaces and a break option in year 15. The Irish Times, 3rd July

 

RESIDENTIAL / LAND

Avestus €290m Rental Fund: The Irish Times reports that Avestus Capital Partners have raised €160m of equity for a new fund dedicated to investing in the Irish rental sector. The fund will be leveraged up to €290m through debt. Despite rental increases of 87% and 68% in Dublin and other cities respectively, since the trough of the recession, and demand for rental accommodation doubling in the last five years, Avestus believe the Irish rental market is underinvested. Avestus current Irish portfolio comprises over 800 privately rented properties and has in excess of €1bn in assets under management in Ireland and Europe. The Irish Times, 4th July

The Abbey Quarter, Kilkenny:Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF) will provide €12.3m in development loan finance for the redevelopment of the former Smithwicks Brewery in Kilkenny City. The redevelopment will include 645,000 sq. ft. of office, residential, retail and educational space and will be known as the Abbey Quarter with the 13thcentury Franciscan Abbey as the focal point. The former Brewery will be developed into 47,850 sq. ft. of grade A office space. The Irish Independent, 5th July

261 Bed Student Accommodation, Arran Quay: Investment fund NTM ROI Seed Capital LP, managed by NTM Capital, have engaged an Bord Pleanála regarding a 261 bed student accommodation on Dublin’s Arran Quay. The company has already invested in sites in Cork and Galway, purchasing the Westwood Hotel in Galway last year with plans to develop a 394 bed student accommodation. The Irish Independent, 6th July

Live at the Marquee Site, Cork:The former 11 acre Ford depot site in Cork has been bought for c. €15m (€1.3m per acre) by Glenveagh Properties PLC. The site forms part of the Docklands project which has been earmarked for redevelopment and it is expected that 1,000 homes will be built on the site.  The Irish Examiner 3rd July

Mount Street Crescent: Agent Lisney has brought a Georgian House on Mount Street Crescent in Dublin’s south inner city to the market for €1.4m (€40 psf). Lisney expect considerable interest in the three-storey over basement building which has a 2-bed apartment in the basement and offices on the three overhead floors. The Irish Times, 4th July

 

HOTEL

CBRE Hotel Market Update: CBRE has forecasted that the volume of hotel sales completed in Ireland in 2018 looks set to comfortably exceed last year’s total of c. €400m, despite only eight sales totalling more than €214m in the first half of the year. Nevertheless, considerable activity is under way in the background, with the Tifco hotel group in the process of selling 23 hotels with 2,400 rooms. Meanwhile, demand for hotel rooms has been so strong, especially in Dublin, that a number of chains have been developing new properties or extending existing ones. New hotels due to open this year include Bam’s 202-bed Aloft in Blackpitts in Dublin 8, Oakmount’s 41-bed Devlin in Ranelagh, and Frankie Whelehan’s 42-bed The Wilder on Harcourt Terrace. Nearby, the McGill family have opened their new 152-bedroom Iveagh hotel on Harcourt Street. Revenue per available room (RevPAR) across the countries hotels increased by 16.1% in the year to May 2018, driven by significant growth outside Dublin. Average daily room rates over the same period grew by 12.7% to €144.55. The Sunday Business Post, 8th July

 

RETAIL

Clery’s, O’ Connell Street:The first round of bidding is expected to conclude in the next week on the sale of Clery’s department store building on O’ Connell Street in Dublin. Swedish furniture giant Ikea are believed to have expressed an interest in the building, joining c. 30 other interested parties on the €60m development. The first round of bidding is set to be followed up with the launch of the adjoining block at Nos 14-18 on O’Connell Street to the market for a guide price of between €14m and €15m. The Irish Independent, 5th July

Greenfield Shopping Centre, Maynooth: Joint agents Lisney and Hibernian Auctioneers have brought the high-yielding Greenfield Shopping Centre in Maynooth, Co. Kildare, to the market guiding €1.25m. The nine unit shopping centre is 100% occupied with tenants including Centra and St. Vincent De Paul producing a rental income of €154,000, with a weighted unexpired term of c. 8 years. New owners will be set to benefit from an increased rent roll in the short term, with income due to increase to €167,790 in three years due to contracted stepped rental increases. This will allow the current investment yield of 11.34% to rise to 12.38% in 2021. The Irish Times, 4th July

 

OTHERS

Dublin Crane Count: The Irish Times latest crane count found there were 79 cranes visible over Dublin on 1st July, a rise of 7 (10%) from 1st June, and just one off the record of 80 set on 1st December 2017. July’s total is 155% above the 31 recorded on 1st February 2016 when The Irish Times commenced their survey. In total there were 54 cranes recorded on the Southside, a rise of four on June, and 25 on the Northside, a rise of three on the previous month. The Irish Times, 3rd July

JLL Commercial Property Market Update: Property agent JLL has raised its forecast for the level of investment in Irish property for 2018 from €2bn to just under €3bn following a particularly strong second quarter in which nearly €1bn worth of commercial real estate changed hands. According to JLL, 35 transactions carrying a combined value of €955m took place in the three months to the end of June. While that figure was only slightly more than the €933m invested in the first quarter of this year, it represents a 300% increase on the equivalent period in 2017. The largest transaction in the second quarter saw the off-market sale of a portfolio of Dublin office investments for €160m. The Irish Independent, 10th July

 


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