13th April (Issue 292)

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.

 

 

INDUSTRIAL

Clyde Real Estate The property company, headed by Colm Piercy and Sean Gallagher, has put two substantial industrial facilities to the market in Carlow and Dundalk with respective guide prices of €5.95m and €2.7m. In Carlow, the landmark former Braun facility extends to 221,594 sq ft on a 29.2-acre site. It was built to a high specification with concrete external walls and floors. Clear internal heights in the general production/warehouse areas range from 7m to 7.4m. A separate warehouse area to the rear benefits from an eaves height of 21m. Loading to the facility is via six dock and four grade-level doors. The Dundalk property – known as Rebus House – is an industrial manufacturing facility extending to 73,500 sq ft on a 6.3-acre site in a high-profile location just off the M1 motorway in Dundalk Town. It has a €2.7m guide price. It is presented in a clean shell condition offering maximum flexibility and comes with planning permission for a new glazed entrance and canopy. Irish Independent, 8th April

Cherryhound, Dublin 15 A major landholding has come to the market near Dublin Airport. Located next to the M2 Cherryhound interchange and just minutes from both the M50 motorway and the entrance to the Dublin Port Tunnel, the M2 Airlink portfolio comprises 25.44 hectares (63 acres), the majority of which (21.8 hectares/54 acres) is zoned for employment uses under the Fingal Development Plan 2017-2023. The remaining 3.7 hectares (9 acres), meanwhile, offers future development potential subject to rezoning in the upcoming development plan. The lands are being offered for sale in their entirety by joint agents REA Grimes and Cushman & Wakefield at a guide price of €18 million. In terms of its development potential, the masterplan and feasibility study prepared on behalf of the property’s current owners suggest it could accommodate up to 65,000sq m (699,654sq ft) of logistic and industrial space distributed across 12 buildings. The Irish Times, 7th April

 

OFFICE

Merchant Square HQ, Belfast Oakland Holdings has completed the highest value office transaction ever recorded in Northern Ireland, securing £87 million (c. €102 million) from the sale of Merchant Square in Belfast to a Middle Eastern investor. The development, which reached practical completion in June 2020, extends to a total of 22,296sq m (240,000sq ft) of mixed-use accommodation, comprising 20,903sq m (225,000sq ft) of grade A offices and six retail units. The office space is let in its entirety to PwC until 2040 with tenant-only break options in 2030 and 2035 and produces a total income of £4.86 million (c. €5.69 million) per annum. The sale price reflects a yield of 5.23%. Quite apart from being Northern Ireland’s most-valuable office sale to date, Merchant Square also accounts for the region’s largest ever private sector office letting. Once occupied, the Belfast city scheme will be PwC’s largest office outside London with 3,000 employees. The Irish Times, 7th April

 

RESIDENTIAL / LAND

Naas Road, Dublin With An Bord Pleanála decisions being challenged on a more frequent basis in the High Court, the O’Flynn Group’s decision to avail of the ordinary planning system for its Southwest Gate scheme on Dublin’s Naas Road would appear to have been the right one. With no appeals lodged against Dublin City Council’s decision to approve the project last February, the way has been cleared for the O’Flynn Group to proceed with the construction of its most ambitious mixed-use project in the capital to date. Upon completion, the €625 million scheme will comprise 1,137 apartments, a 148-bedroom hotel and some 17,699 sq m (190,510 sq ft) of commercial space on a 6.8-hectare (17-acre) site along the Naas Road in Dublin 12. The Irish Times, 7th April

Solas Living A new platform focused on the supply of affordable rental homes in the greater Dublin area has completed its first round of acquisitions, paying about €40 million for 157 units across six schemes in Dublin and Kildare. The deal forms part of Solas Living’s longer-term plan to invest upwards of €200 million in new and refurbished homes, including units that are currently sitting vacant. Established as a partnership between Dublin-based Mm Capital and pan-European private equity real estate investor, Deutsche Finance International (DFI), Solas Living is also aiming to engage with local authorities in the capital and surrounding areas in relation to the provision of social housing. The Irish Times, 7th April

Goatstown, Dublin 14 A large number of objections have been lodged to publican Charlie Chawke’s plan for a €186 million apartment scheme for a site beside his Goat Grill pub in Goatstown, south Dublin. An Bord Pleanála has confirmed that it has received 148 third-party submissions concerning the proposed 299-unit apartment scheme. Mr Chawke’s Charjon Investments is seeking permission for the fast-track scheme that also includes a 22-bedroom hotel, six retail outlets and childcare facilities along with the renovation and extension of the Goat Grill. The development on a 4.6-acre site is made up of four apartment blocks ranging from five to eight storeys in height. Amongst those to object is the Minister for Tourism and Culture Catherine Martin of the Green Party and the Minister for State Josepha Madigan of Fine Gael. A decision on the application is due in June. The Irish Times, 13th April

Augustine Hill, Galway Plans for a landmark project for Galway have been reduced in size following consultation with the city council. Augustine Hill beside Ceannt Station is an eight-acre development, and its developers say it is one of the biggest city centre projects in the State in recent years. The project is currently before Galway City Council for planning approval. Last year the promoters of a €320 million mixed use, urban regeneration development were told by the City Council to scale down the scheme significantly because of the threat it posed to “the unique character of the city”. The original plan consisted of 378 apartments, a large commercial area, a 180-bed hotel, a covered public area and a six-screen cinema. 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. In response to a public consultation and feedback from Galway City Council, the total area of development has now been reduced by 11 per cent from 128,080sq m to 114,161sq m. The Irish Times, 6th April

 

RETAIL

Ashbourne, Meath Three new tenants have signed tenancies at Ashbourne Retail Park, a purpose-built retail park about 1.5km from Ashbourne town centre. JYSK, the Danish furniture retailer, will open its tenth Irish store in the country at the park this summer. Choice, a fully Irish-owned indigenous retailer which specialises in household, seasonal and homewares, will occupy the former anchor store, 4 Homes Superstore’s 3,530 square metre (c38,980 sq. ft) premises. This outlet will also include a garden centre and will offer up to 25,000 products to customers. It is due to open in May, bringing Choice’s growing complement of stores to 10 across the region. Also, Leisuredome, a new entrant to the family entertainment sector, will occupy the former Fun Galaxy unit in the park. It plans to open its doors in September. All three lettings will account for almost 8,000 square metres of retail space. The Business Post, 11th April

 

OTHER

Dublin Pubs Four Dublin pubs changed hands in the first three months of the year according to John Ryan of agents Bagnall Doyle MacMahon who estimates that they generated a combined €5.6m. In comparison, there were 12 pubs sold in 2020 with a capital value of close to €46m, many of which were for alternative use and new development purposes. The pubs which have sold are: The 108 Rathgar in Rathgar village, Dublin 6, for which Lisney Morrissey’s had been quoting €2.2m, The Magpie Inn in Dalkey which had a €1.65m guide price, The Cabra House, Fassaugh Avenue, Cabra, was also sold through Lisney, who had been guiding €850,000 and the fourth pub was located on the North side. John Ryan also reports that the appetite for pubs is reflected in a number of off-market deals currently in the pipeline which he expects to transact in the next quarter. Irish Independent, 8th April

Lower Baggot St, Dublin 2 The old Joys nightclub on Lower Baggot Street has been put up for sale. The space it occupies is expected to be of interest to bar and restaurant operators seeking somewhere to capture the zeitgeist of the post-pandemic return of Dublin’s nightlife economy. The property is being offered to the market by agent Finnegan Menton as part of the overall sale of No 127 Lower Baggot Street, a freehold five-storey Georgian commercial premises situated four doors from the junction with Pembroke Street. The property extends to a total floor area of 393.3sq m (4,233sq ft) with a garden patio area of 45sq m (500sq ft) and three or four car parking spaces. When fully let, the offices provide a net income after costs of c€105,000 per annum. With use of the offices restricted at present due to Covid-19, the current gross income is equivalent to €89,000 per annum. According to the selling agent, there is already strong interest in leasing the basement which would be expected to rent for an additional €45,000- €50,000 per annum, which would bring the (existing and potential) net income to between €150,000 and €160,000 per annum. The freehold interest in the building, together with rear car parking area, is for sale at a quoting price of €2.2 million which equates to €520 per square foot. The Irish Times, 7th April

Bradbury Place, Belfast A £20 million (€23 million) purpose-built student accommodation and retail scheme is to be developed in Belfast following the acquisition of a site by Dublin-based Elkstone Partners. The site at 30-44 Bradbury Place is the first acquisition in Northern Ireland for the property division of the investment firm. Development of the site will generate an additional 156 student beds for the 2022/2023 academic year, as well as 362sq m (3,900sq ft) of ground-floor retail space fronting on to a heavy-footfall area of the city. The scheme at Bradbury Place, located close to Queen’s University, has received planning permission from Belfast City Council for 100 cluster and 56 studio beds over six floors, and will ramp up the student accommodation offering in the city with a number of facilities and amenities. The Irish Times, 13th April

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