11th February (Issue 483)
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
Broomhill Business Park, Tallaght 52 Broom is being brought to market by Lisney on behalf of receiver Gerard Murphy. The building extends to approx. 50,000 sq. ft and sits on a site of 1.34 acres with 190 car parking spaces. Lisney is seeking offers in the region of €6.5m for the four-storey office property, reflecting a capital value of €130 psf. The property currently generates a passing rent of €273,012 pa. The HSE occupies the third floor on a lease until 2027, while the Road Safety Authority holds part of the ground floor under leases expiring in 2030. The Irish Times, 5th February
Newmarket Square, Dublin 8 RKD Architects is set to join tenants including Fanatics and Infineon Technologies at the 75,000 sq. ft Grade A Eight Building on Newmarket Square. RKD has taken a lease of the third floor which extends to approx. 16,000 sq. ft. The building was acquired by German investor Patrizia for approx. €60m back in 2022. CBRE and Knight Frank are actively marketing the remaining 29,000 sq. ft across three floors, targeting tenants for spaces starting at 3,000 sq. ft, with typical floor plates of approx. 16,000 sq. ft. The Irish Times, 5th February
Kildare Street, Dublin 2 Kennedy Wilson has signed the last tenant for its 65,000 sq. ft office development at 20 Kildare Street, bringing the property to full occupancy. The seven-storey office development has signed up tenants that include Aircastle, Ara Partners, Consello, Davidson Kempner Capital Management, Dentons, Egon Zehnder, and Lanthorn. The long-term leases bring the annual rent roll for the building to approx. €4m pa. The Irish Times, 6th February
Dublin City HWBC warns that Dublin city could see supply constraints for prime space over the next 12 months if the same demand rates were to continue. Multinationals and other corporate tenants will increasingly only take up space in buildings that meet the highest environmental standards, meaning older office stock may be ignored even where it is available. HWBC says the Dublin office market staged a recovery last year with annual take-up reaching 2.15m sq. ft, a 63% increase compared with 2023 figures. The report finds that approximately 1.55m sq. ft of A-rated space is available in Dublin 2 and 4 locations which would equate to less than two years of supply considering the current demand levels. The Irish Independent, 4th February
RETAIL
Church Road, Greystones An AIB branch in Greystones, Co. Wicklow has come to the market seeking €1.2m. The entire property is let to Kavwall Limited, with AIB acting as a guarantor, on a 20-year lease from July 2007. There are 2.41 years of secure income remaining as of February 1st, 2025, and the property has a current passing rent of €149,700 pa. The property, which is brought to market by JLL, comprises 4,647 sq. ft net internal area over two storeys. It features a modern extension and includes three car parking spaces to the rear of the building. The Irish Times, 5th February
101 St Patricks Street, Cork American retail chain Urban Outfitters is set to open its first Cork store, bringing new life to a premises that has lain idle for six years. The 6,000 sq. ft, four-storey, bow-fronted premises, which is located between menswear store Gentleman’s Quarters and Dunnes Stores, had been on the market with letting agents Savills, featuring a rent of €230,000 pa. However, the Irish Examiner understands it was bought from its investor owner by financial advisory firm MC2 on behalf of clients. The sale price is thought to be between €1 – €2m. The Irish Examiner, 5th February
Henry Street Frasers Group is suing the owners of Dublin’s ILAC shopping centre over allegations that a pharmacy exclusivity granted to Boots is being unfairly protected, the High Court has been told. The row centres on a unit within the former Debenhams department store on Henry Street, which Frasers purchased in 2022 for €42m. Frasers is currently re-developing the department store into three retail units and a top floor gym. It negotiated a lease to sublet a unit in the building but alleges the ILAC centre is refusing to consent to a change of use. Frasers said CWire Retail Group, which trades as Chemist Warehouse, wants to occupy the unit under a ten-year lease with an initial rent of €275,000 pa. The Business Post, 10th February
HOSPITALITY
Churchtown, Dublin 14 Churchtown Stores has been launched to the market by agents BDM Property, seeking offers of over €2.8m. The former hardware premises extends to 3,826 sq. ft and comprises a lounge bar with a fully fitted and equipped catering kitchen. To the rear is a contemporary bar/function room and an overflow seating area. On the first floor, an 872 sq. ft own-door office generates €18,000 in rental income pa. The Irish Independent, 6th February
Mercantile Group Trading Pre-tax profits at the operator of Cafe en Seine and The George decreased by 56.5% to €2.07m in 2023. New consolidated accounts for The Mercantile Group show the group sustained the drop in profits as revenues rose by 2% to €35.55m in 2023. The group continued to expand its operations in 2023 including the completion of two ‘strategic property acquisitions’ in Dublin and this outlay along with capital works on the Mercantile Bar and Hotel totalled €12.3m in 2023. The directors state that the works have continued on the development of the Mercantile Bar and Hotel with the hotel set to re-open in 2025. The group also operates The Crafty Fox, Pichet, Opium, NoLIta, Whelan’s and the Railway Bar. The Irish Independent, 6th February
MIXED-USE
Merrion Square, Dublin 2 No. 77 Merrion Square is being brought to market through Lisney with a guide in excess of €2.475m. The office element of the property is multi-tenanted and fully let, producing €165,680 pa. The property extends to approx. 5,500 sq. ft with seven car park spaces and includes a vacant top floor two-bedroom apartment. There is further potential to increase revenue through the letting of the apartment and fixed rental increases with two office tenants. The asking price represents an immediate net initial yield of 6.1% and a potential reversionary yield of 7.5%, with a capital value of €452 psf. The Business Post, 7th February
Duke Lane, Dublin 2 Agar are bringing to market two adjoining properties situated mid-way between Grafton and Dawson Streets, forming the junction of Duke Lane, Lemon Street and Royal Hibernian Way. The properties are being offered for sale in one, two or three lots by way of tender on Wednesday 5th March. Duke House, formerly the home of the Alias Tom Menswear shop occupies a prime corner pitch and comprises approx. 5,745 sq. ft of retail and office accommodation. 8 Lemon Street comprises a 2-storey retail property, presently let to Paddy Power, of approx. 1,310 sq. ft. Agar Press Release, 4th February
Aston Quay, Dublin 2 In January alone, a further 10 owners of properties in central Dublin notified the local authority of plans to convert a number of offices, guesthouses, student bedspaces and warehouses into housing for people seeking international protection. One property includes a building on Aston Quay, which was previously owned by JD Wetherspoon. The hospitality giant bought the building, which previously housed USIT, the travel agency, for €9m in 2021. It planned to convert the property into a so-called “superpub” venue but met resistance from planners. In July 2024 the property was acquired for an undisclosed sum by Barfel Limited, which is controlled by Graham Barker of Whitefire Offices, the serviced office space provider. The Business Post, 6th February
INDUSTRIAL / LOGISTICS
CBRE 2024 Review Take-up in Dublin in Q4 totalled approx. 478,000 sq. ft, the strongest quarter of 2024, but still over 40% below the long-term quarterly average. Full-year take-up totalled approx. 1.6m sq. ft, just over 50% below the 10-year annual average. There are several mid to large-scale requirements for space in Dublin but the sector could be vulnerable to a slowdown in activity if the global trade environment continues to see volatility. The largest leasing deal of Q4 was Chemist Warehouse signing a lease for approx. 103,700 sq. ft of space at Belgard Road Industrial Estate. At the end of Q4, the vacancy rate at the top I&L parks in Dublin was 2.1%, having decreased from 2.4% in Q3. Q4 investment in the I&L sector was €71m and totalled €258m for the full year 2024. Prime yields are now stable at 5.0%. CBRE Research, 10th February
RESIDENTIAL/DEVELOPMENT
Newmarket Square, Dublin 8 Strong interest is expected in the upcoming forward purchase sale of 18 Newmarket Square, one of the few build-to-rent developments expected to come to market this year. It is understood the development of over 130 apartments will be brought to the market by CBRE at an asking price of approx. €80m. It is located a 10-minute walk from St Stephen’s Green and amenities are expected to include a co-working lounge, communal rooftop gardens and a landscaped courtyard, as well as approx. 5,400 sq. ft of retail space. The Irish Times, 5th February
Magheramore, Co Wicklow Oakmount’s plans to build a multimillion-euro tourism resort in Wicklow have been refused by An Bord Pleanála. The development proposed would have comprised of a two-storey building, a gym, sauna, cinema and outdoor pool at lower ground level. There were also 48 accommodation pods proposed on the site. It was widely reported that Oakmount paid €700,000 to secure ownership of the wider Magheramore site in an online auction in June 2021. The Irish Times reported in 2023 that while the amount paid represented a significant premium on the €210,000 the property had been guiding in advance of its sale, there was intense competition involving five parties. The Business Post, 7th February
Country Homes Sales A bumper year saw 168 high-end country homes change hands in Ireland in 2024 as demand for prime properties outside the M50 defied expectations of a slowdown in activity. Savills analysed Property Price Index data relating to prime country properties outside the main cities and north Wicklow that sold for more than €1m. The research revealed the total value of sales in this category jumped by 44% to €275m in 2024 from just over €190m the previous year. County Cork was the most popular location for buyers accounting for 31% of total sales by value, or €84m, last year across 35 transactions. The Irish Times, 4th February
Davy Report Ireland will need 93,000 new homes a year until 2031 to bring it close to the European average for per capita housing stock, according to Davy, almost 10% more than the firm estimated last year. Last year, the firm found that 85,000 new homes would be required annually to bring Ireland halfway to the European average, with as many as 122,000 needed to close the gap entirely. A “disappointing” 30,000 completions added to the existing pent-up demand, leading the firm to update its assessment for 2031. An overhaul of rent caps, measures targeting reduced construction costs, and further streamlining of the planning system for critical infrastructure would help drive annual housing output to 75,000 by 2031, according to the report. The Business Post, 5th February
Rent Controls The Government is examining a recommendation in the Housing Commission’s report which backed the introduction of a system called “reference rents”. This would mean limits regarding how much a landlord could charge would be related to factors such as location and size of property. Government sources say that an extension of the rent pressure zones cannot be ruled out. The Coalition is concerned about the housing completion figures published by the Central Statistics Office last month, showing a 24% drop in the completion of apartments in 2024. The Housing Commission report published in July showed that 42% of landlords left the market in the 26 months leading to December 2023. Rte.ie, 10th February
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