19th July (Issue 356)
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.
HOSPITALITY
Donnybrook, Dublin 4 Developer Lispopple Point Limited is selling McCloskeys pub in Donnybrook, Dublin 4. Joint agents Lisney Morrisseys and Stokes Property are guiding €1.9m for the property which comes with planning permission for five residential units and one retail. Located mid terrace at 83-85 Morehampton Road, McCloskeys extends to 5,704 sq. ft. over three storeys and part basement. With a large single storey extension, its ground floor extends to 2,906 sq. ft. and accommodates a bar, off-licence and kitchen, and its space is supplemented by a beer garden and terrace. Its overhead space extends to 1,937 sq. ft., complimented by basement storage of c. 1,047 sq. ft. Lispopple’s planning permission for a living-over-the-shop development includes the retention of its existing three-storey front facade and basement and with the retail unit at ground floor level, which could also be retained for pub use. The Irish Independent, 14th July
OFFICE
Docklands, Cork Penrose Dock, the new Grade-A office complex from JCD Group at the heart of Cork’s new docklands, has confirmed that the final remaining space in the 250,000 sq. ft. complex has been reserved. When all occupiers are in place before the end of the year, there will be 30 companies with capacity for more than 2,200 employees working from the new Gold LEED standard office scheme. The confirmed company occupiers include Qualcomm, Varonis, Grant Thornton, Cadence, Cloudera, Morgan McKinley, Matheson and Ibec. The Business Post, 15th July
Harcourt Road, Dublin 2 REInvest Asset Management has marked its debut in the Irish property market with the €65m acquisition of an office building in Dublin. The property, 5 Harcourt Road, was acquired from pan-European private equity firm Henderson Park. REInvest is buying the office on behalf of the DEREIF SICAV-FIS fund, whose main investor is a German insurance company. Comprising 50,590 sq. ft. of lettable space over seven floors, the building is leased to flexible workspace provider WeWork for a term of 20 years at an annual rent of €3m with no break options. React News, 13th July
MIXED-USE
Connolly Station, Dublin Dublin City Council has granted planning permission to the Ballymore Group for the second phase of a new urban quarter beside Connolly Station in Dublin. The latest grant of permission concerns the second phase of the Dublin Arch project, which includes four office blocks ranging from 12 to 16 storeys in height. The scheme also includes two blocks containing 187 build-to-rent apartments, retail units and 79,437 sq. ft. of public open space. Of the 187 build-to-rent units, 19 will be made available for social housing. Ballymore got planning permission in February 2021 for the first phase of the project. It includes a 459,300 sq. ft. commercial development including two office buildings, a 246-bedroom hotel and space for 10 retail units. The Irish Times, 14th July
STUDENT ACCOMMODATION
Student Accommodation Shortage The Government is considering part-funding the construction of thousands of student beds on university campuses which have been shelved due to the soaring cost of construction. Latest data indicates more than 40 separate student accommodation projects have been granted planning permission which can deliver c. 10,500 bed spaces. Universities, however, say many of these projects have been put on ice due to the rising cost of construction. They argue that inflation would force colleges to charge exorbitant rents of up to €16k a year. The Government and universities, meanwhile, are planning to promote a rent-a-room scheme which allows homeowners to earn an income of up to €14k tax-free to help create additional accommodation options. The Irish Times, 18th July
RESIDENTIAL / DEVELOPMENT
Coldwinters, North Co Dublin CBRE has brought to market a prime industrial site extending to c. 4.37 acres at One North Road in Coldwinters in north Co Dublin, for which is it seeking in excess of €2.63m (€602k per acre). The site is zoned GE (general employment), and allows for industrial, logistics, warehousing and other related uses. The land benefits from 160m of road frontage along the N2 and is located beside the MCD Home & Garden Centre and Vantage Business Park. The Business Post, 15th July
Dundalk, Co Louth The McWilliams Group is seeking buyers for 54 acres at Dundalk North Business Park. The available lands are being offered to the market by joint agents CBRE and Property Partners Laurence Gunne on a site purchase or Build-to-Suit (BTS) basis. While planning permissions for the development range from enterprise units of 969 sq. ft. to industrial and logistics units of 240,000 sq. ft., these units can be combined to cater for requirements of up to 500,000 sq. ft. The overall scheme has full planning permission for the development of 1.3m sq. ft. of industrial and logistics space, along with a petrol filling station. The Irish Times, 13th July
South Docklands, Cork An Bord Pleanála has granted fast-track planning permission for a 12-storey block of 190 apartments on a site close to the Marquee concert venue in Cork’s South Docklands. The appeals board gave the green light to Tiznow Property Company Ltd for the scheme on the former Cork Warehouse Company site at Marquee Road and Monahan Road despite an objection lodged by the Department of Education. The scheme – which is phase one of an overall masterplan for the surrounding area – consists of 106 two-bed, 64 one-bed and 20 three-bed apartment units. The Irish Times, 15th July
Stradbrook Road, South Dublin Developer Tetrarch Residential has submitted plans for a 108-unit build-to-rent senior living apartment scheme on lands overlooking Blackrock College rugby club in south Dublin. The €50m proposed scheme would, according to planning documents, “provide a real alternative for older people who wish to move into accommodation suitable for their needs as they grow older”. The deal was done to address the rugby club’s then debt of €1.2m and the agreement is understood to have included an initial payment of €700k. The two-block scheme on a site that currently accommodates Stradbrook House, a vacant two-storey office building which is to be demolished, rises from three to seven storeys. A decision is due in November. The Irish Times, 18th July
Dún Laoghaire, South Dublin Fitzwilliam Real Estate has secured permission for plans for a 74-unit build-to-rent scheme for Dún Laoghaire’s Seafront Quarter. The scheme was approved only after it scaled back its previous plan for 88 units. The developers had lodged plans for the two apartment blocks at St Michael Hospital’s car park, on Crofton Park, Dún Laoghaire, in November. An earlier proposal for 102 build-to-rent homes in blocks rising to 13 storeys on the site was stalled by residents. The Irish Times, 18th July
Social Housing, Ireland A new €450m state fund has been launched to lease 1,000 new-build homes for social housing. At the end of March 2022, there were 8,776 social homes under construction and an additional 11,551 are at design and tender stage. Data published by the Department of Housing showed the overall number of new homes commenced in June 2022 was 2,060, 30% below the level recorded during the same month in 2021. A new tender document issued by the Housing Agency said if a home is leased to the state over a 25-year tenure, the property investor would retain full ownership. However, the Housing Agency would agree to lease the homes over 30 years if a clause could be included in the contract that would allow the state to buy the property at the end of the period at a slightly reduced market rate. The Business Post, 16th July
OTHER
Hibernia Reit Three banks have supported Brookfield’s acquisition of Hibernia REIT with a €930m financing package. Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase and Société Générale – in a pari passu club deal – have agreed to fund the €1.1bn acquisition. As well as the €1.1bn acquisition figure for Hibernia, the facility covers the existing debt carried by the former investment trust. Hibernia had a revolving credit facility in situ with Bank of Ireland. Brookfield’s total investment is c. €1.35bn, implying a LTV ratio on the financing deal of just below 70%. React News, 18th July
Vacant Homes Tax, Ireland In light of the current housing crisis and the government’s recent announcement that a new tax will be levied on vacant homes, auction platform Iamsold expects many owners of vacant properties will look to sell this year. Revenue figures suggest that there are currently 57,206 vacant homes in Ireland as of November last year. This figure does not include derelict houses that are not liable for Local Property Tax. The figure from CSO data, which includes derelict houses, is 166,000 houses currently vacant. The Business Post, 15th July
Newbridge, Co Kildare Drinks company Diageo, which owns Guinness, is to build a new €200m brewery near Newbridge in Co Kildare. The carbon neutral facility will be used to produce lagers and ales, freeing up capacity at its main facility at St James’s Gate in Dublin to allow it to produce more stout for global markets. The brewery, which will be the second largest in the country, will be situated on a greenfield site at Littleconnell. When operational in 2024 it will be capable of producing 2m hectolitres of beer a year. The plan is subject to the granting of planning permission by Kildare County Council with an application due to be made by the end of the year. RTÉ, 15th July
Mullingar, Co Westmeath Westmeath County Council is considering approving plans for Hammerlake Studios, a purpose-built film and television production campus on 25-acre site at Lough Sheever Corporate Park, Mullingar. The studio is to be constructed in two phases, the first of which will comprise four sound stages, said Hammerlake Studios, the company behind the scheme, as well as offices, workshops and editing suites in a development over 236,000 sq. ft. Phase two will add another seven stages, bringing the total footprint of the studios to 460,000 sq. ft. Once fully operational, the film campus could generate up to €50m annually for the local economy, the company has estimated. The Irish Times, 19th July
If you have an article which you would like to have considered for inclusion in our next weekly report, please contact us at info@origincapital.ie