19th April (Issue 42)
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.
LOAN / PORTFOLIO SALES
Projects Emerald and Ruby: With first round bids for NAMA’s Emerald and Ruby loan portfolios due by the 20th of April, it is understood that Cerberus, CarVal and Lone Star are among the interested parties. Project Emerald has a par value of €2.5bn, split across 16 borrowers. There are 236 properties securing the Project Emerald loans. Over 20% of the Project Emerald properties are residential, and over 20% of the properties are located in Dublin. Project Ruby is a €2.2bn par value portfolio with 15 borrower connections. The Project Ruby loans are secured by 253 properties, with over 97% of the properties located in Ireland. The Irish Independent, 19th April
NAMA Figures: Last week the acting Finance Minister Michael Noonan provided an update on the NAMA loan book. Between 2010 and 2012, NAMA acquired loans which had a par value of €74bn for the discounted price of €32bn. The loans were linked to 779 debtor connections. Following a number of portfolio sales in recent years, 442 debtors have exited NAMA. Of the 442 who exited, only 44 debtors repaid their debt in full. According to Minister Noonan, the 442 borrowers who exited NAMA accounted for €18.5bn of the €74bn of par value debt. NAMA Wine Lake, 17thApril
Industrial Portfolio: Goldman Sachs and CarVal Investors are inviting offers of €30m for a portfolio of industrial properties. The properties are located between Dublin and Limerick and it is believed that c. 40% of them are vacant. Goldman and CarVal purchased the assets from NAMA as part of a larger loan portfolio. Goldman and CarVal had previously intended to sell 36 properties for c. €50m, however they have since decided to retain five or six of the most attractive assets. Some of these prized assets are located at Northwest Business Park at Ballycoolin and Greenogue Business Park in Rathcoole. The Irish Times, 13th April
RETAIL
Childers Road: Three bidders have progressed to the second round of bidding for Childers Road Retail Park in Limerick, which has a guide price of €44m. The bidders are Irish Life, Savills Investment Managers and Dolores McNamara, who previously won €115m in the Euromillions lottery. The 257,000 sq. ft. retail park has an annual rent roll of €3.22m. Joint agents HWBC and DTZ Sherry FitzGerald are managing the sale of the retail park, which was developed over ten years ago by Alan and Brian McCormack. The Irish Times, 13th April
OFFICE
Dublin Market Review: JLL’s report on the Dublin office market for Q1 2016 shows that 34 lease transactions were completed in the period for a total take-up of 485,935 sq. ft. of floor space. This level of take-up was 50% lower than the Q4 2015 take-up however it was 43% higher than the Q1 2015 take-up. Prime rents in Dublin city centre are now ranging from €55 – €65 psf while rents in the suburbs range from €25 – €30 psf. The report also shows that 54% of the take-up was in Dublin city centre with the remaining 46% in the suburbs. On the development side, JLL estimate that c. 2.8m sq. ft. of new office space is being constructed, with a further 662,000 sq. ft. of space being refurbished. JLL, Dublin Office Market Report Q1 2016
HOTEL
Ballykisteen Hotel and Golf Resort: CBRE has set an asking price of over €2m for Ballykisteen Hotel and Golf Resort, which is near Limerick Junction in Tipperary. The four star, 40-bed hotel is situated on a 114 acre site which also features the Des Smyth golf course. The hotel is a popular choice for weddings and has also been voted as one of the top 10 resorts for family breaks. The Irish Times, 13th April
Andrews Lane Theatre: A group of private investors have completed the purchase of Andrews Lane Theatre, which is located between Trinity Street and Exchequer Street in Dublin. The €4.4m purchase price was significantly above the €3.1m guide price for the property, which went on the market in March. The new owners are now expected to seek planning permission to replace the existing property with a new seven-storey, 115-bed hotel, which will cost c. €10m to develop. There is currently a two storey property on the site, which extends to 6,497 sq. ft. The Hangar nightclub is currently operating from the property. The Irish Times, 18th April
Dublin Castle: A company owned by Eamon Waters, the owner of the Panda waste group, has sought planning permission to develop a new 136-bed hotel near Dublin Castle in the city centre. The proposed seven-storey, c. 61,000 sq. ft. hotel will be developed on Ship Street Great on a 0.2 acre site. The company paid c. €2m for the site in December 2015. Industry experts estimate that the overall cost of the development is c. €25m – €30m. The Sunday Times, 17th April
RESIDENTIAL / LAND
ESB Sandyford: The ESB has sought planning permission for the development of three new five-storey office blocks in Sandyford, south Dublin. The blocks would provide c. 269,000 sq. ft. of office space with 250 car spaces also proposed for the site. The ESB are proposing to complete the development on a 14 acre site they own, with the development set to occupy c. 5.5 acres. Market sources estimate the cost of the project at €100m. The Sunday Times, 17th April
Spencer Dock: Developer Johnny Ronan looks set to reacquire a six-acre waterfront site in Dublin’s Spencer Dock in a c. €50m deal. The site is being purchased by Ronan Group Real Estate, with the US private equity firm Colony Capital funding the acquisition. The site was previously owned by Treasury Holdings, a company which Ronan jointly owned, before NAMA appointed receivers over the assets. Planning permission has already been obtained for the site, with approval in place for the development of a 169-bed hotel, 165 apartments and c. 340,000 square feet of office space. The Sunday Business Post, 17th April
Abbeville Development: The Japanese Nishida family has sought planning permission for the development of 46 homes on the former estate of Charlie Haughey in Abbeville, Kinsealy, county Dublin. Should planning be granted, the homes will be developed on the 5.5 acre site which is located to the rear of the Ashgrove / Baskin Cottages. The projected sales price for the houses to be developed is between €400k and €500k. The Nishida family previously founded the Toyoko Inn hotel group. The Sunday Business Post, 17th April
Housing Development: New figures from the CSO show that, in 2015, planning permission was approved for the development of 13,044 homes. While this is a 76% increase on the 2014 figure, it is still well below the estimated annual requirement of 25,000 homes. From analysing the figures, it was apartments which enjoyed the largest percentage increase in planning approvals, rising by 256% to 2,794. Estate homes also rose by 89% to 6,658 while one-off homes rose by 16% to 3,592. The news comes as The Irish Independent also reports that NAMA controls enough land to develop over 80,000 homes, however a large number of the sites cannot be developed on until planning issues are resolved. The issues include poor sewerage, lack of infrastructure and a lack of transport and schools. The Irish Independent, 15th April
Clontarf Site: CBRE are expecting substantial interest in a 0.96 acre development site in Clontarf, Dublin 3, which is guiding €3.85m. The site on Vernon Avenue has planning permission for 17 three-bed homes, with permission granted by An Bord Pleanála in June 2014. Under the terms of the planning approval, the homes will range in size from 1,055 sq. ft. to 1,927 sq. ft. The Irish Times, 13th April
Tully Road: A 21 acre site in Kildare town with planning permission for 164 homes had to be withdrawn from public auction on April 7th after an extremely competitive bidding process. Bidding for the site began at €2.6m and quickly rose to €4.725m before it was withdrawn. The site was later sold for a significantly higher price to an unnamed investor. The site is c. 32 miles from Dublin city and c. 15 miles from Naas. Planning permission was granted by An Bord Pleanála for 10 years in April 2013. There may be scope to increase the number of properties to be developed on the site as the current planning permission is viewed as low density. REA Coonan, 12thApril
Kilmacud Road: After previously purchasing Kemnay, a single storey property in Upper Kilmacud Road in south Dublin, Davy has sought planning permission to develop 19 units on the 0.74 acre site. The application seeks approval for 3 four-bedroom houses, 8 three-bedroom duplex apartments and 8 two-bedroom apartments. The Irish Times, 14th April
Ulster Bank Mortgage Rates: Following the latest One Big Switch campaign, Ulster Bank has introduced a number of new mortgage products which will offer homeowners cheaper rates on their mortgage. For those who signed up to the One Big Switch campaign, Ulster Bank will offer a four-year fixed rate mortgage of 3.29%. The offer will apply to mortgages where the loan-to-value is less than 60% of the loan, and is also available to existing Ulster Bank customers as well as new customers. For mortgage holders who are considering switching providers, Ulster Bank will pay €1,500 of the legal fees and also provide a free valuation. Ulster Bank has also introduced new three and five year fixed rate products, with the rate dependent on the loan to value. The Irish Independent, 18th April
Danes Hollow: Moya Doherty and John McColgan, the producers of Riverdance, are to sell their Danes Hollow home in Howth, north Dublin. The c. 9,000 sq. ft., five-bed property is now on the market through Ganly Walters for €9.5m. In 1997 Doherty and McGolgan paid £900k for Danes Hollow, which at the time was a bungalow on a one acre site. Shortly afterwards they purchased an adjacent 2.35 acre site and replaced the bungalow with a more lavish residence. While the main residence is now being sold, Doherty and McColgan will retain a three bed guest house which lies on the Danes Hollow site. The Irish Times, 14th April
OTHER
IPUT Facility: The latest annual report from IPUT reveals that the fund has obtained a €150m revolving credit facility from the US lender Wells Fargo. Per the report, the facility is for a three year term from January 2016, with IPUT having already drawn down €52.7m. The facility is expected to be used to part finance IPUT’s development projects while also funding dividend payments. In 2015, IPUT spent c. €163m acquiring assets. The total rental income for IPUT’s portfolio last year was c. €85.8m. IPUT also expect their rental income to increase significantly over the next 24 months, as 30% of the rental income will be subject to rent reviews. The Irish Times, 15th April
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