1st September (Issue 10)
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.
PORTFOLIO / LOAN SALES
Project Arrow: NAMA is thought to have shortlisted three bidders for the €7.2bn Project Arrow; Cerberus, Apollo and a joint bid from Goldman Sachs and CarVal. Project Arrow consists of loans to 370 borrowers which have an average par value of €19.5m. Final bids are due in the first week of October. The portfolio is expected to sell for c. €1.5bn (a c. 79%. discount). NAMA Wine Lake, 30th August
OFFICE
DTZ Report: DTZ’s report on the Irish office market for Q2 2015 notes that Dublin continues to face a supply shortage, particularly for grade A office space. The vacancy rate for grade A space in Dublin’s Central Business District stood at just 4% at the end of June, significantly lower than the overall vacancy rate for Dublin of 14.9%. Construction is however beginning to respond to this supply shortage, with c. 1.4m sq. ft. of office space under construction at the end of Q2 2015, 64% of which is located in Dublin’s Central Business District. At the end of Q1 2015 there was only c. 682k sq. ft. of office space under construction. DTZ Irish Office Market Review, Q2 2015
Iveagh Building: Savills are guiding c. €15m for The Iveagh Building, a mixed use commercial building which is located alongside The Park, Carrickmines, Dublin 18. The property, which has a floor area of 42,200 sq. ft. and 148 car spaces, consists of seven ground floor retail units with three floors of office space overhead. The current annual rent roll is c. €978k. Vodafone and a Vodafone subsidiary (Netshare) occupy the first two floors of office space, paying a combined €564k. BB’s coffee house pay the highest retail rent at €109k. The Irish Times, 26th August
RETAIL
Arnotts: The Weston Family, through their investment vehicle Wittington Investments, are believed to have reached an agreement in principle with Noel Smyth to own and operate Arnotts. Wittington already own Brown Thomas in Dublin and Selfridges in London. While Arnotts produced a trading profit of €2.5m on sales of €120m for the year ended January 2014, its balance sheet is heavily indebted. Any restructuring should see the debt reduced to a sustainable level. The Sunday Times, 30th August
Dublin SuperValu: Jim Treacy, the previous owner of the Lough Erne Resort in Northern Ireland, is believed to be in talks with Musgrave to acquire his former SuperValu store in Churchtown, Dublin 14. With annual sales estimated at over €25m it is one of the busiest SuperValu stores in the country. Treacy lost the asset in 2011 when BOSI appointed a receiver, with Musgraves purchasing the trading business and property for over €12m. Treacy has continued to run the store on behalf of Musgraves since it was sold. The Irish Independent, 29th August
RESIDENTIAL
Finglas Site: Developer Greg Kavanagh has sought planning permission for 108 residential units, 160,000 sq. ft. of office space and a 70,000 sq. ft. distribution centre on a 12 acre site in Finglas, Dublin 11. The application, which has been submitted through CreKav Landbank Investments Limited, proposes for the demolition of the existing industrial buildings on the site. M&G Investments are believed to be backing Kavanagh on the development, which is one of the largest applications in Dublin this year. NAMA Wine Lake, 30th August
Cairn Homes: Shares in Cairn Homes rose 2.1% on August 27th after the company revealed that they were carrying out detailed due diligence on 11 sites. These sites have a projected cost of c. €120m with potential for 1,600 units. Per Cairn’s results to June 30th 2015, the company had acquired nine development sites at a cost of €130m. After raising €440m from the company’s IPO on the LSE, Cairn had cash resources of €388m at the end of June. The Irish Independent, 28th August
Inniscorrig: With an asking price of €10.5m, Inniscorrig in Dalkey is now Ireland’s most expensive home. The property, which is on the market through joint agents BK Earley and Sherry Fitzgerald, was built in 1847 and maintains a Gothic Revival style. The 6 bed, 5,773 sq. ft. property is built on a c. 0.75 acre site with its own private harbour. The current owner of the property is Linda Ryan. The Irish Times, 27th August
Howth Site: Grant Thornton, acting as receivers for Ray Grehan’s Glenkerrin Homes, has submitted a planning application to develop Glenkerrin’s site in Howth, Dublin 13. The planning application is for a mixed use scheme of 196 residential units and six commercial units on c. 10.87 acres. Grehan acquired 6.58 acres of land in 2007 when he paid c. €62m for two adjoining sites. The remainder of the 10.87 acre site comes from land which Fingal County Council has allowed Grant Thornton to include in the application. The Irish Times, 27th August
House Sales: Research by Geodirectory has shown that 13,062 homes were added to the Republic’s supply in the year ending July 2015. At the end of July the total number of homes stood at 2,008,568. In addition there were 45,138 homes sold during the period, with c. 90% of them being second hand homes. However the chief executive of Geodirectory, Dan Keogh, believes that the level of supply is too low to satisfy demand, putting increased price pressure on the market as a result. The Irish Times, 26th August
Ashton House: CBRE are guiding €2.8m for a period house on c. 28 acres in Ashtown, Dublin 15, for which Grant Thornton are handling the sale. In addition to the main 12 bed, 6,458 sq. ft. property, there is also a four bed lodge, four bed bungalow, stables and a barn. The asset was previously sold for €26m in 2006 to Depton Ltd, a company linked to Liam Maye. It is believed the asset will be next used as either a nursing home / village or a hotel. The Irish Times, 26th August
Rathfarnham Site: Homebuilders Regency has been granted planning permission by An Bord Pleanála to construct 314 residential units and a crèche on a €38m site in Rathfarnham, Dublin 16. The company, which is run by Aodan Bourke and Patricia Hinch, sought permission for three, four and five bed family homes as well as high end apartments on the site. Regency has also begun constructing 455 homes in Hollystown, Dublin 15. The Irish Times, 26th August
OTHER
Liffey Bridge: Dublin City Council is to seeking bids to design a new €12m pedestrian and cyclist bridge on the river Liffey. The bridge, which will link Sir John Rogerson’s Quay on the south side of the river to North Wall Quay, is to be located less than 250m from Samuel Beckett Bridge. Levies collected from construction in the Strategic Development Zone will be used to fund the bridge. The bridge is expected to open in approximately three years. The Irish Times, 27th August
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