24th June (Issue 502)
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
Cork Airport Business Park CBRE, on behalf of Henley Bartra, are guiding €6.75m and €4m for Buildings 6400 and 6700 respectively. Building 6400 extends to 46,616 sq. ft and is fully let to Amazon CS Ireland Limited at a current annual rent of €756,888, reflecting a net initial yield (NIY) of 10.2%. The lease runs until September 2027 and comes with 209 car-parking spaces. Neighbouring Building 6700 extends to 25,805 sq. ft and is fully let to Red Hat Limited, an IBM company, under three separate leases at a combined annual rent of €412,550. This equates to a 9.4% NIY based on the guide price of €4m. The leases run until February 2028 and come with 123 car-parking spaces. The properties were constructed in 2006, have a B3 energy rating and are offered for sale individually or combined. The Irish Independent, 19th June
Merrion Square, Dublin 2 36 Merrion Square is being offered to the market through Knight Frank at a guide price of €4m. Located on the east side of the square, it comprises a midterrace, four-storey over-basement Georgian building of 7,879 sq. ft with full vacant possession available from August. The property was built in 1790 and is a traditional Georgian build. Internally, the original period features have been retained to a high standard and include ceiling roses and ornate cornicing. While the property has been in office use for many years, it has clear potential for conversion back to its original use as a residential property subject to planning permission. The Irish Times, 18th June
Mixed Use
Mahon Point, Cork City A €200m mixed-use investment in Munster’s largest retail complex, Mahon Point, is planned as the centre marks its 20th anniversary this year. Plans include 251 apartments, an office block for up to 580 workers, a new civic plaza/market square, a multi-storey car park, a discount retailer, and eight to 10 additional “bigger box” shops, including a very large unit to suit a major retailer. Planning permission is being sought this week for a phased development, and shift towards more mixed uses, to secure the centre’s position over the next two decades by Mahon Point’s owner Deka Immobilien, via Henry J Lyons’ architects. If approved, it will add approx. 140,000 sq. ft additional “demand-led” retail space, on top of the existing 350,000 sq. ft gross footprint at Mahon Point, plus the existing 45,000 sq. ft Omniplex. The centre is separate to Mahon Park Retail Park, which trades nearby. Deka acquired the 60-unit shopping centre with cinema and restaurants in 2005. The Irish Examiner, 19th June
Retail
Having paid €220m in March for the Oaktree portfolio, Realty Income Reit is poised to move into exclusivity in relation to the acquisition of the Trinity Collection, a portfolio comprising Belgard Retail Park in Tallaght, the M1 Retail Park in Drogheda and Poppyfield Retail Park in Clonmel. The proposed purchase price is said to be in line with the €120m guided by Cushman & Wakefield when it offered the portfolio to the market formally in April. Marlet Property Group and its funding partner M&G paid €78m to secure ownership of the schemes from Marathon Asset Management in September 2021. Since acquiring the portfolio, Marlet has engaged in an intensive asset management programme at all three locations with the overall rent roll having increased from €7m to more than €9m. The Irish Times, 18th June
Henry Street, Dublin 2 River Island has announced that its Henry Street store will close permanently on June 27th. DublinTown, the representative body for city centre businesses, said that while the River Island store will be a loss to the area, there may be potential interested parties in the space on Henry Street as there isn’t a “huge vacancy rate” on the street at present. The company operated 23 stores in Ireland last year. The company first entered the Irish market in 1993 with a store on Grafton Street, which will remain open. The Irish Independent, 17th June
Swords, Co. Dublin David Lloyd Leisure has submitted a planning application to Fingal County Council to develop a 50,500 sq. ft health, racquets and wellness club facility in Airside Retail Park. The move comes more than a year after its original plans were rejected over design and layout concerns. The two-storey club would include gym and fitness studios, heated indoor and outdoor swimming pools, a children’s soft play area, tennis facilities and a premium spa retreat. David Lloyd Leisure said the fresh planning bid followed a period of re-design as it sought to ensure the proposed leisure facility fits in with Fingal’s masterplan for the area. The fitness group operates 134 clubs including 105 in the UK and a further 29 in mainland Europe. The Sunday Independent, 22nd June
Hospitality
Citywest, Co. Dublin The government confirmed it has closed a €148.2m deal with Tetrarch Capital to buy the Citywest complex. The deal will include the 764-bedroom hotel, 12 meeting rooms, a large multi-purpose convention centre and a leisure centre with conferencing facilities. The state will also acquire a 16.5 acre site with planning permission for a solar farm, a 30 acre site with planning permission for a cemetery and land which contains telecommunications infrastructure. The Business Post, 17th June
Dublin Airport Dalata will give up the lease on the DAA owned Maldron Hotel at Dublin Airport after the competition watchdog approved its bid to acquire the nearby Radisson Blu hotel for €83m from CG Hotels Dublin Airport. The CCPC said on Wednesday it had cleared Dalata’s bid to buy the hotel subject to several conditions, one of which is that Dalata will have to surrender the lease on the nearby Maldron Hotel. Dalata said previously the Maldron lease is due to expire in January 2026. CG Hotels Dublin Airport is a subsidiary of CG Hotels, which is linked to Emerald Investment. The four-star hotel is on 4.4 acres to the east of Dublin Airport, comprising 229 bedrooms as well as meeting and events rooms. The Irish Times, 19th June
Baggot Street, Dublin 2 Peachbeach ULC has appealed An Coimisiún Pleanála’s decision to refuse permission for the demolition of the Tesco store building and to build a six-storey, 113-bed hotel. The proposed scheme was deemed “inappropriate in terms of the extensive demolition of historic facades along Baggotroth Place and Fitzwilliam Lane”. Similarly, the rejection said the development would “cause serious injury to the special architectural character and legibility of the Georgian conservation area”. The case is due to be decided by October 13th. The Business Post, 17th June
Industrial
Waterford Airport Business Park A development site adjoining Waterford Airport is being offered for sale with industrial potential. Cushman & Wakefield is guiding in excess of €900,000 for the plot which is located just 10 minutes south of Waterford city. The 4.5 acre fully serviced greenfield development site is zoned objective ‘CD – Light Industry, Enterprise and Employment’, which also permits accommodation for high technology and manufacturing, among other uses. It benefits from a positive planning history with permission previously granted for six light industrial units. While this planning has lapsed, nevertheless it remains a strong precedent. The Irish Independent, 19th June
Purpose Built Student Accommodation
Clonskeagh, Dublin 6 River Dodder anglers and local residents are opposing plans by a Bain Capital-backed firm to construct 439 purpose-built student bed spaces at the former Smurfit Paper Mills site. In the plans lodged with DCC, Harley Issuer DAC is seeking permission for the 439 bed spaces across five blocks from one storey to part-seven-storeys along with 16 residential apartments. The large-scale residential development, located 1km north-west of UCD’s main campus at Belfield, also includes the extension and renovation of 14 existing residential dwellings at Clonskeagh Road. The Dodder Anglers Association states that it is very concerned the proposals “could damage the biodiversity of River Dodder green/blue corridor and are in breach with DCC’s biodiversity action plan as well as the EU Habitats Directive and Water Framework Directive”. The market for student accommodation provision in south Dublin is a lucrative one with UCD generating €42.8m in rental income from student residences on campus in 2024. The Irish Independent, 17th June
Residential/Development
Drogheda, Co. Louth CBRE is guiding €8m for a 28.5 acre site in Drogheda with full planning permission for the development of 198 new homes (€40,400 per site). Located 2.9km from Drogheda’s town centre, the subject site is accessed from the newly constructed Port Access Northern Cross Route to the north and is bound by Twenties Lane to the west. The site is a five-minute drive to Junction 10 on the M1 motorway providing future residents with ready access to both Dublin and Belfast. The site is zoned ‘A2 – new residential’ in the Louth County Development Plan 2021-2027. The 198 homes were approved in two tranches of 99 units in separate planning applications to Louth County Council in 2023 and 2024 respectively. The Irish Times, 18th June
Ringaskiddy, Co. Cork A development site overlooking Cork Harbour, with flexible zoning and excellent transport links, is on the market in Ringaskiddy for €1.85m. Known as Paddy’s Point, the 6.74 acre waterfront site will have instant access to the new M28 motorway and is served by public transport. Zoning under the county development plan permits offices, educational facilities, and research and development. The site is just 800m from the under-construction M28 motorway, which should be completed in 2028. The new motorway is of critical importance to Ringaskiddy, which handles much of the region’s freight as Cork Harbour’s main deep-water port. The Irish Examiner, 19th June
House Price Inflation Asking prices for houses have risen by an average of 12.3% to €357,851 in the past year, according to the latest Daft.ie House Price Report. The report notes that this rate of inflation is the highest since the Central Bank’s mortgage-lending rules were introduced in 2015. The property website said asking prices nationally increased by 3% between April and late June of this year and are now 40% higher than at the outset of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. According to the report, since this time last year asking prices in Dublin have gone up in line with the national inflation figure of 12.3% (to €467,913), while house prices in Limerick city (+12.8% to €311,086) and Galway city (+12.5% to €426,348) have gone up by a similar figure. However, the research suggests Waterford city asking prices are 15.2% higher year-on-year at €276,420, with the increase for Cork coming in at 8.6% (to €369,938). Daft notes the number of second-hand homes available to buy across the country at the beginning of June was around 12,100, with this figure largely unchanged from a year ago and less than half the pre-covid average of almost 25,000. Rte.ie, 23rd June
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