26th November (Issue 224)
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.
HOSPITALILTY
Temple Bar, Dublin 2 CBRE are guiding €25 million for the Paramount Hotel in Dublin’s Temple Bar district. The 66 bedroom Paramount Hotel and its bar, The Turk’s Head are located on Parliament Street in the heart of Temple Bar. The Paramount Hotel currently operates from 10 interconnecting prominent buildings with frontage to Parliament Street, Essex Gate and Upper Exchange Street. While the hotel is being offered for sale with the benefit of full planning permission to increase its existing room count from 66 to 117 bedrooms, a further planning application is pending to increase that number to 130 suites. The Irish Times, 20th November
Capel St, Dublin 1 A fully let 6,845 sq.ft penthouse office has been brought to the market through Colliers with a guide price of €3.45 million (€504 psf). Numbers 501-506 at the Capel Building are fully let to Storm Technology by way of a 10-year lease from February 2019, with a passing rent of €255,667 per annum (€37 psf). The lease provides for a fixed uplift to €284,075 in years six to 10. The tenant has the benefit of a break option at the end of year five (subject to six months’ notice). There are also two car parking spaces, currently vacant, which present potential for increased income for the purchaser. The Capel Building is located at the corner of Mary’s Abbey and Capel Street, and within a short walk of Jervis Street. The Irish Times, 20th November
The Conrad Hotel, Dublin 2 The hotel, owned by Park Hotels (part of the Hilton group), the Dublin-based Cashel Fund and Aviva has been sold for €116.4 million. The 192-room city-centre hotel off St Stephen’s Green had annual earnings before tax of c.€5 million, according to the announcement confirming its sale. The buyer is believed to be Archer Hotel Capital, which the Irish Times reported earlier this year was close to completing a transaction. The initial guide price was €115 million, although earlier reports had suggested a price of up to €125 million. The Sunday Business Post, 24th November
RESIDENTIAL
A Knight Frank/Daft.ie PRS Survey of 1,200 tenants in Dublin has shown up interesting variations in preferences across the various tenant groups (iGens, Nesters, Soloists, etc). €1,200 is the average pro rata share of rent that each respondent expects to pay per month, although this ranges from €929 for iGens to €1,761 for mature families. 38% of their net income is what respondents expect to pay on rent, with there not being a wide variation amongst the different tenant groups. The report also compares the results with a similar KF survey in the UK. Ease of access to work is the most important consideration for Dublin renters compared to affordability for those in the UK, suggesting a greater willingness amongst renters here to pay a premium for location. The advantage of shorter travelling distances in Dublin versus London was evident with 45% living within a 30 minute commute versus 34% in London. Knight Frank Dublin PRS Tenant Survey
Pembroke Place, Dublin 2 A multi-unit residential property at 6 Pembroke Place, Dublin 2, will be among the 20-plus lots which will go under the hammer at I-Am Sold’s Leinster auction in Liffey Valley on December 5th. The Pembroke lot extends to 2,260 sq.ft. over three storeys and contains five one-bedroom flats which generate €63,000 in rental income. The Irish Independent understands that it will be sold with vacant possession for over €990,000. The Irish Independent, 21st November
MIXED-USE
Eden Quay, Dublin 1 Agent McNally Handy is guiding €1.5 million for No 9 Eden Quay, a mid-terrace, four-storey over-basement commercial premises. The ground floor and basement of the building are fitted out and used as a casino and amusement arcade while the upper floors are laid out as offices. The property is let to Starville Promotions Ltd on a 35-year lease dating from June 1, 2004 at a rent of €108,000 per annum. The lease incorporates upward-only rent reviews every five years, and there is no break option. The Irish Times, 20th November
Dorset Street Lower, Dublin 1 Knight Frank and Citywide Auctioneers are guiding €2.3 million for a substantial 183,000 sq.ft. mixed-use investment property at Numbers 3, 4 and 5 Dorset Street Lower in Dublin 1. The licensed premises (bar, restaurant and off-licence) is currently in use as Wasabi Restaurant and is let on a 15 year IRI lease from March 2018 at a current rent of €55,000 per annum increasing to €110,000 per annum in March 2020. The first floor of Number 3 Dorset Street consists of an own-door office leased to the Mater Private on a five-year lease which expired in August 2015 with a rent of €42,000 per year. The upper floors of Numbers 4 and 5 Dorset Street consist of 3,100 sq.ft. of currently vacant office space. At the rear of the property, accessed off Georges Place, are five apartments currently generating rental income of €102,000 per annum. The Sunday Business Post, 24th November
Ormond Quay, Dublin 1 Agent McNally Handy is guiding €2.25 million for No 21 Ormond Quay and a portion of the adjoining building (No 20). No 21 Ormond Quay is a four-storey over-basement mixed-use extended premises, the majority of which is fitted out as a guesthouse. The first floor is presented as a one-bed apartment, while the basement of the property is used for ancillary services and comes for sale along with the second and third floors of the adjoining building at No 20 Ormond Quay which are in use as guest accommodation. The property extends to a total area of 6,135 sq.ft. The Irish Times, 20th November
Donnybrook, Dublin 4 The Irish Times understands that a new bar and restaurant will form part of the residential-led scheme now being envisioned for the 0.2-acre, Kiely’s of Donnybrook site. It is understood that Westridge Real Estate, who recently purchased the premises for in excess of €5 million has plans for a high-end apartment building of up to six storeys, with a rooftop bar and restaurant offering views over nearby Herbert Park. When it was first brought to market in April 2018, the majority of the Donnybrook site was zoned Objective Z4 under the current Dublin City Development Plan 2016-2022. That allows residential, office, hotel, hostel, restaurant and retail development. A small element of the site to the rear, fronting on to Pembroke cottages, is zoned Objective Z1 – “to protect, provide and improve residential amenities.” The Irish Times, 20th November
OFFICE
Cedar Portfolio US private equity giant Blackstone has notified the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) of its intention to acquire a portfolio of five prime Dublin office assets with an indicative value of €535 million. The CCPC was informed of Blackstone’s bid to acquire the Cedar portfolio from Starwood, in a formal merger notification on Thursday. The Cedar portfolio was offered for sale through CBRE and Eastdil Secured in September. It comprises the Watermarque building, 75 St Stephen’s Green, Iveagh Court, Marsh House, 29-31 Adelaide Road. The properties comprise 600,737 sq.ft. of office accommodation and 45 residential units at 1 and 2 Parkgate Street. The Irish Times, 23rd November
INDUSTRIAL
Naas Road Industrial Park Development 8, a Dublin-based developer, has purchased Naas Road Industrial Park for c.€9 million. Agents Quinn Agnew had been quoting €7.5 million for the property which comprises six self-contained units extending to 87,200 sq.ft. on a site of 4.2 acres (€2.142m per acre). Of the six industrial units, four are occupied and producing almost €410,000 in annual rental income. The Irish Independent understands that Development 8 intends to refurbish Unit 6 which extends to 8,855 sq.ft. and to sub-divide Unit 4 which extends to 29,225 sq.ft. in order to offer both separate warehouse space and office suites on a floor-by-floor basis. The Irish Independent, 21st November
Johnstown, Co Kildare Agent Harvey is offering a warehouse and office premises in Johnstown, Co Kildare for sale at a guide price of €6.25 million. There is also the option to let the premises at a rent of €675,000 per annum. The subject property sits on a site of 5.6 acres (€1.116m per acre), which is fully utilised to provide a large yard for loading and truck-parking areas. A total of 88,404 sq.ft. of warehouse space is available and the unit also provides 20,128 sq.ft. of two-storey headquarter offices, which are in turnkey condition. The premises is located within a two-minute drive of the N7 and a 15-minute drive from the M50 motorway. The Irish Times, 20th November
Ringaskiddy, Co. Cork Specialist glass processing company Precision Quality Glass (PQG) has taken a lease on Block A Ringport Business Park in Ringaskiddy, which comprises a detached warehouse of 95,000 sq.ft. The Irish Independent understands that Joint letting agents Lisney Cork and Cohalan Downing negotiated rent in the region of €380,000 per annum (€4 psf) which is subject to a significant capital spend by the tenants. The letting is one of the largest industrial lettings in the Cork area within the past 10 years. The Irish Independent, 21st November
RETAIL
County Meath Cantor Fitzgerald is set to acquire the 140,000 sq.ft. Blackwater Retail Park in County Meath for €21.5 million on behalf of a group of private clients (€153.57 psf). The retail park is being sold by Elliott & Co in an unleveraged debt-free transaction. There are eight units in the retail park generating rental income of €1.75 million per annum. Grafton Group-owned Woodies DIY is the anchor tenant, Currys PC World, Harry Corry, Choice Retail and Ben Dunne Gyms are other tenants at the property, located outside Navan. Cantor is pitching an exit yield for Blackwater in five years of 7.5% to investors on an anticipated sale price of €23.4 million. The Sunday Business Post, 24th November
Dawson St, Dublin 2 The Irish Times understands that the pharmacy-led health and beauty retailer, Boots have signed a new lease for the 3,660 sq.ft. retail unit at a rent of €320,000 per annum (€87.43 psf). The property, which is located immediately adjacent to the Ivy restaurant at 13-17 Dawson Street in Dublin city centre was developed by Green Reit and sold last week as part of the wider disposal of its real estate portfolio to UK-headquartered property investor, Henderson Park. The Irish Times, 20th November
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