16th February (Issue 33)
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
Ballsbridge: Johnny Ronan has sought planning permission from Dublin City Council to develop a 600,000 sq. ft. complex on a site adjoining AIB’s Bankcentre in Ballsbridge, Dublin 4. The application outlines Ronan’s intention to demolish the existing 120,000 sq. ft. of office space and replace it with two six storey office blocks. The two blocks will provide 450,000 sq. ft. of office space and once the basement space has been factored in, over 600,000 sq. ft. in total. Ronan purchased the 4 acre site in late 2015 after securing funding from Cardinal Capital and Jefferies LoanCore. NAMA Wine Lake, 14th February
The One Building: The Irish online payments company Stripe are to pay a rent of over €2m p.a. to lease the entirety of The One Building on Grand Canal Street in Dublin 2. Stripe are understood to have paid a rent of €50 psf for the property, which comprises c. 45,000 sq. ft. of space over four floors. Based on the agreed rent and an investment yield of 4.75%, the property is now valued at c. €45m. The current owners of the property are Jones Investments, who paid €4.8m for the property in 2013 and then spent c. €7m renovating the property.The Sunday Times, 14th February
Deansgrange Business Park: Lisney has set an asking price of c. €12.75m for two interconnecting office blocks in Deansgrange Business Park, south Dublin. The properties, which are being sold on behalf of NAMA, are currently producing a rent roll of €1.025m p.a. and have a weighted average unexpired lease term of over 3 years. Each block stands at five storeys tall and there is a combined gross floor area of 69,880 sq. ft. Approximately 80% of the space is let by Baxter, Nutricia and Danone. The Irish Times, 10th February
Fonthill Industrial Park: Savills are inviting offers in excess of €5.25m for two buildings in Fonthill Industrial Park, Dublin 22. Numbers 16 and 16A are fully let and producing a rent roll of €460k p.a., which is set to increase to c. €500k in 2017. The properties were built in 1999 and 2001 and consist of 26,242 sq. ft. of office space and 7,610 sq. ft. of industrial space, with 99 car spaces also available. The weighted average unexpired lease term of the properties is c. 5.4 years. Fonthill was developed by Green Property, who continue to manage the park. The Irish Times, 10th February
Vertium Building: Joint letting agents Knight Frank and Savills are set to launch the marketing campaign for the €170m Vertium Building which is under development on Burlington Road in Dublin 4. The target completion date for the property is Q2 2017 and when completed, the property should comprise six storeys with a total floor area of 172,000 sq. ft. The letting agents will be guiding rents of c. €55 psf for the property, which will have average floor plates of 29,000 sq. ft. The project is being developed by the Ronan Group, U+I and Union Investments. The Irish Times, 10th February
Green Property: After putting Blanchardstown Shopping Centre (c. €1bn) and Project Glas (c. €168m) on the market in recent weeks, Green Property look set to dispose of two further assets in their portfolio for up to GBP£250m (€322m). The properties, 7 and 8 St James’s Square in Central London, were purchased by Green Property in 2008 and comprise a mix of office and residential space. Number 8 consists of 65,000 sq. ft. of prime office space, with the sixth floor let for a record £185 psf in 2015 to Helly Nahmed Gallery Limited. Number 7 is a renovated seven-bed mansion which features its own swimming pool and garden. The Irish Independent, 14th February
HOTEL
Charlemont Clinic: Dalata has completed the cash purchase of a 0.95 acre site in Dublin 2 from U+I for €11.9m. The site, which was previously home to Charlemont Clinic, is located on Charlemont Mall along the Grand Canal. Dalata are now planning to develop a Clayton Hotel on the site, for which planning permission was granted in January 2016 for a four star, 181-bed hotel. The total cost of the project, including the site acquisition, is believed to be in excess of €40m. The Irish Independent, 15th February
Gresham Hotel: As NAMA continues to progress the sales process for the Gresham Hotel, it is reported that the price tag for the four-star hotel has risen to €80m. The hotel, which is located on O’Connell Street in Dublin 1, has seen its projected price tag rise from c. €60m to c. €80m as demand for hotel rooms in Dublin strengthens due to the economic recovery and increased tourism. The Irish Times, 13th February
Hotel Development: Two developers are planning to build a total of 269 new hotel rooms in Dublin. John Malone is seeking to add 117 bedrooms to the Hilton Hotel in Dublin 2. The new rooms would be provided via the construction of a new seven storey extension to the rear of the hotel. Malone paid €31.5m for the hotel in 2014. Separately, Brian and Sally McGill have sought planning permission for a new 152 bed hotel on Harcourt Street in Dublin 2. The McGills plan to convert a number of Georgian properties into a hotel should planning permission be granted. The Sunday Times, 14th February
RESIDENTIAL / LAND
Magee Barracks: An unnamed Irish developer has reportedly been chosen as the preferred bidder for the 51.4 acre Magee Barracks in Kildare Town, Kildare. The barracks, which was eventually sold for €8.2m at an auction led by Conway Auctioneers, had an opening price of €2.5m. The barracks closed down 18 years ago and a number of derelict buildings still remain. Given that the site is attractively located in the centre of the town, residential development is expected to form a significant portion of any development plan. The Sunday Business Post, 14th February
53 Percy Place: CBRE has completed the sale of a 0.1 acre site with development potential in Percy Place, Dublin 4 for €1.7m. The sale equates to a value of €17m an acre, a new high in Dublin city centre. There is currently a derelict cottage on the site, however as it is unprotected, the new owners will be free to demolish it in a bid to maximise its development potential. The site, which was previously owned by Waterways Ireland, is understood to have been purchased by two un-named investors. The Irish Times, 11thFebruary
Mount Anville: A partnership between the US fund Broadhaven and the Irish builder Maplewood Residential has purchased c. 18.4 acres of development land on Mount Anville Road in Dublin 14 for over €25.4m. The site is located at Knockrabo and comes with planning permission for 85 residential units. There is potential to deliver an additional 85 units which have been outlined under the master plan for the site. Of the 18.4 acres, c. 5.1 acres have been earmarked for the extension of the Eastern Bypass, leaving 13.3 acres available for residential development. The Irish Times, 10th February
Cherrywood Sites: Cairn Homes has reached an agreement with Hines Ireland to acquire two sites in Cherrywood, south Dublin, for €21.5m. Cairn has also agreed to purchase a third Cherrywood site from Hines for €9.2m, with planning permission required before any sale is completed. Provided there are no problems obtaining planning permission, the agreement will allow Cairn Homes to construct over 300 homes. The Irish Independent, 13th February
Transaction Activity: The latest figures from GeoDirectory, who maintain Ireland’s largest property database, reveal that there were just 43,428 residential property transactions in 2015. With over two million residential units in Ireland, this equates to a turnover rate of c. 2.2%, well below the perceived normal level of transactional activity of 4% – 5%. The figures also highlight how second-hand sales continue to dominate transactional activity, accounting for c. 87% of all transactions in 2015. The Irish Times, 10th February
Leisureplex Stillorgan: DTZ Sherry Fitzgerald are guiding €10m for a 2.17 acre site on Lower Kilmacud Road in Stillorgan, south Dublin. The site, which was previously bought by Treasury Holdings for €65m in 2006, could facilitate a mixed-use development, however any planning application will likely be subject to significant local opposition. Treasury Holdings previously tried to redevelop the adjacent Stillorgan Shopping Centre, however they were unable to secure planning permission. Two houses, 62 and 63 St Laurence’s Park, are also included in the sale. DTZ estimate that the short term rental income from the portfolio is c. €250k. The Irish Times, 10th February
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