1st March (Issue 35)
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
Goldman Sachs: The latest company records from Beltany Property Finance, who are the main Irish subsidiary of Goldman Sachs, reveal that Beltany spent c. €760m purchasing loan portfolios between March 2014 and March 2015. Beltany’s most significant loan portfolio purchases were c. €313m from IBRC (March 2014), c. €187m from Ulster Bank (October 2014) and c. €172m from Danske Bank in March 2015. The Sunday Business Post, 28th February
RETAIL
Whitewater Shopping Centre: The German fund Deka Immobilien has finalised terms to purchase the Whitewater Shopping Centre in Newbridge, Co. Kildare for c. €180m. Whitewater is currently owned by Sean Mulryan’s Ballymore and the estate of the late Liam Maye, with each party having a 50% stake. Deka are set to pay c. €30m above the €150m guide price for Whitewater, which is understood to be generating annual rental income of c. €11.7m. The purchase will represent Deka’s second shopping centre acquisition in Ireland, with the fund having previously bought Mahon Point in Cork for €250m ten years ago. The Irish Independent, 24th February
Ennis Road: Lisney is guiding €15m for the nine unit, 114,015 sq. ft. Ennis Road Retail Park in Limerick, which lies on an 11.45 acre site. The current rent roll of the retail park is c. €1.48m p.a., however there is potential to increase this to c. €1.63m p.a. upon the letting of two vacant units. The anchor tenant in the retail park is Woodies DIY, who pay c. €876k p.a. under a lease which has 18 years remaining, with no break clauses. Other tenants include Smyths Toys (€310k p.a.) and Showtime Cinema (€225k p.a.).The Irish Times, 24th February
OFFICE
ESB Headquarters: Construction of the ESB’s €150m new HQ on Fitzwilliam Street in Dublin 2 is expected to begin in January 2017 after the ESB agreed a short term letting for its staff while the development is undertaken. The ESB’s existing HQ, which was built in the 1960s, is to be demolished and replaced with a 492,663 sq. ft. development which will rise up to seven storeys high. Of this, 302,692 sq. ft. will be office space, while there will also be space for 440 bicycles and 110 cars. The ESB will occupy 50% of the office space with the balance expected to be let on the open market. The Irish Times, 24th February
Jones Engineering: Jones Engineering has obtained planning permission to develop a 38,000 sq. ft. office block at Waterways House in Dublin’s Grand Canal Quay. The €30m project will see Jones’ existing two storey HQ demolished and replaced with a new seven storey block. Jones is expected to occupy a portion of the new block and lease the remaining space. Jones anticipate that the project will take approximately 20 months to complete. The Sunday Times, 28th February
Albert Quay: O’Callaghan Properties has sought planning permission to develop 360,000 sq. ft. of office space at Albert Quay in Cork City in a €90m project. Under the proposal, the office space is to be constructed across four buildings on a 2.25 acre site. The planning application also seeks to develop underground parking for 300 cars and 200 bicycles, which would bring the total proposed space to 500,000 sq. ft. O’Callaghan Properties are hoping to commence the development in late 2016 with a view to completion by May 2018. The Irish Times, 24th February
Hume House: The US PE fund Blackstone has retained CBRE to sell Hume House in Ballsbridge, Dublin 4, for over €40m. Blackstone is looking to capitalise on favourable market conditions having only purchased Hume House a little over 12 months ago from NAMA as part of the Platinum portfolio. The property is currently generating c. €2.1m of rental income from tenants which include AIB, BOI and Audi. A redevelopment of the 0.86 acre site will appeal to developers as there is planning permission to demolish the existing property and replace it with 181,909 sq. ft. of office space and 53 car spaces. Vacant possession of the office block can also be obtained in 2017. The Irish Times, 24th February
Vodafone HQ: Green REIT has agreed a new lease with Vodafone for their Irish HQ in Central Park, Dublin 18. Per the terms of the lease, Vodafone will continue to pay the existing rent of €7.3m p.a. until 2026 for 263,000 sq. ft. of office space, with twelve months rent free. Vodafone’s previous lease for the property contained a break clause in 2018, however this will no longer apply under the new lease. The Irish Times, 26thFebruary
Clanwilliam Place: JLL is handling the letting process for an eight storey, 51,000 sq. ft. office block under construction in Clanwilliam Place, Dublin 2. Rents of €60 psf are being sought for the property, which is expected to be available for fit out by September. The property is being constructed on a JV basis by Hardwicke and Ardstone Capital with the total cost of the project estimated at €35m. The site was purchased from the Bruce Shaw Partnership for €10m. The Irish Times, 24thFebruary
HOTEL
Occupancy Rates: The Irish Hotels Federation’s annual report has revealed that hotel occupancy rates reached 70% in 2015, a ten year high. The total number of foreign visitors increased by 798k (11.2%) to 7.9m in 2015, with visitors from the UK up by 8% to 3.25m. The report estimates that over 33k new jobs have been created in the tourism and hospitality sector since 2011, with the tourism sector now responsible for c. 205k jobs in total. The Irish Times, 29th February
RESIDENTIAL / LAND
Oisín House: Trinity College has received planning permission from Dublin City Council to develop 278 student accommodation units alongside their campus on Pearse Street, Dublin 2 in a €52m project. The planning permission approves the demolition of the existing Oisín House and replacing it with a seven storey, 148,541 sq. ft. block. An Taisce has appealed the decision therefore the planning application could now be sent to An Bord Pleanála for review. The Irish Independent, 25th February
Leinster Land Banks: Savills and REA Coonan are guiding in excess of €41.75m for six land banks in Dublin and Kildare which have a combined area of approximately 127.6 acres. The sites, which are currently owned by the Albany Group, are also available to be purchased on an individual basis. The key asset is a c. 38.5 acre site in Leixlip, Co. Kildare, which has an asking price in excess of €23m (c. €597k per acre). A 50.8 acre site in Newbridge, Co. Kildare is guiding €6m (c. €118k per acre), having previously sold for €58m in 2006. The only site being sold with an unexpired planning permission is known as Drinan-2 in Swords, which has approval for 153 houses and 24 apartments. The Sunday Business Post, 28th February
Spencer Dock: Joint agents JLL and BNP Paribas have set a price tag of €50m on a six acre site (€8.3m per acre) at Spencer Dock in Dublin 1. The site will suit a mixed use development and already has planning permission for a 169 bed hotel, 340,000 sq. ft. of offices and 165 apartments. The site was previously owned by the state agency CIE before Treasury Holdings obtained an interest in the site. Treasury Holdings has since been wound up and NAMA has appointed EY as receivers to manage the sale. CIE still hold the freehold interest in the ground leases and will benefit from the sale, through either 17.5% of the sale price or else a similar portion of the rental income from the ground leases once the development is completed. The Irish Times, 24thFebruary
Longford Forest: Longford County Council has approved a planning application from Centre Parcs to develop a new €223m resort on a 395 acre site at Newcastle Wood, Co. Longford. The application sought approval for 470 lodges, 30 apartments and over 100 indoor and outdoor activities. Construction of the resort, which will be known as Longford Forest, will generate 750 jobs with the resort likely to employ 1,000 people once operational. Centre Parcs believe that when complete, the project will be worth c. €32m to the Irish economy each year. The Irish Independent, 29th February
Mortgage Approvals: The latest figures from the Banking & Payments Federation Ireland show that when compared to January 2015, both the volume and value of mortgage approvals for first time buyers in January 2016 fell by c. 23%. On a value basis, mortgage approvals fell to €190m while the volume of approvals fell to 1,067. Despite the decline in first time buyer figures, they still represent a significant portion of the market at 50%. The Irish Times, 1st March
OTHER
Bank of Ireland Drogheda: Real estate agent TWM is anticipating significant interest for a two storey property let to BOI in Drogheda, Co. Louth, for which there is an asking price of €4.08m. BOI occupy the property under a 25 year lease signed in 2006, with no break options on the lease. The current rent of the property is €309k p.a. with the lease also subject to upward only rent reviews. The sale price reflects a net initial yield of 7.25%. The Irish Times, 24th February
Industrial Development: The industrial developer Rohan Holdings has unveiled plans to supply the Dublin market with over 300,000 sq. ft. of speculative warehouse space in 2016 and 2017. In total Rohan Holdings intends to develop ten buildings, ranging in size from 10,000 sq. ft. to 60,000 sq. ft. Four of the new buildings will be in Dublin Airport Logistics Park, ranging in size from 30,000 sq. ft. to 60,000 sq. ft. The remaining six buildings are to be split between sites in North City Business Park and Cheeverstown, with each site to facilitate three buildings. The Irish Times, 24th February
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