11th December (Issue 176)
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.
RESIDENTIAL / LAND
Mount Merrion, Dublin 4 An Bord Pleanála has granted permission for 50 apartments, pub and restaurant on the site of the Union Café in Mount Merrion which is likely to increase the interest from bidders in the site. Knight Frank brought the site to market last month along with the adjoining lot occupied by Flanagan Kerins totalling 1.88 acres guiding €32m. The Irish Independent, 6th December
Foxrock, Dublin 18 Knight Frank is seeking €1.295m for a four-bed, 2,443 sq.ft. rebuilt dormer bungalow located on 1.18 acres on Mart Lane, Foxrock. The Sunday Business Post, 9th December
RTÉ Montrose Site, Dublin 4 Cairn Homes has lodged planning permission with an Bord Pleanála for 619 apartments and three townhouses on the 8.64 acre site it bought from RTÉ for €107.5m (€173k per site) in 2017. It is 22% more than the original 500 units Cairn Homes indicated it would build. The Irish Independent, 6th December
Maynooth, Co. Kildare A 23 acre residential landbank in Maynooth, Co Kildare is being offered for sale with a guide price of €17 million (€739k per acre) via joint agents Cushman & Wakefield and Sherry Fitzgerald Brady O’Flaherty. The landbank for sale is part of 81.5 acres recently rezoned in the Railpark area east of Maynooth town centre which is set to accommodate a significant residential scheme of up to 800 units. The Irish Times, 5th December
Cherrywood, Co Dublin Construction commenced this week on 1,269 units which will be available to rent in Cherrywood by 2020. The completed build to rent scheme will be held, rented and managed by Hines and APG. The scheme will also include 130 social housing units. Hines and APG have also announced plans to deliver 3,000 units to the rental market in Dublin and the Greater Dublin Area in the new few years. The Irish Independent, 11th December
Roseville House, Corbally Road, Limerick DNG Cusack Dunne is seeking €855,000 for a 4,000 sq.ft. two storey over basement, four bed house in Limerick. The property, dating back to 1840 has been recently renovated and comes with a B1 energy rating, which is unusual for a house of that age. The Irish Examiner, 8th December
Sandymount, Dublin 4 Maxol has been given approval to demolish their petrol station and adjoining car dealership on Beach Road, Sandymount, Dublin 4 to make way for 90 apartments. The 11,500 sq.ft. development will comprise 23 one-bed, 53 two-bed and 14 three-bed apartments along with 90 car parking spaces. The Sunday Independent, 9th December
OFFICE
2018 Office Lettings and Acquisitions Facebook and Google topped 2018’s largest Dublin property deals. The announcement of Facebook’s move to what will be the redeveloped of 14 acres at AIB Bankcentre in Ballsbridge has been the largest office letting to ever complete in Dublin. When redeveloped, Facebook will have an office footprint of 870,000 sq.ft. Separately Google also completed a number of large deals, most significantly the purchase of the Boland’s Quay development together with its Barrow Street headquarters for €300m. This will include 301,389 sq.ft. of office space and 46 apartments along with cafes and cultural spaces. The Beckett Building on East Wall Road, Dublin 3, a 190,000 sq.ft property also sold for €101m to South Korean-based Kookman Bank. The Irish Times, 5th December
STUDENT ACCOMMODATION
Farranlea Road, Cork Round Hill and NBK Capital have acquired a site in Cork and intend to start construction immediately on the mixed use project including 145 student beds. It is estimated that the project will cost in the region of €19m. The Cork building will be managed by Nido Student, Round Hill’s operational platform and brand for European student accommodation. The Irish Independent, 5th December
INDUSTRIAL
Kylemore Road, Dublin 10 M7 Real Estate has acquired the 31 unit (192,000 sq ft) multi-let Westlink industrial estate on Kylemore Road in Dublin 10 for €13.87m (€72.24 psf and a reported NIY c. 7%). The vacancy rate is 22% and M7 is reportedly planning extensive upgrade works with refurbished units due to be available to let from Q1 2019 through letting agents JLL and CBRE. The property previously transacted in 2016 for €7.5m. The Irish Times, 5th December
RETAIL
Iceland has announced plans to open 50-70 new stores throughout Ireland, doubling their size within the next five years. The Sunday Independent, 9th December
HOTEL
Dublin Airport It is reported that the DAA, the operator of Dublin airport has entered into exclusive talks with UK based Arora Hotels regarding the construction of a 400-bed hotel at Terminal 2. The Sunday Times, Irish Edition, 9th December
Hotel Sales have slowed in 2018 despite average Dublin room rates reaching a record €155.75, occupancy rates of 89.6% and RevPar increasing 9.7% to €139.51. Cushman and Wakefield noted that the slowdown is attributable in part to the drying up of distressed asset sales which were prevalent in 2014-2016. Recent sales include Hilton Dublin Airport for €22.5m and Ibis Hotel off the Red Cow Interchange for €14m and are the only two to transact in the Capital in the year to date. The Irish Times, 5th December
OTHER
Windfarms Greencoat Renewables, an Irish subsidiary of Greencoat Capital has acquired two wind farms from Blackrock Real Assets for c€88m. The two windfarms are based in Monaincha, Co. Tipperary and Garranereagh, Co. Cork. This deal brings the company’s Irish share in the onshore wind market to c10%. The Times, Irish Edition, 11th December
Foreign Direct Investment Rankings According to the annual report from fDi Intelligence, an investment publication which is part of the Financial Times Group, Dublin is ranked as the third best city in the world for foreign direct investment. Dublin ranks behind London at number two, although the report notes that gap is closing, and Singapore at number one. fDi Intelligence commented that “Dublin boasts the highest level of foreign direct investment on a per capita basis of all locations in the study” Dublin also performed well in sub categories in the study, ranking number one for “economic potential” among large cities. The Times, Irish Edition, 11th December
Crane Count Crane Count in Dublin reached a record high of 104 on 1st December. 39 of the cranes are located in North Dublin and 65 in South Dublin. The Irish Times, 4th December
If you have an article which you would like to have considered for inclusion in our next weekly report, please contact us at info@origincapital.ie