15th October (Issue 468)

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.

 

HOSPITALITY

Clarendon Street, Dublin 2 BDM Property is handling the sale of Bar Rua at 32 Clarendon Street in Dublin 2, which is guiding in excess of €3.25m. The asset comprises a purpose-built four-storey over basement building together with an adjoining two-storey building fronting Chatham Row. The entire property extends to approx. 6,243 sq. ft. Title to the property is freehold with the section fronting Chatham Row held by way of a long lease at €130k pa. The Business Post, 12th October

Sandyford, South Dublin The Irish subsidiary of hotel brand Premier Inn, PI Hotels & Restaurants Ireland, submitted a planning application for the development to Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council earlier this month. The proposed hotel would be a five- to eight-storey building and be located in Sandyford Business Park. The Irish Independent, 13th October

 

OFFICE

Montague Street, Dublin 2 Montague Court is being brought to market by HWBC at a guide price of €13m. Completed in 1973, and home to the DCEDIY, Montague Court extends to approx. 27,000 sq. ft. The offices are laid out over three floors with car parking at ground level. There is also a small mews building within the grounds of the property. The property’s other tenants include the Legal Aid Board and Romeril Forensic Engineers. Fully let and occupied, the property currently produces annual income of approx. €1.25m. All leases are set to expire on May 31st, 2025. The Irish Times, 9th October

Sandyford, South Dublin Colliers has completed the sale of three leased suburban offices, including 15 designated car parking spaces, at a price of €1.75m (NIY 11.79%; €216 psf). The properties are located within The Apex Business Centre, in the Sandyford Business District in South Dublin. The suites are leased to Allied Pension Trustees Ltd, ARMD Ltd, and Ethos Engineering and are generating a combined rent of €226.9k pa. There is an average WAULT to expiry of approx. two years. The price reflects a 24% discount to the €2.3m guide listed in October 2023. The Business Post, 12th October

 

RETAIL

Dooradoyle, Limerick A Bank of Ireland branch in Limerick city is being offered for sale and Colliers is guiding €1.7m (NIY 6.45%; €468.9 psf) for it. Located in Dooradoyle on the fringe of Limerick city, the property is held on a FYI lease to Bank of Ireland, which commenced in March 2014, and expires in March 2039, with no break options, providing a long unexpired term of 15.5 years. The passing rent is €120.7k pa with the next rent review in March 2029. A modern, single-storey, detached property, it comprises 3,625 sq. ft net internal floor area. The Irish Independent, 10th October

Post Office Portfolio An Post is offering four post offices in Cork, at Skibbereen, Bantry, Kinsale and Macroom; three in Galway, at Athenry, Loughrea, and Tuam; two in Mayo at Ballyhaunis and Westport, two in Tipperary at Roscrea, and Thurles and one in Boyle, Roscommon. All but two will offer new owners rental income via postmaster services and key, well-located properties for other uses. The 12 post offices, plus a site in Bantry, West Cork, are expected to yield over €3m, with very varied individual values but many priced in the €200k to €350k range. The Irish Examiner, 9th October

 

INDUSTRIAL / LOGISTICS

Ashbourne Business Park, Co Meath German fund manager Deka Immobilien has made its Irish logistics debut after it exchanged contracts to purchase PrimeLine’s new distribution headquarters in Ashbourne Business Park. Constructed at the beginning of the year, the two properties comprise a total area of approx. 360,000 sq. ft, and although the purchase price was not disclosed, it is understood to have been approx. €70m (NIY 5.5%) in what represents one of the biggest single-tenant logistics investment deals completed in recent years. As part of the sale-leaseback, PrimeLine has agreed to a 20-year lease on the industrial space. Bisnow, 14th October

Cork Road, Waterford Joint agents Lisney and CBRE are bringing the former Cartamundi production facility in Waterford city back to market at a significantly reduced guide price of €11m (previously guiding €17.85m). The building, in the IDA Industrial Estate on the Cork Road, extends to a total floor area of 246,646 sq. ft (€44.6 psf) and includes ancillary office accommodation of approx. 11,010 sq. ft. The facility also benefits from a secure, self-contained site of approx. 14 acres, with approx. three acres undeveloped. The Irish Times, 9th October

 

MIXED-USE

Thomas Street, Dublin 8 Lisney has been instructed to offer 110 Thomas Street for sale with a guide price of €3.7m (€495.3 psf). The mixed-use building is located opposite the junction to Meath Street and comprises a four-storey end-of-terrace redbrick building. It includes a ground-floor pub and six apartments comprising three one-bedroom units and three two-bedroom units on the upper floors. The entire building extends to approx. 7,470 sq. ft and generates a combined passing rent of €261.1k pa. The retail unit is let to neighbourhood bar “Love Tempo” producing an income of €110k pa. The Business Post, 12th October

Temple Bar, Dublin 2 Colliers is marketing an investment opportunity in Dublin’s Temple Bar district at No. 48 Fleet Street. The ground and basement floors are leased to Carrolls Irish Gifts Unlimited. That lease expires in 2033, with no breaks and is generating €60k pa. The upper floors are approx. 30% occupied by two licensee’s with 2025 expiry dates. Together they generate a combined income of €59.8k pa. As an alternative, a lease up of the vacant office accommodation would generate a significant reversion. For the entire building, there is an initial combined income of €119.8k pa. The Business Post, 11th October

Merrion Row, Dublin 2 An Bord Pleanála has overturned a Dublin City Council planning refusal for a mixed-use scheme on the site of the former Unicorn restaurant on Dublin’s Merrion Row. The appeals board decision now gives the go-ahead to Aviva Life & Pensions Ireland DAC to demolish buildings at 13 and 13a Merrion Row and 12 and 5 Merrion Court and in their place construct a part four and five storey mixed-use scheme that would include mainly office use along with retail and restaurant use and three residential town houses. The Irish Times, 11th October

 

Residential / Development

Herberton Road, Dublin 12 A 1.89-acre site in Herberton Road is coming to the market with full planning permission for the construction of 113 apartments, as well as commercial space. The site is guiding €8.25m. The scheme comprises a mix of 57 one-bed and 56 two-beds, varying in size from an average floor area of 484 sq. ft for the one-beds to 915 sq. ft for the two-beds. In addition, planning permission also allows for 60 parking spaces, five motorcycle spaces and 166 bicycle spaces, all at basement level. The Irish Times, 9th October

Dundalk, Co Louth Grandspect Developments has acquired a land bank of approx. 98 acres at Mount Avenue in Dundalk, paying in excess of the guide price of €12m for the site, which has the potential for the construction of as many as 1,000 homes. The sale was conducted on the instruction of receiver Myles Kirby. Grandspect, a joint venture between the Maplewood Group and Lydon Group, acquired the site in the face of “significant interest” from parties both in Ireland and Northern Ireland. The Irish Times, 9th October

Harrington Street, Dublin 8 Brought to market by Colliers, at a guide price of €2.5m (€235.50 psf), 36-37 Harrington Street (10,616 sq. ft) and Archbishop Byrne Hall (5,400 sq. ft) are being sold on behalf of the Catholic Guides of Ireland Eastern Region. The property comprises a substantial four-storey-over-basement, end-of-terrace building, together with an additional building on leafy Synge Street, known as Archbishop Byrne Hall. The properties are being sold with vacant possession. The Irish Times, 9th October

Kilmainham, Dublin 8 A High Court judge has found An Bord Pleanála granted an unlawful permission for a five block BTR apartment scheme, including one block 18-storeys high, near the Royal Hospital building in Kilmainham. Ms Justice Emily Farrell said the board failed to consider the proposed development in Heuston South Quarter was a material contravention of the Dublin City Development Plan 2022-28. She will issue her full judgment on November 4th after which final orders in the case will be made. The developer, HPREF HSQ Investments Limited, was a notice party to the proceedings. The Irish Times, 15th October

Liffey Valley Shopping Centre, Dublin Hines has revived its plans to build a €700m, 1,400-apartment complex beside the Liffey Valley shopping centre. BVK, the German pension fund that owns the shopping centre, has refinanced the property. Hines, which is the asset manager of Liffey Valley, wrote to South Dublin County Council last month, asking it to “consider rezoning” nine hectares of land beside the centre, which are owned by BVK and Hines. BVK renewed the debt facility for the centre with Pimco/Allianz. It has refused to divulge the facility’s value. The Sunday Times, 13th October

BNP Paribas Real Estate Ireland’s construction industry latest PMI for September points to an ongoing easing of inflationary pressures within the sector in September. Overall, the September headline index dropped below the neutral 50 threshold, which separates growth in activity from contraction, to 49 from exactly 50 in August, indicating a decline in activity. Total activity in the Republic’s construction sector has now declined in four of the past five months. Housing activity returned to growth in September following a minor decline in August. But commercial activity remains challenged, dipping back into contraction territory after growth in August. The Irish Times, 14th October

Dundrum, Dublin 14 The owners of the Dundrum Town Centre have finished the structural phase on a 122-unit BTR development, the Ironworks, on a site on the Sandyford Road in advance of its launch to market next year. UK property group Hammerson and Pimco Prime Real Estate said the scheme on an infill site adjacent to the town centre has now been “topped out”, meaning structural work has concluded. Once completed in autumn 2025, the scheme will comprise 107 new apartments spread across studios, one and two bedroom apartments alongside 15 social homes. The Irish Times, 11th October

 

OTHER

Forestry Portfolio A portfolio of more than 1,300 acres of forestry land has come to market for sale with Lisney with offers of approx. €10m being sought for the entire. The agent has been instructed to oversee the sale of a substantial forestry portfolio, spanning approx. 1,385 acres. The portfolio consists of 27 plots spread across the counties of Tipperary, Wicklow, Offaly, Laois, Wexford, Limerick, and Kilkenny. Tipperary accounts for 50% of the portfolio. The portfolio on offer comprises a productive area of approx. 1,160 acres. The remaining 225.40 acres is attributable to open space, setbacks, biodiversity, and unplanted land. The Business Post, 12th October

 

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