21st November (Issue 123)
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
The Square Towncentre Tallaght: Oaktree looks set to be chosen as the preferred bidder by NAMA for a controlling stake in The Square Towncentre Tallaght in south Dublin, after reportedly bidding c. €230m. Oaktree are bidding for the 577,500 sq. ft. shopping centre through the investment vehicle Targeted Investment Opportunities. The shopping centre is also believed to have been subject to bids from Blackrock and Orion Capital Managers. The anchor tenants in the shopping centre are Tesco, Debenhams and Dunnes Stores. The Irish Times, 18th November
Waterstones Cork: CBRE are guiding €6.25m for 68 – 69 Patrick Street in Cork City, which is occupied by Waterstones bookshop. The property extends to 11,367 sq. ft., with 6,353 sq. ft. of this at street level. Waterstones occupy the property under a 35-year lease which dates from March 1988, leaving c. 5.2 years unexpired, at a rent of €770k p.a. CBRE advise that based on the current rent, the property will offer a return of 11.36% after deducting standard costs. The Irish Times, 15th November
Global Retail Rents: A new report by Cushman & Wakefield on prime retail rents reveals that Dublin’s Grafton Street was the 15th most expensive street in Europe, and 57th most expensive worldwide, with average rents of €339 psf. The report, Main Streets Across The World, identified Upper Fifth Avenue in New York as the world’s most expensive street, with an average rent of €2,626 psf. London’s New Bond Street was found to be Europe’s most expensive street, with an average rent of €1,505 psf. The Irish Times, 16th November
Liffey Valley Shopping Centre: The owners of Liffey Valley Shopping Centre have sought planning permission from South Dublin County Council to redevelop a 2.47-acre site at the shopping centre. The shopping centre is owned by German pension fund Bayerische Versorgungskammer, who paid over c. €600m to acquire the shopping centre in 2016. The plans propose to remove an existing unit and replace it with two restaurant and two retail units. Should the redevelopment proceed, it would see 3,900 sq. ft. of restaurant space and 22,900 sq. ft. of retail space added to the shopping centre. The current rent roll is c. €35m p.a. The Irish Independent, 17th November
Crescent Shopping Centre Lettings: Limerick’s Crescent Shopping Centre looks set to benefit from the addition of three international fashion outlets; Gap, Superdry and Selected, following the completion of a €15m refurbishment at the shopping centre. Gap have already taken occupation in their 7,200 sq. ft. unit, while Superdry and Selected have rented 4,026 sq. ft. and 2,245 sq. ft. units. Zone A rents in the shopping centre range from €150 – €160 psf. The Irish Times, 14th November
OFFICE
48 Fitzwilliam Square: Bids in excess of €2.75m are being sought by Michael Turley of Turley Property Advisors for 48 Fitzwilliam Square in Dublin 2, which is being offered for sale for just the third time in over 120 years. The four-storey over basement property was fully refurbished in 2005, with further works completed in 2008 and 2014. The main property extends to 4,162 sq. ft., while there is a one-bedroom, 512 sq. ft. mews to the rear and space for up to six cars in the garden area. While the current rent of the property is €135k p.a., the sales agent advises that this could be increased to over €200k p.a. once rent reviews take place. The Irish Times, 15th November
Tedcastle Site: A joint venture between Oaktree and Bennett Construction, TIO North Docks DAC has sought planning permission from Dublin City Council to develop a 275,000 sq. ft. seven-to-nine storey development on the Tedcastle site in the north Dublin docklands. The existing 4,500 sq. ft. property on the site would be demolished to make way for the new property, which would contain 200,000 sq. ft. of office space. NAMA Wine Lake, 19th November
HOTEL
Jurys Inn Hotels: The Swedish hotel group Pandox is understood to be getting closer to acquiring the Jurys Inn hotel group for c. €903m from Lone Star. Pandox released a statement this morning (Tuesday, November 21st) stating that they are in the negotiating phase for a hotel portfolio in Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland. The hotel portfolio consists of 36 Jurys Inn hotels in the UK and Ireland and one Hilton hotel. Lone Star acquired the Jurys Inn hotels for £680m GBP in 2015, and has since invested £130m GBP in the portfolio. The Irish Times, 21st November
Citywest Hotel: Tetrarch Capital appears poised to acquire full ownership of the Citywest Hotel in Saggart, Co. Dublin, which is Ireland’s largest hotel with more than 764-bedrooms, a golf course and a convention centre. A joint venture between Tetrarch and Pimco acquired the hotel in September 2014 for c. €30m, at which time the hotel was under the control of Martin Ferris, who was acting as receiver on behalf of Bank of Scotland (Ireland). Tetrarch is now believed to be close to acquiring Pimco’s majority stake in the hotel, however no financial details have been disclosed. Since acquiring the hotel, Tetrarch and Pimco have spent c. €12m on upgrades. The Irish Times, 20th November
Portobello House: MKN Property and the hotel group Tifco are looking to build a six-storey, 178-bedroom hotel on the site of Portobello House and Harbour House on the banks of the Grand Canal in Dublin city centre. MKN acquired the site last year from Ray Kearns for over €10m. MKN was established in 1996 by Sean McKeon and is now operated by his children; Brian, John and Niamh. The Sunday Times, 19th November
InterContinental Hotel: The value of the InterContinental Hotel in Ballsbridge, Dublin 4, rose by €22.5m in 2016, based on 2016 accounts for Ballsbridge Hotel Unlimited. The accounts show that the entity transferred ownership of the hotel to Irish Property QIAIF, which is backed by John Malone, in February 2016, and note that the hotel’s value rose by €22.5m. The hotel, which was formerly operated under the Four Seasons group, was acquired by John Malone in 2015 for c. €50m. The Sunday Business Post, 19th November
Fitzwilliam Hotel: Ampleforth Ltd has sought planning permission from Dublin City Council for a 16-bedroom extension to the five-star, 139-bedroom Fitzwilliam Hotel on St Stephen’s Green in Dublin city centre. Ampleforth is controlled by Michael Holland, Tom Mannix, Robert Savage and Mark Moran. NAMA Wine Lake, 19th November
Twilfit House: Abarta Investments, a company linked to SW3 Capital, has sought planning permission to demolish Twilfit House in Dublin 1 and replace it with an eight-storey, over-basement hotel. The project, which would cost c. €19.3m to complete, would see the development of a 99,082 sq. ft. property which would include a 12,992 sq. ft. gym and an 86,089 sq. ft., 218-bedroom hotel which would include bar and restaurant facilities at ground floor level. The current property at Twilfit House, which extends to 37,135 sq. ft., is located at the junction of Jervis Street and Upper Abbey Street. SW3 Capital acquired Twilfit House for €4.15m in 2014, with the property generating rent of €350k p.a. at the time of purchase. The Irish Times, 15th November
RESIDENTIAL / LAND
Boland’s Mill Project: The Sunday Times reports that Google’s proposed purchase of the Boland’s Mill project in the south Dublin docklands for c. €170m may fall outside of NAMA’s tendering rules as the property is currently in the possession of a fixed-price receiver, Savills. When an asset is being sold by a fixed-price receiver, it is understood that the receiver must demonstrate that the vendor is receiving the maximum return for their asset, with NAMA being the vendor in the Boland’s Mill project. The Boland’s Mill project includes three skyscrapers and c. 397,000 sq. ft. of office, residential, retail and cultural space. The Sunday Times, 19th November
Project Opera Limerick: The European Investment Bank (EIB) has committed to providing an €85m, 25-year debt facility to Limerick City and County Council to part fund the development of the four-acre Project Opera site in Limerick city centre. Upon completion, Project Opera will be a high-quality commercial / office development with capacity for 3,000 jobs. The Sunday Business Post, 19th November
Glenveagh Sites: Glenveagh has confirmed that it has acquired 11 sites which have the potential to facilitate the development of 1,319 residential units. Nine of the sites are from the Project Kells portfolio, which consists of twelve sites. These nine sites were conditionally acquired by Glenveagh at the time of its IPO. Glenveagh is expected to acquire the remaining three sites in the Project Kells portfolio once “legal formalities are fulfilled”. The two sites which Glenveagh has acquired outside of the Project Kells portfolio are located on the Naul Road in Co. Dublin, and the acquisition cost of same is believed to have been c. €22m. Of the 11 sites acquired by Glenveagh, five are in Dublin, two are in Wicklow, two are in Kildare and the final two are in Cork and Limerick. The Irish Independent, 17th November
Mount Merrion Development Sites: Lisney is guiding €7.5m for a 0.84-acre residential development site in Mount Merrion, south Dublin, which has planning permission for 48 apartments and four office suites. The proposed development on the site, which is currently home to Flanagan Kerins furniture and three mobile phone kiosks generating rent of €73k p.a., will extend to six storeys and have parking facilities for 92 cars. The current planning allows for the development of 10 one-beds (660 sq. ft.), 27 two-beds (957 sq. ft.), nine three-beds (1,188 sq. ft.) and two penthouses (1,600 sq. ft.). Adjacent to the Flanagan Kerins site is the Union Café site where planning permission has been sought for 50 apartments and a pavilion-style bar. The Irish Times, 15th November
Student Accommodation Dublin: The Irish Times reports on three student accommodation projects in Dublin city centre. Firstly, Carrowmore Property has paid over €7.5m to acquire a site with capacity for 281 bed spaces at The Quarters in Brickfield Lane, Cork Street, Dublin 8. Nearby in Newmarket, an unnamed company has secured planning permission for a mixed-use development of 349 student bed spaces and co-working office space. This same unnamed company has also sought planning permission for 242 student bed spaces, co-working office space and a café / bar in Cork city centre. The Irish Times, 14th November
Cloragh Mills: Cushman and Wakefield are inviting offers above €4.75m for 22 of the 30 apartments on the site of Cloragh Mills in Rathfarnham in south Dublin. The apartments for sale in the ten-year-old block are fully occupied and generating rental income of €346k p.a., offering a return of 7% after deducting acquisition costs. The sales agent estimates that the market rent for the units is c. €425k p.a. The Irish Times, 14th November
Department of Housing Figures: The Department of Housing has published its housing supply figures for September 2017, with the figures showing that construction of 1,458 units was commenced and 1,647 units were completed in the month. Based on these latest figures, the construction of 13,329 units has commenced YTD, while 13,533 units have been completed. The full-year projections for 2017 for both completions and connections are 17,000 – 18,000. Commencements are based off notices by builders to local authorities of imminent commencement of construction, while completions are based off ESB connections. NAMA Wine Lake, 19th November
Merrion Road Apartments: Bartra Property Ltd has sought planning permission from Dublin City Council to develop 20 apartments on a 0.5-acre site at 98 Merrion Road in Ballsbridge, Dublin 4. The proposal under the application would see the existing guest house demolished and replaced with a 45,000 sq. ft., five-storey over-basement development consisting of fourteen two-beds, three one-beds and three two-beds. NAMA Wine Lake, 19th November
OTHER
Abbott Expansion: The medical devices manufacturing firm Abbott is in the process of finalising plans for a substantial expansion of its plant in Donegal Town, where it makes products for treating diabetes. The c. €130m investment at the facility is expected to result in the creation of c. 200 jobs. Abbott’s plant in Donegal Town opened in 2006, and the company has nine sites in total in Ireland, with nearly 3,000 employees. The Sunday Times, 19th November
CRH Education Hub: The Irish Times reports that CRH is expected to seek planning approval from South Dublin County Council for a c. 59,200 sq. ft. education centre at its HQ in Dublin, which is located at Belgard Castle between Clondalkin and Tallaght. The centre, which is expected to cost c. €20m to develop, would then be used to facilitate training and development courses each year for CRH’s global workforce, which extends to c. 87,000 staff across 31 countries. The Irish Times, 15th November
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