20th August (Issue 461)
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
Ballsbridge, Dublin 4 BlackRock is understood to be closing in on a deal to occupy office space at Glencar House in Ballsbridge as its new Dublin headquarters. While the terms of the deal have yet to be finalised, The Irish Times understands that BlackRock will occupy 22,000 sq. ft distributed across the third and fourth floors of the building on a 10-year lease at a blended rent of approx. €65 per sq. ft. The property comprises 75,000 sq. ft of grade-A office accommodation. It was developed by Killeen Properties. The Irish Times, 16th August
HOSPITALITY
Avoca, Co Wicklow The Woodenbridge Hotel & Lodge, situated in the Vale of Avoca, has been acquired by the directors of the Fitzpatrick Castle Hotel in Killiney. The Woodenbridge Hotel features 69 bedrooms, spread across 49 bedrooms in its lodge and 20 rooms in its hotel. It also features a 200-capacity function room, a private dining room for up to 50 people and a bistro bar that can accommodate 150. It also has 11 links golf courses in close proximity, as well as the Woodenbridge Golf Club. The Business Post, 13th August
RETAIL
Blanchardstown, Dublin 15 Strategic Value Partners is set to acquire Blanchardstown Shopping Centre in a €650m deal. Goldman Sachs has agreed a deal to sell the asset after putting it on the market last year via CBRE and Eastdil Secured. Goldman Sachs took control of it from Blackstone at the end of 2020, when it was valued at approx. €750m in late 2020. The bank invested a further €60m into the asset via upgrading works. The asset comprises the main two-level shopping mall, comprising more than 180 retail units and anchored by several large tenants. It also includes two adjacent retail parks and external retail units, as well as a five-floor office building spanning approx. 72,000 sq. ft. Green Street News, 15th August
Dundrum, Dublin 14 Rothesay is the new cornerstone lender of Dundrum Town Centre, with the pension insurer contributing approx. €175m. The two incumbent lenders, BNP Paribas and Deka Bank, have also participated in the refinancing deal through a commitment of €175m, which they’ve split equally. As part of the refinancing, Dundrum’s owners Hammerson and Pimco Prime have had to pay approx. €220m back to lenders in the previous facility to bridge the gap on the outstanding €570m loan. The new seven-year term-loan is repayable on or before the maturity in September 2031 at an all-in interest cost expected to be approx. 5.5%. Green Street News, 14th August
MIXED-USE
Ronan Group Real Estate (RGRE) is poised to buy back two Grafton Street landmarks, including the Bewley’s Café, in a multi-property deal that is in advanced negotiations. RGRE is also set to buy the building housing Permanent TSB and its stake in St James House on Adelaide Road in Dublin 2, and Percy Exchange, on Percy Place in Dublin 4. The buildings were co-owned with Davy, which is understood will retain its stake in both properties. The Business Post understands that the proposed purchases are being financed by RGRE and not with investment from Landfair. The Business Post, 18th August
STUDENT ACCOMMODATION
Cork Bottleworks, a student accommodation, in Cork city, is due to open. The student accommodation took three years to build and is opening a year behind schedule. It is backed by US investment management firm CA Ventures. Bottleworks is a 623 bed PBSA and spans 207,388 sq. ft on a site of 1.58 acres. Prices range from €240 to €450 per week. The Irish Examiner, 18th August
INDUSTRIAL / LOGISTICS
CBRE Analysis The top five data centre markets in Europe fared well in the second quarter of this year according to CBRE’s latest analysis. Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam, Paris and Dublin recorded a 9.8% vacancy rate, more than 10% lower than the 2019 level of 20.6%. CBRE expects the vacancy rate in these primary markets to settle at 7.9% this year. Pre-leasing deals secured before 2024 are expected to play a key role in boosting take-up this year, likely to account for 68% of the total take-up across 15 European markets. Green Street News, 16th August
Residential / Development
Phibsborough, Dublin 7 An 80-unit block of apartments in Phibsborough in north Dublin city has been granted approval by Dublin City Council. Garvagh Homes is seeking to demolish the 1950s building currently at the 168-169 Phibsborough Road site. The new building will contain 41 two-bed apartments, with the remainder split between studio and one-bed units and one three-bed apartment and a central amenity space provided for residents. The development also has a 20,989 sq. ft ground floor retail space, alongside a café, with 28 parking spaces, half of which will be for the retail units. It will also have 186 bike parking spaces. The Business Post, 13th August
Blackrock, South Dublin A Paddy McKillen Jr-linked property firm has lodged plans with An Bord Pleanála for a 493-apartment scheme, after its previous housing scheme on the site was quashed by the High Court. Oval Target has applied to build the scheme, on a site previously owned by a religious order at Temple Hill, Blackrock. The strategic housing development will consist of 11 apartment blocks, between two and 10-storeys. They will consist of 220 one-bed apartments, 208 two-beds, 47 three-bed units and 18 studio apartments. The Business Post, 15th August
Rental Market In a pre-budget submission to finance minister Jack Chambers, the Institute of Professional Auctioneers & Valuers (IPAV) said there was a “phenomenon” of landlords leaving their properties empty for a two-year period, to apply market rent. Under current rules, landlords in cities can only raise rent by 2% annually, but if the property is out of the market for two years, the rent can be increased beyond this cap. It has estimated that for every 100 properties taken out of the market by landlords for a two-year period, the loss to the Exchequer in tax is €2.5m. The Business Post, 19th August
Second Hand Property Supply The supply of second-hand properties for sale in Ireland has fallen by approx. a third since the pandemic, according to estate agent Sherry FitzGerald. The company also said it expects house prices to increase in value this year by 6-8%. In its latest analysis, the company said there were just 12,785 second-hand properties listed for sale in July, equating to just 0.6% of the State’s entire private housing stock. This was 7% down on the same month last year and 29% below the level seen in the summer of 2020 at the height of the pandemic. The Irish Times, 20th August
Tax Relief The Government has been urged to reintroduce Section 23 tax breaks for builders and developers in the upcoming budget in a bid to boost the supply of rental properties. Under the original tax-relief scheme, which was discontinued after the crash, investors were allowed generous tax breaks for renovating or buying properties for the rental market. IPAV said the relief would enable an investor to offset taxable rental income for buying a new property for rental purposes. Under the original provision full rental relief was generally contingent upon the property being let for 10 years. The Irish Times, 19th August
Quintain Lone Star, the US private equity firm, has confirmed the sale of its Irish property business Quintain to Texas firm TPG for approx. €200m. The deal will include the Quintain Developments Ireland platform and its land holdings in Adamstown, Clonburris and Portmarnock in Dublin. TPG said the Quintain sites can accommodate the development of more than 7,700 residential units. Lone Star, meanwhile, will retain control of Quintain’s Cherrywood project, which has the potential to deliver approx. 3,000 homes, sources confirmed. The Irish Times, 15th August
Social Housing It would cost approx. €35bn to build new, appropriate, permanent social housing for everyone with an ongoing need, the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) of the Houses of the Oireachtas has estimated. In a new report it calculates that there were 115,425 households with an “ongoing need” for permanent, State-supported housing at the end of 2023. It says this comprises 58,824 eligible households on the main social housing waiting list in addition to 56,601 tenancies under the housing assistance payment (Hap) programme. The Irish Times, 19th August
OTHER
Blackstone has extended a €900m facility used to acquire Green REIT in Ireland, with sponsor Henderson Park making an equity injection as part of the agreement, Green Street News can reveal. Blackstone has locked in a two-year extension for the financing, while Henderson Park has contributed approx. €110m of additional equity into the portfolio. Henderson Park bought the portfolio, which includes a mixed-used portfolio incorporating significant office exposure that is predominantly concentrated in Dublin, in 2019 for €1.35bn. Green Street News, 15th August
George’s Dock, Dublin 1 A group campaigning for a heated public swimming pool at George’s Dock is finalising a new feasibility study to present to Dublin city council after its initial proposal was rejected last year. The Dublin City Lido is an unfunded charity and has received advice from architects, quantity surveyors, consultants and engineers and said the new lido project would involve an accessible, heated, 50-metre swimming pool, as well as a teaching pool, sauna, public seating and floating decks, a café and community space. The Sunday Times, 18th August
Foreign Investments Ireland is “excluding itself from consideration” for large-scale investments due to its chronic infrastructure and skills gaps, Martin Shanahan has warned. Shanahan, the head of industry and foreign direct investment at Grant Thornton, said utilities and infrastructure are entry-level requirements for investors and that these issues will make it difficult to attract investment. Shanahan highlighted the council’s most recent report, Ireland’s Competitiveness Challenge, which highlights key issues facing the country such as vulnerability of FDI given global developments; the slow pace of progress on infrastructure development; the skills challenges facing Ireland; and the elevated cost of doing business in this country. The Business Post, 19th August
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