21st March (Issue 389)
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.
RETAIL
Old Dublin Road, Galway Minaun Capital, a property investment vehicle established by the founder of online auction specialist BidX1 has acquired the Wellpark Retail and Leisure Centre in Galway in an off-market transaction for €20.5m (NIY 8.5%). The completion of the purchase from the scheme’s owner, a private investor, sees Minaun secure ownership of the retail park, the nine-screen Eye Cinema complex along with a 550-space surface and basement-level car park. The scheme, which was developed originally by Edward Holdings at a cost of €75m, has a strong tenant line-up that includes Woodies, Lidl, Homestore & More, DFS furniture and Petmania, with Boots currently fitting out its new unit. The five-star G Hotel did not form part of the sale. Positioned on a site of 356,353 sq. ft at the junction of Lough Atalia/College Road and the Old Dublin Road, the Wellpark Retail and Leisure Centre is understood to be generating total current income of €1.9m pa. The Irish Times, 15th March
Harcourt Development Portfolio The sale of one of the country’s biggest portfolios of shopping centres has come unstuck for a second time in four months for the same reason: lack of bank funding. Camgill Conway, a Canadian-Irish investment fund, was to pay €75m for the Harcourt Development portfolio and hoped to close on the purchase of the first two centres, at Letterkenny and Galway, by the end of this month. Last week, however, AIB pulled out of providing debt facilities to complete the deal because of increasing nervousness over commercial property prices. Sources say Camgill was looking to borrow as little as 30% of the proposed purchase price for the first two shopping centres. The Sunday Times, 19th March
OFFICE
Merrion Square, Dublin 2 Colliers is guiding a price of €4.4m for a prime Georgian office investment and modern mews building on Merrion Square in Dublin city centre. No. 46 Merrion Square is occupied by three tenants currently and producing total rental income of €225.24k pa. The leases for the Association of Consulting Engineers of Ireland (ACEI), the Institute for Study Abroad and Two Ten Health all have short unexpired terms. The ACEI and Two Ten Health leases expire in September 2024 while the Institute for Study Abroad lease expires in August 2023. While the two-storey modern mews to the rear of the main building is vacant at present, there is potential to secure annual rental income of up to €85k from the property. No. 46 Merrion Square extends to a net internal area of 5,667 sq. ft and the two-storey mews – 46 Stephen’s Place – extends to a net internal area of 2,286 sq. ft and is accessed via Stephen’s Place. The Irish Times, 15th March
HOSPITALITY
Monastery Road, Dublin Dadac Limited had receivers appointed to the Ibis Red Cow Hotel off the well-known M50 intersection. The State contract to accommodate the international protection applicants is worth c. €700k-€800k a month. Insolvency practitioners Interpath (Ireland) were appointed to Propiteer Ibis Red Cow Limited, by BCMGlobal, a property manager and loan service provider. The Irish Times, 16th March
Ringsend, Dublin 4 The Shipwright pub at 16 Thorncastle Street, Ringsend, Dublin 4 has come to the market. Extending to 9,580 sq. ft, it is expected to sell for c. €3m. Joint agents Martin Property Consultants and John P Younge point out that the property extends to three floors over basement with its ground floors accommodating a pub, restaurant and off-licence with ample bar space, lounges and seating areas. The upper floors are laid out in 13 en-suite bedrooms. The Irish Independent, 16th March
INDUSTRIAL / LOGISTICS
Greater Dublin Area Irish real estate investor Quanta Capital has invested all €300m of the monies it allocated in May of last year to its sale-and-leaseback fund. The fund, which was established in the wake of Quanta’s withdrawal of its bid for Yew Grove Reit, will now receive an additional allocation of €50m for the purpose of making further acquisitions in the second quarter. According to market sources, the Oaktree Capital backed investor’s latest round of closings included the Ardmore Studios Film Factory – a 70,000 sq. ft movie production facility on five acres; and the Lir Chocolate Factory, a modern, 30,000 sq. ft production facility on a site of over three acres. The properties are located in IDA business parks in Bray, Co Wicklow, and in Navan, Co Meath, respectively. The Irish Times, 15th March
Clonee, Co Meath Coonan Property has brought c. 15 acres of potential industrial and commercial development land to the market for sale at Bracetown in Clonee, Co Meath, for which it is guiding €4.3m. The lands are zoned Objective E2/E3 General Enterprise and Employment/Warehousing and Distribution in the 2021-2027 Meath Development Plan, which allows for a range of uses on the lands. The property is located along the R147 roadway just off junction 5 on the M3 Motorway. The Business Post, 18th March
MIXED-USE
Grafton Street, Dublin 1 The Brennan family, owners of the country’s bestselling bread brand, have agreed a €100m debt facility from AIB secured on part of their extensive property portfolio. Documents filed in relation to the debt agreement reveal that the Brennans have supersized their Grafton Street presence with the purchase of the McDonald’s restaurant from Irish Life. It is understood that the family acquired the property, the site of the fast-food chain’s first restaurant in Ireland, in an off-market transaction within the past two years. Irish Life acquired the Grafton Street McDonald’s in 2015 as part of the €154m Sovereign portfolio. The debt facility will have refinanced a number of property loans and is likely to have released equity for the family from the prime assets. Assets secured include the Skechers store on Grafton Street; Viscount House, serviced offices on Fitzwilliam Square operated by Iconic Offices; and Suesey Place, a group of apartments off Leeson Street in Dublin 2. The Sunday Times, 19th March
Ormond Quay, Dublin 1 Dublin City Council has refused planning permission for an eight-storey mixed use scheme close to the 1815 Ha’penny Bridge due to its impact on the historic setting of the “iconic and unique” Liffey Quays. Earlier this year SRM Book and Cook Ltd, which operates the Woollen Mills Eating House restaurant at Ormond Quay, lodged plans for the eight-storey development comprised mainly of apartments. In response, the operator of The Grand Social night venue, Taurus Management Consultancy Ltd, along with An Taisce and Cllr Mannix Flynn (Independent) objected to the scheme. The Irish Times, 15th March
RESIDENTIAL / DEVELOPMENT
Grand Canal, Dublin The Grand Canal Dock portfolio is being offered to the market on behalf of a private investor by agent Colliers at a guide price of €18.25m (NIY 5.25%), or an average of €651.7k per unit. The 28 apartments are situated within the Grand Canal Dock area and are distributed across eight developments namely Longboat Quay, Gallery Quay, The Clayton, Butlers Court, Hanover Riverside, The Waterfront, Gallery Quay and Cranmer Place. The Longboat Quay scheme accounts for 14 of the apartments in the portfolio. The overall portfolio comprises a mix of units, with 14 two-beds, 12 three-beds, one one-bed and one four-bed. The majority of the units are apartments and have been fully refurbished. The Grand Canal Dock portfolio comes for sale with just one unit vacant. The Irish Times, 15th March
For lending terms on these assets please contact rossmetcalfe@origincapital.ie
Rent Inflation, Ireland Rents for new tenancies increased by 6.7% on average between the third quarter of 2021 and 2022, as the number of new tenancies rose to c. 20,000, new figures showed. Data from the RTB showed that the average monthly rent for new tenancies in Dublin was €2,022 in the three-month period, up from €1,912 the year before and up from €2,004 the previous quarter. The figure outside the capital stood at €1,164. On a national basis, the average rent charged on new tenancies was €1,482, the figures showed. Broken out by building type, the figures show that the average rent for houses was €2,248 for houses in Dublin, and €1,149 outside the Greater Dublin Area. The figures for apartments showed an average rent of €1,997 in Dublin, significantly higher than the average rent of €1,092 per month outside the capital. The Business Post, 16th March
Residential Property Price Cooling Property prices in the State fell for the first time in c. three years in January as higher interest rates and broader cost-of-living pressures curbed activity in the market. The CSO’s latest Residential Property Price Index shows prices fell on a monthly basis by 0.6%. This was the first monthly decline since May 2020. The figures show the annual index in property prices fell to 6.1% in January. This was down from 7.7% in December and from a high of 15.1% in February and March last year. YoY inflation in Dublin fell to 4.3% in January while on a monthly basis prices were down by 1.1%. Prices in the capital have been falling – on a monthly basis – since October. The latest figures highlighted a decline in monthly transactions. The CSO said the number of dwelling purchases by households fell by 29% to 3,519. The total value of transactions filed in January was €1.3bn. The latest property data show households in the State paid a median price of €305k for a home in the 12 months to January. The Irish Times, 15th March
OTHER
Dublin Airport The operator of Dublin Airport has successfully challenged a demand by Fingal County Council for a planning contribution of over €5m for an extension of aircraft parking facilities at the airport. An Bord Pleanála ruled the council had incorrectly applied its own scheme for seeking development contributions when it sought c. €5.03m from DAA to go towards the provision of public infrastructure. The board upheld an appeal by DAA against the decision of Fingal County Council to attach the contribution payment as a condition of the grant of planning permission for 12 new aircraft stands at the airport’s north apron. DAA’s plans also include works to allow for the storage of ground support equipment on a 47.4-acre site as well as the construction of a 550-metre service road to provide access for services vehicles to the new aircraft stands. The Irish Times, 16th March
Shankill, Co Dublin Plans to relocate sports facilities in a South Dublin park, which led to a High Court challenge last year, are under review by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, following a public consultation report which found low levels of support for the project. The local authority wants to redesign Shanganagh Park in Shankill, with the relocation of playing fields leased to a Dalkey-based GAA club to the centre of the park – a move strongly resisted by large numbers of Shankill residents. The Irish Times, 18th March
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