24th September (Issue 465)

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

Fitzwilliam Place, Dublin 2 French investor Atland Voisin has paid approx. €11m (€694 psf) for Kingram House on Dublin’s Fitzwilliam Place. The price paid represents a slight uplift of 2% on the €10.75m value market sources had ascribed to the office block when it was put up for sale. Kingram House briefly comprises a four-storey office block of 15,850 sq. ft. The building is fully let to the Irish Medical Council with approx. eight years remaining on the lease which has upward-only rent reviews. The property is generating €827.5k in annual rental income. The Irish Times, 18^th September

South Docklands, Dublin TikTok has pulled back from its plan to locate hundreds of its employees in offices at the Tropical Fruit Warehouse in Dublin’s south docklands. While the social media platform had committed to a long-term lease of the property in August 2022 and was in the process of having it fitted out for use by up to 800 workers, a decision has now been made to bring all of the company’s Dublin-based staff together at its European headquarters in the Sorting Office on nearby Cardiff Lane. The Irish Times, 19^th September

Sandymount, Dublin 4 The Tram Shed, an office building on Gilford Road in Sandymount, is guiding at a price of €2.15m (€255 psf) through Sherry FitzGerald. The office accommodation extends to 8,434 sq. ft and is arranged over two floors comprising a mix of open-plan and glazed cellular offices together with other ancillary accommodation. The Irish Times, 18^th September

HOSPITALITY

Wexford Dalata Hotel Group is selling the Maldron Hotel Wexford near Rosslare to The Neville Park Hotel Group. The sale price for the Maldron was not disclosed but based on the €85.3k per bedroom seen in the sale of the Crowne Plaza Dundalk, the 108-bedroom Maldron may have fetched approx. €8m to €9m. The deal is scheduled to complete by November 5^th The Irish Independent, 19^th September

Killiney, Co Dublin The Graduate pub in Killiney is being offered for sale as a going concern by Lisney at a guide price of €7m. Located within the grounds of Killiney Shopping Centre and overlooking the Graduate roundabout, The Graduate comprises a three-storey premises over basement stores. Internally, the pub consists of a large lounge bar which is laid out in four sections on the ground floor and two first floor function rooms. The Irish Times, 18^th September

RETAIL

Blackpool Shopping Centre, Cork Lugus Capital and London-headquartered Patron Capital have acquired Blackpool Shopping Centre in Cork. The price paid (approx. €49.5m) represents a 57% discount on the €115m Varde paid to secure ownership of the scheme a decade ago. The Irish Times understands the overall rent roll is closer to €6m, with €3m of this being generated from the centre’s retail park. The other €3m of income comprises €2m in rents from the shopping centre and €1m in rent from the office accommodation. The asset comprises approx. 300,000 sq. ft of retail and retail park space, along with 108,513 sq. ft of offices and approx. 1,800 car-parking spaces. The Irish Times, 18^th September

Paul Street, Cork Holren Properties Ahall Limited has lodged a planning application with Cork City Council seeking to revamp part of Paul Street Shopping Centre. The plan seeks permission for a change-of-use of the existing first-floor retail area for future use as a food court. The space has been vacant since March 2023. The proposal seeks permission to create a food court, including four new food kiosks and kitchen areas, a moveable food kiosk, staff toilets, and dining areas. Planners at Cork City Hall will issue a decision on the plan by early November. The Irish Examiner, 23^rd September

Winthrop Street, Cork Sprout & Co Kitchen Ltd has applied for permission to revamp No. 17 Winthrop Street, which has been vacant since the closure of Ulster Bank in April 2023. This planning application seeks permission for the change of use of the ground and first floors of the Winthrop Street building from financial services to cafe use, and also includes the addition of new signage. The Irish Examiner, 18^th September

INDUSTRIAL/LOGISTICS

Bray, Co Wicklow Harvey is the sole agent of the former Radius Communications facility at the Ballywaltrim Business Centre in Bray, which it has just brought to market with an asking price of €1.95m. The unit extends to 18,858 sq. ft and sits on a gated and fenced site with the managed business park, which is located approx. 2.5km south-west of Bray. The Business Post, 20^th September

North City Business Park, Dublin 11 A prime industrial property, Unit E7 at North City Business Park, is being offered for sale through Savills for €1.95m. With an internal area of 11,065 sq. ft, it also features two-storey office accommodation. The warehouse benefits from an additional non-structural mezzanine level totalling 6,910 sq. ft spread over three floors. The Irish Independent, 19^th September

Naas, Co Kildare Pizza company Domino’s is opening a new supply chain centre in Naas Enterprise Park after a €16m investment and over two years of construction. The new facility uses state-of-the-art equipment to produce, store, and ship fresh dough and ingredients to Domino’s stores across the country. The pizza company says the new facility will increase capacity in Ireland by approx. 40%. RTE, 24^th September

MIXED-USE

Grand Parade, Cork Sherry FitzGerald has brought No. 8-10 Grand Parade to the market with a guide of €2.5m. The property extends to a total floor area of 6,051 sq. ft (€413 psf). Lloyds Pharmacy occupies the entire ground and part of the first floor based on a 35-year lease from 2008 and the passing rent is €100k pa. A dental surgery occupies part of the first floor and part of the second floor. There is a one-bedroom apartment and four two-bed apartments laid out over the remainder of the upper floors (total rent of €92.3k). The property is fully occupied and the total current passing rent is €215k pa (NIY 7.45%). The Business Post, 20^th September

STUDENT ACCOMMODATION

Dublin City Centre Hines has bought Scape Dublin near Grafton Street and St Stephen’s Green in Dublin 2. The price was not disclosed but it was believed to be close to its €80m guide. The 135,959 sq. ft site comprises 246 single en-suite rooms, 16 twin en-suites and 20 self-contained studios. The asset includes total guaranteed income of €5.2m for the 2024/25 academic year, based on a 51-week lettings agreement with the RCSI. Scape generates a further €625k rental income from the Lidl supermarket on the ground floor. Hines said it will be rebranded Aparto Dublin Stephen’s Quarter. The Irish Independent, 18^th September

Residential / Development

Inchicore, Dublin 8 Located on Emmet Road in Inchicore village, a portfolio of 32 apartments is being offered for sale on behalf of the Martin Property Group by Cushman & Wakefield with the benefit of full vacant possession at a guide price of €10.5m (NIY 6.16%; approx. €328k per unit). The portfolio comprises 32 two-bedroom apartments distributed across four storeys with eight apartments per floor all extending to a floor area of approx. 484 sq. ft. The Irish Times, 18^th September

Rathgar, Dublin 6 Sherry FitzGerald is guiding a price of €1.8m for a portfolio of eight rental apartments in Rathgar. The units form part of Newtown House at Eaton Brae. The eight units comprise two one-bedroom apartments and six two-bedroom apartments with 10 designated car-parking spaces on a site of 0.25 acres. Five of the eight apartments are currently leased and producing a gross annual passing rent of €18.54k (approx. €309 per unit per month). Three of the apartments are currently vacant. The Irish Times, 18^th September

Rathgar, Dublin 6 A 0.64 acre site with full planning permission for eight luxury houses at The Barn on Riversdale Avenue off Bushy Park Road is being brought to market by DNG for approx. €3.8m. Nos. 1 to 5 are part three-storey and part single storey mid and end-of-terrace houses. Nos. 6 and 7 are part two-storey and part single storey semi-detached houses and No. 8 is a part two-storey and part single storey detached residence. According to DNG, it has been advised that, under the current planning permission, the site is exempt from Part V. The Business Post, 20^th September

Planning Permissions An Bord Pleanála has refused planning permission for approx. 900 homes in south Dublin. The authority turned down plans by Cairn Homes for 355 BTR apartments for Cross Avenue, Blackrock. The decision comes approx. 2½ years after the planning application comprising six blocks up to eight storeys in height was lodged in April 2022. In a second planning blow to Cairn the appeals board has also refused planning permission for 534 BTR apartments across eight blocks on a site at Winterbrook and Barrington Tower, Brennanstown Road, Dublin 18. The Irish Times, 19^th September

House Prices According to data from the CSO, the median house price in the 12 months to July 2024 stood at €340k, 9.6% above that reported for the year before. Irish house prices in July were 12.4% higher than their Celtic Tiger-era peak in April 2007, according to the CSO figures. Dublin prices were 0.6% higher than their February 2007 peak, while prices in the rest of Ireland stood 13.3% above the level reached in May 2007. House prices in Dublin soared 10.9% in the year to July, with apartment prices growing 8%. The Business Post, 18^th September

Housing Construction New research published by a state-commissioned task force (called 4Dublin Housing Supply Pipeline Task Force) has found there were more than 17,500 private market homes under construction in Dublin in the second quarter of the year, compared to 16,600 in the first quarter. This represents an improvement on the level of residential building in Dublin in the middle of 2023 when just 15,300 new homes were being built. In 2022, however, there were more than 18,000 private homes being built during each quarter. Data released by the housing department earlier this year showed that construction had begun on more than 21,800 homes between April and June, with more than 7,500 new homes started in Dublin alone. The Business Post, 22^nd September

Glenveagh Properties is set to acquire lands belonging to Gerry Gannon as part of a deal that will mean the developer exits NAMA. As part of deal, Glenveagh would take over lands at Belcamp Hall site. The identity of Gannon’s private equity backer is not widely known, but speculation centres on Oaktree Capital Management. DRC Savills has also been linked to a refinancing of the Gannon lands. At the end of 2022, Gannon Homes owed Nama €157m. The private equity refinancing will also take out the Nama debt secured on another Gannon asset: the QuickPark car park near Dublin airport. The Sunday Times, 22^nd September

OTHER

Rathbride, Co Kildare Joint agents Coonan Property and Raymond Potterton are guiding €4.7m for Rathbride Stud, a 206-acre stud farm in Co Kildare. For sale with the benefit of a fully refurbished and modern three-bedroom single-storey cottage, the lands at Rathbride are of the highest quality according to the selling agents and have been developed into a modern stud farm. The Irish Times, 18^th September

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Origin Capital funds senior debt transactions in the CRE investment sector, typically in excess of €3m, and has lent over €200m to clients since April 2015.