26th June (Issue 152)
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
Ulster Bank Loan Sale: Ulster Bank has begun shortlisting bidders for the sale of a €1.6bn portfolio of non-performing loans and intends to complete a sale by the end of the year. The portfolio, which comprises 3,600 owner occupier loans and 2,900 but-to-let properties has attracted the usual players, with Cerberus, Goldman Sachs, Oaktree and Loan Star all displaying interest to date. The Irish Times, 21st June
OFFICE
Parkgate Street, Dublin 8: Turley Property Advisors have brought two modern office building totalling 35,500 sq. ft. on Parkgate Street, Dublin 8, to the market guiding €19m (€535 psf). The buildings are currently rented by two Government agencies and produce a rental income of €1,109,200 p.a. (€31 psf), with seven and ten year’s unexpired terms. The buildings were previously purchased by an Israeli investment fund in 2014 for c. €14m (€394 psf). The Irish Times, 20th June
Century House, Harold’s Cross: Estate agent Agar has brought a former parochial hall converted to 6,292 sq. ft. of office space in Harold’s Cross, Dublin, to the market guiding €1.75m (€278 psf). The building is let on a long-term lease to accountants PKF O’ Connor, Leddy & Holmes at €133,500 p.a. (€21 psf), equating to an initial yield of 7%. The Irish Times, 20th June
RESIDENTIAL / LAND
The Grange, Stillorgan: Kennedy Wilson Europe has completed the purchase of 274 apartments and a 4-acre site at the Grange in Stillorgan, Co. Dublin, for €160m, taking their overall spend in Ireland to over €1.5bn since 2008. Some of their purchases include Clancy Quay at Kilmainham, Sandyford Lodge in Ranelagh and the Alliance development on South Lotts Road. Recently they paid c. €90m for Ireland’s tallest building, the Elysian Tower in Cork, with 206 apartments as well as offices and shops. The Irish Times, 20th June
Tyrrelstown Land Bank: Agent Knight Frank is guiding €45m (€173k per acre) for a substantial 260-acre land bank at Tyrrelstown, Dublin 15, with potential to accommodate 830 to 890 houses. The land already has planning permission to develop 172 houses as well as a mixture of zoning objectives, ranging from residential and local amenities to rural and greenbelt reservations. The Irish Times, 20th June
Santry Demesne, Dublin 9: Agent Hooke & MacDonald is quoting €80m (€370k per apartment) for the 216 apartments being developed by the Cosgrave Property Group at Santry Demesne in Dublin 9. The Bridgefield apartments at Northwood are due to be completed by the end of 2019 and expected to bring in an annual rent roll of €4.65m to €4.9m, reflecting a yield of c. 6%. The Irish Times, 20th June
2018 Daft.ie Wealth Report:Figures in the 2018 Daft.ie Wealth Report show 4,583 homes are now valued at more than €1m, an increase of 762 (20%) compared to this time last year. Year-on-year residential property values have risen by 7.3% in total and there is now €420bn of housing wealth in the country. The highest concentration of property millionaires is in affluent parts of Dublin, with Dalkey, Blackrock and Rathgar accounting for more than 1,500 of those with homes with a value in excess of €1m. Over the past 12 months, an average of 15 properties worth €1m or more have been sold every week in Ireland. Since January 1st, 266 transactions of €1m+ have been completed. The Irish Independent, 21st June
Buy to let loans:The level of buy-to-let investor activity may be about to accelerate if recent trends in the mortgage market are considered an indicator. The first three months of this year saw a 12.8% increase in the drawdown of buy to let mortgages across Irish banks and lenders compared to the same period of 2017. In the month of April, the number of residential investment property mortgage approvals saw a 27.3% increase according to the Banking and Payments Federation of Ireland (BPFI). Almost 16,100 investors have joined the residential land lord ranks between the beginning of 2015 and the third quarter of 2017. The latest figures recorded by the Residential Tenancies Board show as many as 176,251 landlords at the end of September 2017. While that is a huge drop on the 212,306 recorded in 2012, it is about 10% above the low of 160,160 recorded in 2014. The Sunday Business Post, 24th June
LICENSED PREMISES
Fitzpatrick’s Bar, Cooley: Agent Sherry Fitzgerald Carroll has brought the award winning gastropub, Fitzpatrick’s Bar and Restaurant, in the Cooley area of Louth, to the market guiding €1.5m. The property has been extended to cater for 180 diners and stands on 8.57 acres, which offers extensive development potential. The Irish Independent, 21st June
Miller & Cook, Mullingar: Joint agents CBRE and Power Property have brought a 9,600 sq. ft. food hall, bakery, café and restaurant building in Mullingar to the market guiding €1.5m (€156 psf). The building is producing an annual rental income of €130,000 (€13.50 psf), equating to an initial yield of c. 8%. The property may also have development potential at the rear as there is an extensive car park. The Irish Independent, 21st June
HOTEL
Vicar Street Hotel: Irish entrepreneur Harry Crosbie, the man behind a string of iconic buildings in Dublin’s docklands, is set to build a new 4-star hotel at Vicar Street in Dublin 8. The new hotel will give clients a package that includes tickets to shows at Vicar Street with a hotel room and meal. There will be a membership club on the top floor with a 7,000 sq. ft. bar looking out over the city with the same views as the Guinness Storehouse. The Irish Independent, 19th June
Grand Central, Belfast: Northern Ireland’s newest hotel, the £53m (€60m) 300-bedroom Grand Central, has opened in Belfast. The 23-storey hotel, will be the North’s largest hotel and includes the Grand Café, the Seahorse bar and restaurant, a lounge for private receptions, offices, retail units and two conference suites. The luxury hotel has been developed by the Hastings Group, owners of a 50% stake in the five star Merrion Hotel in Dublin. It will be the seventh hotel in their portfolio and represents the largest single investment by the family-owned hotel group, which has been in business in Northern Ireland for more than 50 years. The Irish Times, 19th June
RETAIL
Tribeca, Ranelagh: Agent QRE, has brought the building home to the Tribeca restaurant in Ranelagh, to the market guiding €2.1m (€1,100 psf). Tribeca has been trading successfully for the past 16 years and has a lease in place with an annual rent of €156,000 (€82 psf), with 8 years to run. A sale at the guide price will return a net initial yield of c. 5.85%. The Irish Independent, 21st June
INDUSTRIAL
Northwest Business Park: Agent William Harvey is seeking tenants for a warehouse and office facility at Northwest Business Park, Ballycoolin, Dublin 15. The agent is quoting a rent of €695,000 p.a. (€7.50 psf) for the 92,700 sq. ft. property situated on a 5.3 acre site. Core Industrial REIT bought the property in 2016 and purchased an adjoining one acre site to facilitate the redevelopment of the existing buildings. The Irish Independent, 21st June
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