Project Pluto: Danske Bank is expected to confirm the sale of its Project Pluto loan portfolio to Cerberus this week. The portfolio includes owner-occupier mortgages, buy-to-let mortgages and unsecured personal borrowings. Some of the loans are classified as non-performing. The sale would be one of the biggest residential loan sales in Ireland in recent times and would represent a significant portion of Danske Bank’s c. €2bn Irish mortgage book. No details on the par value or purchase price were disclosed. The Sunday Times, 14th August
Debenhams Liquidation: The Sunday Business Post reports on the proposed strategy which would see the Irish subsidiary of Debenhams exit liquidation. The British parent company will write off debts of over €42m whilst also providing an unsecured three-year loan to the subsidiary. The existing unsecured creditors will be paid c. 5% of their principal amounts whilst preferential creditors will be fully repaid. Creditors are set to vote on the proposal over the next few days. If the proposal is approved, then it will be sent to the High Court for formal ratification. Debenhams voluntarily entered liquidation this year, citing its high lease costs (€25m in 2015) among its chief concerns. The Sunday Business Post, 14th August
One Spencer Dock: AGC Equity Partners has completed the purchase of One Spencer Dock in Dublin’s North Wall Quay for c. €242m. The c. 226,000 sq. ft. property is let to PwC under three separate leases, with each lease running for 25 years from April 2007. The annual rent for the property is c. €11.8m. The sale of the property was managed by receivers Luke Charleton and David Hughes of EY, who were acting on behalf of NAMA. The Sunday Business Post, 12th August
Cherrywood Development: The High Court has over-turned a 2015 decision by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council to refuse a planning application submitted by O’Flynn Capital Partners (OFCP). The application sought approval for the development of 164 homes in Cabinteely / Loughlinstown. The application has now been referred back to the council who are to make a fresh decision on the application, as their previous reasons for rejecting the application were deemed to be invalid. According to OFCP, the sales value of the development site is in excess of €75m. The site lies within the c. 890-acre Cherrywood site, which is a Strategic Development Zone understood to be capable of providing c. 7,500 homes. The Irish Times, 10th August
Social Housing Fund: The Government’s Housing Agency is to review up to 1,000 homes in the possession of banks and investment companies over the next two years, with a view to acquiring properties for social housing. The agency’s goal is to acquire at least 400 homes a year and they will primarily target large portfolio sales of buy-to-let properties, so as to cause minimal disruption to the property market. The agency has been allocated a c. €70m budget by the Government, however this can operate similarly to a working capital facility. As the agency acquires properties from receivers, they will then sell them on to local authorities / approved housing bodies. The funds received from these bodies can be used to replenish the fund. The Irish Times, 15th August
Cork Student Accommodation: Ziggurat has been granted planning permission by Cork City Council for a 205-bed student accommodation project near UCC on the Western Road, Cork. The development is to be completed on a 0.8-acre site which previously facilitated an Esso Station. The estimated cost of the development is €75m. The council granted planning permission subject to a number of conditions, which are expected to be released shortly. The Evening Echo, 15th August
Dublin Development: CreKav Landbank Investments Ltd has sought planning permission from Dublin City Council for the development of 340 apartments on the site of the Carriglea Industrial Estate, Naas Road, Dublin. The application proposes the development of 70 one-beds, 159 two-beds and 111 three-beds. The gross floor area of the development will be c. 400,000 sq. ft., with the apartments spread across eight blocks ranging from four to five storeys in height. NAMA Wine Lake, 14th August
Kildare Development: NAMA is backing the development of close to 300 homes in Naas, Co. Kildare, which will be developed by Sean Mulryan’s Ballymore Developments. Company filings show that NAMA’s subsidiary, National Asset Loan Management, has secured a charge over the development land. The development is to be completed in two phases, with the first phase seeing the completion of 124 units. A number of the homes being developed will be three and four-bed units. The Irish Independent, 11th August
Dungooley Lodge: Best auctioneers has set an asking price of €4.155m for Dungooley Lodge in Kilcurry, Co. Louth. The c. 27,000 sq. ft. mansion is in a shell condition and is situated on a c. 256-acre site. The house was previously owned by the Northern Irish businessman Edward Haughey, before he passed away in 2014. The property is now being sold by his family. The Irish Times, 11th August
Chapelizod Site: Hooke & MacDonald is inviting offers of €3m for a 2.57-acre site (€1.17m an acre) on Chapelizod Hill Road in Dublin 20. The site comes with planning permission for the development of 33 new houses and the refurbishment of an existing semi-detached house which adjoins the site. The new houses will consist of two two-beds, 16 three-beds, 12 four-beds and three five-beds. The guide price equates to c. €83k for each of the new house sites and c. €250k for the existing house. Shrewsbury Square Ltd is selling the site, having been granted permission by NAMA to do so. The Irish Times, 10th August
Ulster Bank Mortgage Rates: Ulster Bank has announced cuts to its fixed and variable mortgage rates. The bank’s three-year fixed rates now start at 2.99% (down from 3.2%) and are available to customers whose LTV is no greater than 80%. The bank’s variable rates have also been cut from 3.2% to 3.1%. The Sunday Business Post, 11th August
Q2 Dublin Market Review: Savills’ report on the Dublin industrial market for Q2 2016 shows that take-up exceeded c. 570,000 sq. ft. in the period, bringing the H1 2016 take-up figure to c. 1,281,000 sq. ft. Although this is lower than the H1 2015 take-up of 2,368,000 sq. ft., H1 2015 saw an increased level of activity as investors sought to capitalise on expiring CGT incentives. Savills estimate that prime rents are now c. €7.90 psf and prime yields have tightened to c. 6.7%. The report also analyses figures from MSCI and estimates that capital values of prime industrial buildings are c. €74 psf. Savills Dublin Industrial Market, Q2 2016
€850m Data Centre Galway: Apple has been granted planning permission by An Bord Pleanála for the development of a c. 264,000 sq. ft. data centre near Athenry in Co. Galway. The data centre is to be built on a c. 486-acre site and Apple is expected to invest c. €850m in the project. Apple’s planning application also sought permission for the development of an electricity sub-station, which was also approved. Construction of the data centre is expected to create c. 300 jobs, while its operation will require c. 150 jobs. The Irish Independent, 12th August
Galway Clinic: Larry Goodman’s Parma Investments looks set to acquire Jimmy Sheehan’s 25% shareholding in the Galway Clinic for c. €31m. If the sale goes through, Parma will own 75% of the hospital. Parma also recently acquired Brendan McDonald’s 10% shareholding for an undisclosed amount. The hospital is trading very strongly, and accounts for 2014 show that it made a pre-tax profit of c. €12.8m. The Sunday Business Post, 14th August
TV3 Planning Application: TV3 has sought planning permission from South Dublin County Council to convert a logistics facility into a television studio at its Ballymount campus. The logistics facility has a floor area of 24,617 sq. ft. TV3 was acquired by Virgin Media for c. €87m in 2015. The Irish Independent, 14th August
Addison Lodge: The Addison Lodge pub in Glasnevin, Co. Dublin is on the market with a €3.25m price tag. The pub was sold for c. €16m in 2007. The Irish Independent, 11th August
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