22nd December (Issue 26)
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
IRES Tallaght: IRES REIT has revealed that they have reached an agreement with NAMA to purchase a mixed use development in Tallaght, Dublin 24 for c. €83m. The development comprises 442 apartments, 197,460 sq. ft. of commercial space and an underground car park. The apartments consist of 161 one-bed, 237 two-bed and 44 three-bed units. Goodbody Stockbrokers noted that after the acquisition IRES would still have c. €200m to spend on further investments. The Irish Times, 17th December
OFFICE
One Spencer Dock: US investment fund Hines is understood to be the favourite to purchase One Spencer Dock in Dublin’s North Wall Quay, after bidding close to the guide price of €240m. The underbidders are IPUT and an investment company linked to Alan McIntosh. One Spencer Dock is a nine storey office block with a floor area of 226,624 sq. ft. and is let to PWC on leases which have c. 16 years remaining. The rent is understood to be in excess of €11m p.a. (c. €50 psf) The Irish Times, 16th December
3GCQ Building: A refurbished Victorian warehouse on Grand Canal Quay in Dublin’s south docklands is being offered for rent as office space by agents Murphy Mulhall for €850k p.a. The property, which is owned by Denis O’Brien and known as 3GCQ, contains c. 10,484 sq. ft. of office space on the ground floor and c. 8,611 sq. ft. of additional space on the lower ground floor. Since purchasing the property in 2012, Denis O’Brien has spent over €3m on its restoration. There are also five car spaces available to rent with the property. The Irish Times, 16th December
HOTEL
Tara Towers: Following the recent announcement that Dalata has been chosen as the preferred bidder for the Tara Towers hotel, Dalata has stated its intention to invest €4.5m renovating the hotel. Dalata is to pay €13.1m for the three star hotel, with the deal expected to close in January. Once the deal has been completed, the hotel is to be brought up to a four star standard and rebranded as a Maldron hotel. The Irish Times, 17th December
RETAIL
Cork Development: The proposed €50m redevelopment of the Capitol Cinema site in Cork City is set to commence in the next few weeks after being approved by An Bord Pleanála. The redevelopment is being undertaken by John Cleary, who also developed the City Gate and Albert Quay projects in Cork. Once completed, the 0.63 acre Capitol Cinema site will accommodate 85,000 sq. ft. of commercial space, including c. 36,000 sq. ft. of office space. According to John Cleary, talks with potential tenants are at an advanced stage. The Irish Examiner, 19th December
RESIDENTIAL
Raheny Development: MKN Developments Limited, which is owned by developer Brian McKeown, has sought planning permission to build 76 new homes in Raheny, Dublin 5. MKN are proposing to build eight terraced houses and a number of one, two and three-bed apartments on their 1.5 acre site. The apartments would be built on blocks three to five storeys tall should the development proceed. NAMA Wine Lake, 20th December
Negative Equity: This past week Minister for Finance Michael Noonan reported that the number of homes in negative equity is now below 100,000, a decrease of over 66% in three years. The number reached an all-time high in 2012 when the figure reported was c. 315,000. The reduction has been attributed to the recovery in the property market, particularly in Dublin, where price growth has been most evident. The Sunday Business Post, 20th December
Lusk Development: Developer Sean Reilly, through his company Station Construction, has sought planning permission for a multi-million Euro mixed use scheme in Lusk, north county Dublin. The scheme proposes the development of 83 houses, 73 apartments and over 140,000 sq. ft. of commercial and community space on a c. 17 acre site. Included in the commercial space is a c. 46,000 sq. ft. anchor retail store and c. 18,000 sq. ft. discount store. The Irish Independent, 19th December
Ghost Estates: The latest figures from the Department of the Environment show that the number of unfinished estates in Ireland has fallen from nearly 3,000 in 2010 to 668 in 2015. Furthermore, there are now 19,000 homes occupied across 492 of the unfinished estates, with an additional 2,000 homes completed but unoccupied. 324 estates were completed in 2015. Only 47 of the unfinished estates are owned by NAMA. The Irish Times, 17th December
OTHER
Pubs Merger: Talks over a merger between the Mercantile Group and Danu Investment Partners are at an advanced stage. The Mercantile Group own a number of high profile pubs and restaurants in Dublin including Whelan’s, Opium and East Side Tavern. Danu also own a number of pubs including Café en Seine, The George and Howl at the Moon. The Mercantile Group is owned by Frank Gleeson while Danu is owned by Leonard Ryan, Mickey O’Rourke and Mark O’Meara, the founders and executives of Setanta Sports. Should the merger proceed, it is estimated that the group would have a cumulative turnover of almost €40m and over 500 staff. The Sunday Times, 20th December
Nursing Homes: A report commissioned by the Department of Health estimates that the required number of nursing home beds in Ireland may need to be almost doubled over the next 20 years to meet the demands of an aging population. Currently there are 29,600 beds in operation, 76% of which are provided through private operators. Assuming that 4.5% of over-65’s require care, then there will be a requirement for a further 24,000 nursing home beds by 2036, the equivalent of 250 nursing homes. The Fair Deal scheme is also viewed as inefficient as it does not account for costs or the level of care required by residents. The Irish Times, 19th December
Land Tax: The Economic and Social Research Institute believe that the government should consider the introduction of a land tax as the supply of new homes continues to fall short of required levels. The ESRI suggest that the land tax should be based on a similar scheme in Denmark, where a land tax was used as an incentive to get developers to either dispose of or utilise undeveloped land. The advice from the ESRI came as part of an economic report where they identified the shortage of new homes as a risk to the economic recovery in Ireland. The Irish Times, 18th December
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