19th January (Issue 280)

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.

 

 

INDUSTRIAL

Blanchardstown, Dublin 15 CBRE is quoting a rent of €475,000 per annum (€7.78 psf) for the ground floor space at Clyde House in Blanchardstown, Dublin 15. Extending to a total area of 61,021 sq.ft, the subject property is suitable for manufacturing, production and storage uses. The main production floor has a clear internal height of 4.1m with two dock levellers and is finished with concrete floors. There is an extensive loading yard to the rear with a maximum depth of 35m. The lease area also incorporates office and amenity areas totalling 4,273 sq.ft. for the tenant’s sole use. There are 50 designated car bays available for the tenant’s use. The Irish Times, 13th January

Dublin Industrial & Logistics Sector Take-up in the Dublin industrial & logistics sector reached more than 1.48 million sq.ft. in the last quarter of 2020 – the highest quarterly take-up in 5 years. Total take-up in the sector in 2020 reached almost 3.7 million sq.ft, up 3% on the previous year – a strong result considering underlying market conditions. Lettings of industrial buildings accounted for 85% of industrial take-up in Dublin in Q4 with 30 individual letting transactions signed in the quarter. Transactional activity during Q4 2020 was primarily focused on the Dublin South West (N7) and Dublin North East (M1) corridors. 4 industrial investment transactions completed in the Irish market during Q4 2020. Prime industrial yields compressed to 4.75% during Q4 and are expected to trend stronger during 2021. CBRE Dublin Industrial and Logistics MarketView Q4 2020

 

OFFICE

Dublin Office Sector Office take-up in Dublin during Q4 2020 reached 302,530 sq.ft. bringing total take-up in the capital in 2020 to c.1.72 million sq.ft., down 47% on the previous year. Demonstrating the extent to which Covid-19 impacted the market, 69% of total take-up in the Dublin office market in 2020 occurred in Q1. In total, there were 30 office leasing transactions completed in Dublin during Q4 bringing the total number of office leasing transactions in 2020 to 105. 30% of leasing activity in Dublin in Q4 2020 and 37% for the year as a whole occurred in suburban areas. The overall rate of vacancy in Dublin at the end of Q4 2020 rose to 9.1%. Prime headline quoting rents stabilised at €60.00 psf at the end of the year while prime yields were at 4%. CBRE Dublin Office MarketView Q4 2020

 

RETAIL

Shopping centre operator Hammerson, which owns Dundrum Town Centre and stakes in the Swords Pavilions and Ilac shopping centres in Dublin, said it had collected 41% of the rents due at its properties across Europe, with 31% collected in Ireland, 41% collected in the UK and 46% in France for the first quarter of 2021. In Ireland, only a quarter of occupiers at Hammerson’s flagships continue to operate as a temporary ban on click and collect services for non-essential retail took effect. Only essential retail, takeaway and deliveries can operate. The group said more than half the shopping villages in its value retail portfolio are currently closed as Covid-19 restrictions tightened. Hammerson has waived £21 million owed by its tenants for fiscal year 2020, collecting c.75% of the rent due for last year. The Irish Times, 19th January

Grafton St, Dublin 2 Hugo Boss has signed a new 10-year lease on its flagship store on Dublin’s Grafton Street. Hugo Boss’ existing lease expired in 2020 where the contracted rent per annum was €825,000, which they committed to when they acquired the lease for the store in 2015 from the UK retailer Next. The new committed rental amount is €630,000 per annum, indicating a 24% reduction on the previous rent. The store comprises 5,775 sq.ft. (€109 psf new rent) of retail space over three trading floors in addition to ancillary upper floor levels. The Irish Times, 13th January

 

HOSPITALITY

Dublin Pubs Sector Strong prices were achieved by some of the 12 Dublin pubs which were sold in 2020 thanks partly to the development potential of the properties and the deep pockets of some of the purchasers. John Ryan of Bagnall Doyle MacMahon said that while the number of 2020 pub deals was fewer than the 18 in 2019, the average price increased from €3.25m to €3.8m. The most valuable of them was The Storehouse, Temple Bar which Punch Taverns, backed by Emerald Investments, bought for a near record price of c.€16m. Other notable transactions include Dunnes Stores buying the Magic Carpet pub and development site in Cornelscourt, Dublin 18, for c.€9m and Marlet is understood to have paid c.€8m for Ruin Bar on Tara Street next to the Apollo House site where they are  developing a major office scheme. A number of other pubs went sale agreed before the end of the year including The Queen’s in Dalkey. The Irish Independent, 13th January

 

RESIDENTIAL / LAND

Irish Glass Bottle Site The Irish Times understands that Ronan Group Real Estate (RGRE) and US investment firm Oaktree have hired property investment company Eastdil Secured to advise on debt financing options for development of the Irish Glass Bottle site and an adjoining plot in Dublin. RGRE and Oaktree signed up before Christmas to pay €200 million to buy an 80% stake in the company holding the 37-acre site from Nama. The largest vacant plot in the capital is expected to deliver up to 3,800 homes, 25% of which are earmarked for social and affordable housing, as well as 1 million sq.ft. of commercial space. There are also plans for a school and public open space. The Irish Times, 16th January

Rathcoole, Co Dublin Four groups of local residents have been granted permission for legal action to be brought against An Bord Pleanála and the State, with the developer, Homeville Developments Ltd, as a notice party aimed at overturning planning approval for a development including 204 residential units in Rathcoole, Co Dublin. The groups say, while they each have a different focus, all “are dedicated to the protection of the built and natural environment of the historic village of Rathcoole and the surrounding area”. They want orders quashing the board’s November 2020 permission for the demolition of existing residential units and construction of 204 residential units, a childcare facility, and associated works, at Stoney Hill Road, Rathcoole. The Irish Times, 15th January

Dublin 1 Deutsche Bank subsidiary DWS has marked the value of Ireland’s largest off-campus student accommodation complex down by 6% to reflect the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the sector. The Point Campus has 966 bed spaces distributed across two blocks with DWS having paid a net purchase price of €142.26 million to acquire the complex in December 2019 from BlackRock Real Estate and the O’Flynn Group. DWS have now ascribed a net value of €134.61 million to the property. The Irish Times, 13th January

High End Residential Market A detailed analysis of the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) register by the Business Post has shown nearly four-fifths of the 246 apartments in phase three of Clancy Quay in Dublin 8 are empty and nearly half of the apartments in Capital Dock, a 190-apartment, 22-storey built-to-let tower in Dublin’s Docklands are also vacant. Both developments are controlled by Kennedy Wilson, which has more than 2,000 rental units in its Irish portfolio. Rents in the new wing of Clancy Quay start at €1,900 for a one-bed, €2,200 for a two-bed, and €2,700 for a three-bedroom unit. Prices for two-beds in Capital Dock range from €2,970 to €4,200 per month. A one-bed costs €2,800, while a three-bed costs €3,900 monthly. The Business Post, 17th January

Harrington St, Dublin 2 Numbers 2 and 3 Harrington Street were sold shortly before Christmas to a US investor for €2.927 million, a premium of 8% on the guide price. Colliers International had been guiding €2.7 million when it was offered to the market in September last year. Situated at the junction of Harrington Street and Camden Street, the investment comprises two pre-63 three-storey over-basement mid-terraced properties. There are 26 units distributed between the two buildings, 25 of which are occupied and producing an overall rental income of €198,960 per annum. The price paid by the purchaser equates to a net initial yield of 6.5% (after standard purchaser’s costs) based on the current income. The Irish Times, 13th January 

Dublin 1 Ballymore has confirmed that Dublin City Council has granted the group permission to build three blocks that will house offices, shops, homes and a hotel, next to Connolly rail station in the capital. The commercial element of the complex will cover almost 460,000 sq.ft. and will include two office blocks along with a 246-bedroom hotel. Heights will range from nine to 13 storeys. Ballymore’s plans are for a more than 861,000 sq.ft. development overall, including homes, offices, hotel, restaurants, bars, shops and other amenities. The Irish Times, 13th January

Lucan, Co Dublin Cairn Homes has sold 150 homes in Lucan, Co Dublin to Irish investment management firm Carysfort Capital and Wall Street financial giant Angelo Gordon for €48.6 million (€324k per unit). The homes are a mix of apartments and duplexes at the Shackleton Park development in Lucan. The homes, which have yet to be completed, will be rented out once finished. Cairn last year sold 229 new homes to a fund controlled by Angelo Gordon at the same development, which comprises of over 1,100 new homes. The Irish Independent, 13th January

Dublin 1 Glenveagh has notified Dublin City Council that it expects to charge them €33.44 million for 71 social housing units to meet its Part V social housing obligations at a major development on Sheriff Street. Glenveagh is planning to sell the council six three-bed apartments at €791,531 each, 14 two-bed apartments at a price of €641,899 each and 41 one-bed apartments for €408,074 each. Glenveagh is also planning to offer the local authority 10 studio apartments at a price of €297,323 each. Glenveagh has lodged a fast track planning application for 702 apartments in nine blocks on the six acre site at Castleforbes Business Park at Sheriff Street and East Road, Dublin 1. The Irish Times, 12th January  

Leopardstown, South Dublin An Bord Pleanála has granted planning permission to Park Developments for a €125 million apartment block development in Leopardstown in south Dublin despite the UK Foreign Office expressing security concerns over the impact a 13-storey “landmark” apartment block in the 249-unit proposal will have on the British ambassador’s residence at Glencairn House. As part of the proposal, Park Developments plans to sell 24 units from the development for an indicative €10.15 million cost to Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council for social housing. The Part V social housing documentation submitted by Park Developments has put an indicative cost of €542,331 on each of the 15 two-bedroom units and €382,767 on each of the nine one-bedroom units the company plans to sell to the council. The Irish Times, 18th January

Co Kildare Keshmore Homes Ltd (KHL) has challenged An Bord Pleanála’s refusal of permission for a development of 64 housing units in Co Kildare. The proposed development consists of detached, semi-detached and terraced houses, and eight apartments in a single two-storey block. After permission for the development was refused by Kildare County Council, KHL appealed to An Bord Pleanála. Last November, the board upheld the decision to refuse permission. KHL has now taken High Court judicial review proceedings aimed at overturning the refusal. The Irish Times, 18th January

 

OTHER

AIB Loan Sale The Irish Times understands that AIB is selling up to 650 distressed mortgages as a part of an “ethical” loan sale. The portfolio of non-performing, owner-occupier mortgages dubbed Project Iris had an original value of €150 million. The loans will be sold as a single lot to an “ethical” finance house or debt charity, which will work to find a borrower-friendly solution to the outstanding arrears problem. The two bidders in the running are the Irish Mortgage Holders Organisation, funded by UK debt investor Arrow Global, and London-based investor LCM Partners which is affiliated to the Home for Life group. Both entities have access to the State’s mortgage-to-rent scheme, which allows distressed borrowers to surrender their home but remain in the property as social housing tenants, with an option to buy the property back at some future date. The Irish Times, 16th January

Irish Commercial Property Market More than €1.2 billion was invested in Irish commercial property during the final three months of last year, bringing total turnover for 2020 to €3.05 billion. Kenneth Rouse of BNP Paribas noted in the Business Post that while this is some way off the record €7.4 billion transacted in 2019, it is a solid year in the context of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and is above the ten-year average. Core office and private rental sector (PRS) assets have been most sought after and despite the widespread adoption of remote working during the pandemic, prime office rents remained relatively stable throughout the year with rent collection for office investments remaining strong. More than €2 billion of capital was invested by foreign investors during 2020 with PRS, office and logistics the predominant sectors of choice. The largest transaction of the year was the purchase by Singaporean investor GIC of a portfolio of more than 1.29 million sq.ft. metres of logistics space across 30 assets from Morgan Stanley Investment Management in the final weeks of the year for €200 million. The Business Post, 17th January

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