19th June (Issue 151)
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
City Gate Park, Cork: Agent CBRE has brought a high-quality office building at City Gate Park, in Mahon, Co. Cork, to the market guiding €21m (€240 psf). The 87,309 sq. ft. four-storey office is owned by Quest Software International Ltd, an IT solution company with turnover of €330m in 2017, and is available on a sale and leaseback basis, with a new 15-year lease in place at €1.6m p.a. (€18.30 psf), providing the new owner with an initial yield of 7%. The Irish Times, 13th June
East Wall, Dublin: Yew Grove real estate investment trust (REIT) has acquired two office buildings in East Wall Dublin for €29m (€306 psf), reflecting a net initial yield of 6.5%. The buildings which extend to 94,793 sq. ft. are let to the Electricity Supply Board, Whirlpool Corporation and Colt Technology Services, at 97% occupancy, and have a weighted average unexpired lease term of 2.8 years to break and four years to expiry. Earlier this month Yew Grove raised €75m in an IPO. The Irish Independent, 18th June
Parkgate Street, Dublin 8: Bidding on the landmark 1.65 acre Hickey’s Site at Parkgate Street, Dublin 8, has reached €25m, 25% above the guide price offered by agent Finnegan Menton. The site is located adjacent to Heuston Station at the western approach to Dublin city centre and has been in use as a wholesale warehouse for Hickeys for over 40 years. The site is ideal for a number of alternative uses including residential, hotel and office development. The Irish Independent, 18th June
Central Plaza, Dublin: Shared workspace provider WeWork is to lease all of the eight floors of c. 134,000 sq. ft. of office space at the former Central Bank on Dublin’s Dame Street. The building is being redeveloped by US property giant Hines and Hong Kong Company Peterson at a cost of up to €100m. Plans for the redevelopment, which also include fashion, food and beverage outlets were approved by An Bord Pleanála last week. The Irish Independent, 18th June
Hanover Quay, Dublin: A joint venture between NAMA and Kennedy Wilson for an 87,000 sq. ft. office development at Hanover Quay in Dublin’s south dockland has received planning permission. The site is adjacent to Kennedy Wilson’s Capital Dock development where JP Morgan and Indeed are confirmed as anchor occupiers. Construction on the office building is expected to commence in Q4 2018 with completion expected by the third quarter of 2020. The Irish Times, 18th June
Enterprise House, Blackrock, Dublin: A plan by Friends First to increase the floor space of Enterprise House in Blackrock, South Dublin, has been thrown into doubt, following an appeal to An Bord Pleanála. While Friends First had already received planning permission in November 2016 to replace the original 1980s Enterprise House building of c. 33,000 sq. ft. with a new structure of c. 87,000 sq. ft. the company is now seeking to increase the property’s floor space by a further 4,700 sq. ft. Zurich Life has agreed to pre-let c. 223,000 sq. ft. on a 20-year lease term at a rent of €30 psf, one of the highest rents ever achieved in Dublin for a suburban office block. The Irish Independent, 14th June
Christchurch, Dublin: Savills have brought a four-storey over-basement 14,323 sq. ft. office building in Christchurch, Dublin 8, to the market guiding €4m (€279 psf). The building is fully occupied by two tenants, Trilogy Technologies and Mindshare, on rolling agreements at a total rent of €247,344 (€16 psf), equating to a net initial yield of 5.7%. The Irish Times, 13th June
RESIDENTIAL / LAND
Planning Permission, Q1 2018: Latest CSO figures show 8,405 planning permissions were granted for dwelling units in the first quarter of 2018, compared with 4,650 units for the same period in 2017, an increase of 80%. This quarter saw the first permissions granted by An Bord Pleanála through Strategic Housing Development Applications, which accounted for 62% of the quarterly increase. Planning permissions were granted for 5,917 houses (+57.6% YoY) and 2,488 apartments (+177.7% YoY) in the period. One-off houses accounted for 16.5% of all new dwelling units granted planning permission. CSO Press Release, 15th June
New Dwelling Completions, Q1 2018: The CSO has published a report on New Dwelling Completions, the first of a quarterly series which includes data on new dwellings built in Ireland since 2011. The report shows that the number of new dwellings built declined from 6,994 in 2011 to 4,575 in 2013. However, over the following four years the numbers of new dwellings built has increased steadily each year to stand at 14,446 in 2017, a year-on-year increase of 45.7%. In the first quarter of 2018 there were 3,526 new dwellings built. CSO Press Release, 14th June
Residential Property Price Index: Residential property prices in Ireland at national level increased by 13% in the year to April. This compares with an increase of 12.6% in the year to March and an increase of 9.5% in the twelve months to April 2017. In Dublin, residential property prices increased by 12.5% in the year to April with houses up 11.7% and apartments up 15.9%. The highest house price growth was in Dublin City (+14.9%) while the lowest growth was in South Dublin (+6.9%). Prices in the Rest of Ireland (i.e. excluding Dublin) were 13.6% higher in the year to April, with The Mid-West region showed the greatest price growth (+18.7%). Overall, the national index is 21.1% lower than its highest level in 2007 and a 76% increase from the trough in early 2013. CSO Press Release, 13th June
Dublin Housing Market: New figures released from MyHome.ie has shown the number of houses available for sale in Dublin has risen by 32% in the past 12 months. The report found that there are currently 5,083 houses for sale in the capital, compared with 3,860 this time last year. The main increases of 45-50% were in the Dublin postcodes of 1, 4, 5, 6, 7 13, 22, and 24, while the smallest increases were in Dublin 3 and11. The Irish Times, 15th June
Global House Price Index: A global house price index report released by Knight Frank has found that property prices in Ireland are rising at the fourth fastest rate in the world at 12.7% in the year to March 2018, behind only Hong Kong (+14.9%), Malta (+13.6%) and Iceland (13.2%). Overall, house prices are rising in 86% of the 57 countries tracked by the index, with prices falling in Greece (-0.2%), Italy (-0.3%), Norway (-1.1%) and Finland (-1.3%). The Irish Times, 18th June
Ashtown House and Estate, Dublin: Chartered Land has outbid several other developers to complete the purchase of a classical 6,500 sq. ft. period house and 28 acres of land in close proximity to the Phoenix Park for €6.65m. The land which has significant development potential but needs to be rezoned having previously traded for €26m in 2006. The Irish Times, 13th June
Hawkfield House Stud, Kildare: A stud farm on 93 acres in Newbridge, Co. Kildare, is expected to attract significant interest from the equestrian world and developers when it goes for auction with Jordan Auctioneers on July 5th. The land has major development potential given its location is just 700m from zoned land which was recently granted planning permission for 361 residential units. Jordan’s are quoting a price of €1.3m for the land, which includes a 2,700 sq. ft. house and 915 sq. ft. guest house. The Irish Independent, 18th June
HOTEL
Barnacles Hostels: Agent CBRE has brought two hostels with 289 bed spaces in prime tourist locations in Dublin and Galway to the market guiding €11m. The portfolio which also includes a convenience shop and leased restaurant in Galway is for sale in one or more lots. CBRE stated the two hostels were being offered for sale in turnkey condition with no substantial capital expenditure required, and the businesses were highly profitable with ever increasing revenues. The Irish Times, 13th June
Dublin Airport Hotel: A 10-storey 421-bedroom hotel close to the airport has received planning permission following a lengthy planning battle. The proposed hotel, promoted by developer Carra Shore (Dublin) will be over 330,000 sq. ft. and located in Clonshaugh, near the junction of the M50 and M1 motorways, next to an existing Clayton Hotel, which is being extended. The plans come at the same time as the DAA has moved ahead with its own plans for a similarly-sized hotel at the airport. The Irish Independent, 18th June
Tifco Hotel Portfolio: Goldman Sachs is pushing ahead with plans to sell its €600m Tifco Irish hotel portfolio. GS took control of Tifco when it purchased the debts of the Irish company from IBRC. Hotels in the portfolio include the Hilton in Kilmainham and the Crowne Plaza hotels in Santry, Blanchardstown and Dundalk. Austrian hotelier Thomas Roeggla, US investment fund Apollo and private investment fund TBG are understood to be among the front runners for the portfolio. The Sunday Business Post, 17th June
RETAIL
Clery’s Sale: Natrium, the consortium which purchased the iconic Clery’s department store on Dublin’s O’ Connell Street in 2015 for €29m, has instructed Knight Frank to handle the sale of the building. The building and adjoining sites have planning permission for a new mixed use development to include a boutique hotel, high-end retail units, office space and other entertainment and leisure facilities. The sale price of the development is likely to exceed €60m. The Sunday Business Post, 17th June
Donegal Place, Belfast: French investment company, Corum, has paid c. €18.8m (€280 psf) to acquire its first investment property in Northern Ireland, a 67,000 sq. ft. retail property occupied by Next and Eason at Donegal Place, in the heart of Belfast city centre. Corum, which was established in 2012, manages a property portfolio of c. €800m and has invested c. €80m in Ireland to date across all sectors. The Irish Times, 14th June
George’s Street, Dublin: Danish home and craft chain Sostrene Grene is to open a new store at the former Walton’s music shop on South Great George’s Street. Sostrene Grene, currently have six stores in Ireland, and have agreed to take the prominent 6,000 sq. ft. space at a rent of c. €260,000 p.a. (€43 psf). Walton’s decided not to renew its 25-year lease in February, opting instead to move the business to its existing branch at Blanchardstown Retail Park. The Irish Times, 13th June
Swords Pavilion Shopping Centre: The owners of the Swords Pavilion Shopping Centre in north Co. Dublin have named American burger chain Five Guys and pizza brand Milano’s as the first restaurant’s to sign up for the new leisure quarter, which is due to open in late 2018. A new glazed bridge has been designed as part of a €3.3m scheme to create a link for customers from the first-floor retail mall to the new restaurant quarter, on the upper level adjacent to the cinema complex. Five Guys will have a floor area of c. 3,000 sq. ft. while Milano’s will open a 3,400 sq. ft. restaurant, their 16th in Ireland since first setting up here in 1995. The Irish Times, 13th June
Temple Bar, Dublin: CBRE expect considerable interest in a Victorian-style restaurant in the centre of Dublin’s busy Temple Bar area, which is for sale at €2.5m (€873 psf) or for letting at €200,000 p.a. (€70 psf). The building extends to 2,862 sq. ft. over basement, ground and first floor and is a high-profile building at the corner of Sycamore Street and Essex Street East. The Irish Times, 13th June
INDUSTRIAL
Greenhills Industrial Estate: Industrial agentWilliam Harvey has brought a 20,500 sq. ft. detached industrial and office building at Greenhills Industrial Estate to the market guiding €860,000 (€42 psf). The building has alternative development potential having recently been re-zoned ‘Regen’, which allows for residential and or enterprise developments, subject to planning permission. The Irish Independent, 14th June
North Park, Finglas: Agent Savills is quoting rent of €325,000 p.a. (€8.60 psf) for a prime 37,781 sq. ft. car showroom and workshop at North Park Finglas, just off junction 5 of the M50 motorway. The unit comprises an 18-car display showroom and workshop at ground floor, a display area for 70 cars on first floor, and a forecourt with parking for 38 cars. Joe Duffy Motors have recently vacated the unit to move to a new Porsche and Volkswagen showroom close by. The Irish Independent, 14th June
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