17th November (Issue 273)
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
Dublin 2 Amundi Real Estate has acquired the newly-developed Fitzwilliam 28 office scheme in Dublin city centre for c.€180 million. Fitzwilliam 28 was brought to the market in January by joint agents Savills Ireland and Bannon at a guide price of €168 million. Knight Frank advised Amundi Real Estate on its acquisition of the property. The building’s owners, the ESB, had agreed to lease the property in its entirety to Slack Technologies prior to offering it for sale. The Irish Times understands that Slack Technologies is set to pay in excess of €7.7 million in rent per annum for the building. The building in its entirety comprises 135,617 sq.ft.(€1,327 price psf and €56.78 rent psf) and gives Slack the capacity to add as many as 1,100 jobs in Dublin. The Irish Times, 12th November
Dublin Office Market The take up in the Dublin office market in Q3 2020 was almost 217,000 sq.ft, however many of the deals were agreed earlier in the year. While this is a significant increase on the c.74,000 sq.ft. completed in Q2 it is still a relatively modest quarterly activity figure. The vacancy reate was 9.5% at the end of September 2020. At the end of September 2020, there was just over 4 million sq.ft. of modern office accommodation vacant across Dublin. This means that supply levels are now back to where they stood 12 months ago. Construction activity continued with c.473,000 sq.ft. of accommodation finished in Q3 and with 4.46 million sq.ft. ongoing at the end of September 2020. Lisney Office Report Q3 2020
MIXED-USE
Spencer Dock, Dublin 1 Lisney, on behalf of the Central Bank of Ireland, is guiding €110 million for Block R in Spencer Dock. The property extends to a total area of 128,229 sq.ft. (€858 psf) and comprises seven floors of office accommodation, three ground-floor retail units and 46 basement car-parking spaces. The building was designed to be split into two self-contained wings (east and west). The majority of one wing (53,173 sq.ft. and 18 car spaces) is let to the Office of Public Works (OPW) under a 20-year lease from May 2015, at a passing rent of €1,582,719 per annum (€29 psf and €3,500 p.a. per car space). There is an outstanding rent review from May 2020 and the OPW lease contains a break option which is effective in May 2027. The remainder of the office space (64,835 sq.ft. and 25 car spaces) will be leased by the Central Bank on a short-term basis until April 30th, 2022, at an annual rent of €3,341,750 (€50 psf and €4,000 per car space). The three retail units are vacant. The Irish Times, 11th November
RESIDENTIAL / LAND
Santry, Dublin 9 The Cosgrave Property Group has sold 297 apartments it is developing in Santry in north Dublin to a joint venture between Round Hill Capital and QuadReal Property Group for €123.5 million (€415,825 per unit). Located at the centre of Northwood in Santry, Blackwood Square will, upon completion, comprise 297 apartments distributed across four eight-storey buildings over a basement car park. The scheme will have a concierge area and residents’ gym along with five commercial units and a creche at ground-floor level. The homes will comprise a mix of 4 one-bedroom units, 243 two-bedroom units and 25 three-bedroom apartments along with two one-bedroom penthouses, 15 two-bedroom penthouses and eight three-bedroom penthouses. The Irish Times, 13th November
Ires Reit Portfolio Ireland’s biggest private landlord Ires Reit has sold 151 apartments to a fund managed by Dutch property investment company Orange Capital Partners for €48 million (€317,880 per unit). The disposal included leased apartments in a number of locations in Dublin, including Dublin 8, the IFSC, Sandyford and Tallaght, as well as three small commercial units. Ires Reit took delivery of 95 new-build apartments in Hansfield Wood, Dublin 15, in August. At present, 81 out of the 95 apartments are leased and income-producing, with letting agreements in place for a further 10 homes. The Irish Independent, 11th November
Coolock, Dublin 17 Cushman & Wakefield is inviting offers in excess of €170 million for the 471 apartments set to be delivered on the site of the former Chivers factory in Coolock (€360,934 per unit). The sale of the portfolio is by way of a forward funding opportunity. Upon completion, the development will comprise 471 build-to-rent (BTR) units distributed across four blocks ranging in height from four to nine storeys. The scheme will include a mix of 61 studios, 138 one-bedroom units, 166 two-bedroom units and 106 three-bedroom units with 394 basement and surface car parking spaces and 650 bicycle spaces. Platinum Land is currently awaiting a decision on a further planning application for an additional 79 units to be added to the current proposed scheme. A decision is expected to be made early in December. The total projected stabilised gross income of the entire development is €10 million per annum. The Irish Times, 11th November
Dublin City Councillors voted against plans to build more than 850 homes on one of the largest sites owned by Dublin City Council on site at Oscar Traynor Road in Santry. The deal would have seen 853 homes built on the site, 428 of which would have been sold privately by Glenveagh. A total of 253 would be bought by the council for social housing and 172 would be sold to low and middle income workers qualifying for the upcoming affordable purchase scheme. The Irish Times, 16th November
Dublin 8 A strategic planning application has been awarded by An Bord Pleanála for a large housing development at the former Bailey Gibson Site in Dublin 8, which will consist of the demolition of all buildings and structures on the site, including nine buildings and an ESB substation to make way for development of the construction of 416 residential units in five blocks. The Business Post, 15th November
Dún Laoghaire, South Dublin Townmore Construction has started the main works on a €45 million shared living accommodation development for Bartra Capital on Eblana Avenue in Dún Laoghaire in south Co Dublin. The 208 bed-space, six-storey development will have “the provision of communal kitchen/dining/living and library spaces at each floor level to serve the residents of each floor”. The Business Post, 15th November
Athlone, Co Westmeath Planning permission has been granted to Castlestar (Athlone) for a development on a site which extends to c.38.6 acres of land located near Athlone, Co Westmeath. The development will comprise the construction of 426 residential units comprising 237 housing units and 189 apartment units as well as open spaces, a creche, outdoor play areas and parking. The Business Post, 15th November
Residential Completions Figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show there were 5,118 new dwellings completed between July and the end of September, compared to 5,652 in July-September 2019, a reduction of 9.4%. The year-on-year reduction, however, was less pronounced than in the second quarter where 3,247 units were completed. Goodbody is forecasting 19,500 home completions in 2020, which is sharply down on pre-Covid estimates but better than expected given the severity of the lockdown in Ireland. The Irish Times, 12th November
Development Land Market In Q3 2020, the development land market in the Greater Dublin Area was significantly busier than the previous quarter with market turnover exceeding €60 million, bringing the total for the first nine months of 2020 to almost €180 million. There was only one transaction in Q3 in excess of €10m; the 52.6 acre site at Harbour Point in Bray, where Ballymore purchased the two lots for a price reportedly in excess of the €27.5m guide. In terms of supply, c.€270 million worth of lands remained either sale agreed (but not yet closed) or on the market available for sale at the end of September 2020. In terms of sale agreed sites, the combined asking prices were close to €180 million, including €125 million for the glass bottle site, while there was a further €90 million available for sale. Lisney, Development Land Report Q3 2020
RETAIL
Baldoyle, Dublin 13 Harvey have completed the sale of 67 Grange Close, a detached warehouse and office facility
Naas, Co Kildare Roche Group has taken the first steps to redeveloping Naas Shopping Centre in the Co Kildare town after Nama recently sold the building to the business. The Irish Times understands that Roche Group intends to spend €10 million redeveloping the complex as a shopping and commercial centre, and will seek permission for the work from Kildare County Council in early 2021, with the centre opening in 2022. The building lay unused from 2008 and Nama appointed Duff & Phelps as receiver to the property in 2017. It put the building on the market with a guide price of €4.5 million, a fraction of the original construction cost. The Irish Times, 16th November
INDUSTRIAL
Dublin Industrial Market Take-up in the Dublin industrial market reached c.600,000 sq.ft. in Q3 2020, 25% higher than in Q2 and 29% higher than the same period of 2019. This brought the total take up for the first nine months of 2020 to c.2 million sq.ft. Supply remains at a very low level with limited availability of quality second-hand stock. Supply fell to a historic low in Q2 2020 but did improve slightly in Q3. At the end of September the amount of stock available stood at approximately 3.62 million sq.ft. and the vacancy rate across Dublin was close to 5%. More than 764,000 sq.ft. of accommodation was under construction at the end of September, 80% of which was available. Lisney, Q3 2020 Dublin Industrial Report
OTHER
Dublin 8 QRE is guiding €1.5 million for 134 James’ St in Dublin 8. The property comprises a two-bay, four-storey over-basement building that had up until recently been in use as a music rehearsal studio. The site, in a prominent end-of-terrace position, extends to c.0.066 acres. The existing building (incorporating rear extension) extends to 5,220 sq.ft. and benefits from a right of way to the rear of the return over the adjoining site and on to Steeven’s Lane. Plans lodged by the vendor with Dublin City Council are seeking permission for the conservation, refurbishment, redevelopment and change of use of the building to provide a 20-bedroom hotel. The Irish Times, 11th November
Irish Investment Market Almost €700m worth of investment property transacted in Q3 across 15 deals. In Q3, PRS was the most dominant sector, accounting for 67.6% of market turnover. Offices was also active at 30.7% of the market with retail and mixed-use making up the remaining 1.7%. This brought the total transacted for the first nine months of 2020 to €1.8 billion. Up to €1.9bn worth of assets were on the market at the end of September 2020. These were at various stages of the sales process but with c.80% still available for sale and the remainder agreed or in advanced negotiations. Lisney, Q3 2020 Investment Report
Hibernia REIT Update The value of Hibernia Real Estate Investment Trust’s (Reit) assets fell 3.8% to €1.421 billion in the six months to September 30th 2020. Hibernia’s annual contracted rent rose 1% to €66.5 million, with its top 10 tenants accounting for €36.5 million of this. Hibernia Reit said it’s rent collection rates are running at 99% for commercial tenants and 98% for residential tenants. RTE.ie, 17th November
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