24th April (Issue 143)
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
Project Redwood: AIB has reduced the size of the Project Redwood loan book from €3.75bn par loan value to €1.6bn. US private equity funds Cerberus, Lone Star and Goldman Sachs are believed to be the final three in the running with final bids expected in the coming weeks. Once Redwood has been sold, AIB is believed to be working on a follow-up loan sale called Project Beech. The Sunday Business Post, 22nd April
RESIDENTIAL / LAND
Development Site Killiney: Agent Knight Frank has brought a 3.74 acre site beside the Glenageary Roundabout in Killiney to the market guiding €9m (€2.4m per acre). The site which has capacity to accommodate c. 150 apartments is expected to generate significant interest from a number of developers, including quoted house-builders Glenveagh Properties and Cairn Homes. The Irish Times, 18th April
Sycamore Court, Rathgar: Agent Hooke & MacDonald has brought the 18 apartment Sycamore Court Development on Rathgar Road to the market guiding €5.5m (€305k per apartment). The complex is fully let producing an annual rent roll of €304k, equating to a gross yield of 5.5% against guide price. There is also potential for an extension to the existing building, subject to relevant planning permission being obtained. The Sunday Business Post, 22nd April
Lansdowne Place, Ballsbridge: The latest collection of 22 high end apartments and penthouses at the Lansdowne Place development in Ballsbridge has come to market with prices ranging from €800k to €2.3m for the apartments and up to €7.5m for the penthouses. The apartments on offer include three one-bedroom units and 15 two-bedroom apartments ranging in size from 1,900 sq. ft. to 2,100 sq. ft. Believed to be the largest penthouse ever offered on the Irish market and with a guide price of €7.5m, the “Nicholson” penthouse is a four-bedroom unit with a study spanning 4,250 sq. ft. of living space with an additional 3,500 sq. ft. of terraces and garden space. The Sunday Business Post, 22nd April
Townsend Street Site: Knight Frank is seeking offers in excess of €3m for a 0.23 acre site on the corner of Townsend Street and Shaw Street in Dublin 2. The site is zoned “Z5” City Centre – “To consolidate and facilitate the development of the central area, and to identify, reinforce, strengthen and protect its civic design character and dignity”. Planning permission was previously granted for a nine-storey over retail mixed-use development in 2009, however this has since lapsed. A feasibility study has been conducted for the site with plans for five different office-over-ground-floor retail building options. The Sunday Business Post, 22nd April
Ballyvolane Site, Co. Cork: Cushman and Wakefield has brought an extensive landholding on the northern outskirts of Cork city to the market guiding €5.5m (€53k per acre). The two greenfield sites totalling 104 acres are contained within the Ballyvolane Urban Expansion Area (BUEA) and earmarked for the provision of a new, mixed-use, neighbourhood incorporating residential, business, retail, community, recreation, open space and servicing infrastructure. The Irish Examiner, 19th April
OFFICE
South William Street, Dublin: Agent Lisney is guiding €9m (€590 psf) for Maryland House, a landmark building with dual frontage onto South William Street and Drury Street in Dublin 2. The five-storey building which extends to 15,244 sq. ft. is fully let producing a rental income of €611k (€40 psf) with anchor tenant AA accounting for 92% of this amount. A €9m sale would equate to an initial yield of 6.27%. The Irish Times, 18th April
Merchants Quay, Dublin 8: Agent Knight Frank has brought five adjoining office buildings on Dublin’s Merchants Quay, to the market guiding €25m (€231 psf). The mixed portfolio is 87% occupied, producing a rental income of €2.1m, equating to an initial yield of 7.8%. The overall development extends to more than 108,000 sq. ft. and includes 180 car spaces. The largest tenant BDO, accounts for 66% of the total rent under a lease due to expire in 2027. The block has an average unexpired lease term of 7.1 years. The Irish Times, 18th April
Sir John Rogerson Quay: Agent CBRE is quoting €5.2m (€700 psf) for a first floor 7,448 sq. ft. office unit at 57/59 Sir John Rogerson’s Quay, Dublin 2. The office is let to Moneymate, a supplier of market data to domestic and international funds, at a rent of €343k (€46 psf) until 2022. The Irish Times, 18th April
No. 2, The Landings, Dublin Docklands: Irish property firm Ballymore and its partner Oxley are to lease c. 100,000 sq. ft. of office space in the Dublin docklands to office-sharing start-up WeWork. The US firm, will occupy No 2 on North Wall Quay beside the new Central Bank headquarters and the new head office of the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA). Lease terms have not been disclosed and it is expected WeWork will move into the building in October. The Irish Times, 18th April
Portview House, Dublin Dockland’s: Agent JLL have brought 5,250 sq. ft. of office space in the Dublin Docklands to the market for €3.25m (€620 psf). The entire fifth floor of Portview House is being offered with vacant possession. The Irish Independent, 23rd April
INDUSTRIAL
Northwest Business Park, D15: Iput has paid €12.3m (€91 psf) for a vacant 117,000 sq. ft. modern warehouse building in Northwest Business Park in Dublin 15. The property includes c. 17,000 sq. ft. of office space and is on a 6.45 acre self-contained site. Iput has already embarked on a €2m upgrade of the facility which is expected to be completed by next July. Joint agents William Harvey and Savills have been appointed to lease the building, quoting an annual rent of €1.15m, or €8.55 psf. The Irish Times, 18th April
HOTELS
Press Up Group Galway Hotel: Press Up Entertainment group, is understood to have acquired a site in Galway with planning permission for a 134-bedroom hotel. The site, at Prospect Hill in Galway city, received planning permission in September last year following an application by Highgate Properties Limited. It is understood Press Up paid €4.5m for the land which encompasses four properties on Prospect Hill. In addition to the 134-bedrooms, there is permission for two bars within the building, which will ultimately have a total gross floor area c. of 57,000 sq. ft. The Irish Times, 18th April
OTHERS
JLL Commercial Property Index: The latest JLL Property Index Report found that the commercial property market continues to show stable growth, despite the recent increase in stamp duty from 2% to 6%. The report shows that overall returns increased by 2.7% in the last three months and by 10.7% over the last year. Capital values increased by 1.5% in the last quarter and by 5.5% over the past 12 months, led predominantly by the industrial sector. The capital value index has increased by 90.4% since the trough in 2013 but remains 37.5% below the peak in 2007. The Irish Times, 18th April
April Property Auctions: Five April property auctions have generated more than €32.4m in property sales, including four Dublin lots which sold for more than the €1m level. Of these, BidX1 generated €28.5m from 159 lots sold at its online auctions, REA Dempsey Sothern generated €2.99m from the sale of 15 Leinster and Dublin lots, and REA O’Connor Murphy’ Munster and Connacht auction sold eight lots, to generate a combined €912k. Development properties, including unfinished developments, were the outstanding performer at BidX1’s auctions reflecting increased activity as developers respond to the housing shortage. The Sunday Business Post, 22nd April
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