27th May (Issue 498)
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.
PURPOSE BUILT STUDENT ACCOMMODATION
Dublin and Galway Two student accommodation complexes in Dublin and Galway are being sold by investment manager EQT Real Estate. Cushman and Wakefield is guiding in excess of €115m for the pair known as Project Galaxy. The Dublin property, trading as Mezzino at Mayor Square in the IFSC, provides 290 bedspaces. It is located adjacent to the National College of Ireland and is a short walk to Trinity College Dublin. The Galway facility, known as Cúirt Na Coiribe, has 434 bedspaces and is located close to the University of Galway and Galway city centre. This premises extends to 160,422 sq. ft and sits on a 3.5 acre site. It also comes with full planning permission for an additional 515 beds which would bring it to 920 net beds upon completion. The Irish Independent, 22nd May
Santry, Co. Dublin Located within the Northwood Campus at Santry Demesne, a site which extends to 0.74 acres is being offered to the market by CBRE with full planning permission for a 170-bed PBSA scheme at a guide price of €3.4m. The sale is being conducted on the instruction of Mark Degnan and Daryll McKenna of Interpath Advisory. The planning permission is arranged predominantly in eight-bed clusters. The development, which secured planning permission in January 2024, also includes study rooms, games rooms, laundry facilities, breakout areas and outdoor amenity space. There is also provision for a creche within the development. The Irish Times, 21st May
OFFICE
IFSC, Dublin 1 Aberdeen is looking to dispose of numbers 3 and 5 Custom House Plaza with TWM guiding a price of €24m. Standard Life paid a similar amount for numbers 3 and 5 two years prior to its 2017 merger with Aberdeen. Located next to Connolly Station, the wider Custom House Plaza development comprises six office buildings, including the two properties now being brought to the market. Numbers 3 and 5 Custom House Plaza extend to a total net internal area of 60,606 sq. ft and have 71 secure basement car parking spaces. Citco Fund Services accounts for 50% of the total annual rental income of €2.65m. Citco occupies the largest floor area, has been in Custom House Plaza since 1998, and recently renewed its leases. Other tenants include FlexiFi Europe Services, Companjon, Maxol and Device Atlas. The combined WAULT is currently 6.49 years to expiry and 3.89 years to break. Aberdeen has undertaken significant investment in the buildings’ office accommodation and has improved the BER rating which ranges from E1 to B1. The Irish Times, 21st May
INDUSTRIAL
Clonshaugh, Dublin 17 Savills is guiding €4.6m for an investment at Willsborough Industrial Estate. The property, which comprises a detached warehouse of 29,310 sq. ft on a self-contained 2.2-acre site, comes for sale fully let to Gist Distribution Ltd on a four-year lease extension to April 2027. The property is currently generating annual rental income of €238,000. The tenant has signed a deed of renunciation waiving their renewal rights at the end of the term. The property is well located within the established Willsborough Industrial Estate, with access provided via the IDA Clonshaugh Business and Technology Park. Other occupiers in the area include BT, SolarSmart Energy, Amazon (AWS), DPD, GXO Logistics and Mail Metrics. The Irish Times, 21st May
Little Island, Co. Cork Pepsi’s €127m factory expansion at Little Island is facing a challenge by locals who have appealed Cork County Council’s decision to give the green light to the drink giants expansion with An Bord Pleanála. While some have complained about the height of the development and the impact on property values in the area, others are aggrieved by the current noise levels and the lack of consultation with locals by the drinks giant. Last June, PM Group, the planning consultancy, lodged plans on behalf of PepsiCo to build a new 131,347 sq. ft factory and warehouse, four storeys high, at its site at the Ballytrasna industrial park. The plans are the second part of the company’s extension of its facility and have been met by almost 50 objections at council level. Pepsi has been operating out of the site since 1974. The Business Post, 20th May
RETAIL
O’Connell Street, Dublin 1 Cushman & Wakefield is seeking a buyer for Ulster Bank’s landmark premises at 2-4 Lower O’Connell Street. The building, which occupies a high-profile position opposite the O’Connell monument and next to O’Connell Bridge, is guiding €2.75m. The property, a protected structure, comprises two retail units at ground-floor level with offices and staff facilities overhead. It extends to 20,862 sq. ft over four floors and basement. The building is being sold with vacant possession following the withdrawal of Ulster Bank from the Irish market. The proposed sale follows the phased launch in 2023 of Ulster Bank’s entire branch portfolio. The disposal process included the sale of 45 freehold/long leasehold properties across Ireland. The Irish Times, 21st May
St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2 Having paid approx. €10.5m earlier this year for the Stephen’s Green Collection, a retail portfolio comprising numbers 2, 3 and 5 St Stephen’s Green, and a separate mews building to the rear at 7 Anne’s Lane, the Treacy Group has instructed Colliers to offer the properties to the letting market. Previously occupied by the Oasis fashion chain, number 3 comprises a large open-plan ground floor of 4,000 sq. ft. It also features a distinctive triple-height bay window offering views over St Stephen’s Green Park. The former PTSB branch occupying number 2 St Stephen’s Green comprises four floors with a ground-floor area of 1,900 sq. ft. It sits immediately adjacent to the premium fashion retail store operated by REISS at number 1 St Stephen’s Green. The smallest of the available properties is number 5 St Stephen’s Green, a former Coast store extending to 780 sq. ft of split-level ground-floor trading space with additional accommodation at basement and at three upper levels. The Irish Times, 21st May
Retail Parks Marlet is on the cusp of a deal for its €120m portfolio of three retail parks after receiving ten initial bids. Four international companies were shortlisted in the first round of proposals last week: Realty Income Reit, Iroko Zen, Corum Asset Management and Sienna Investment Managers. All four have been buying up retail parks around Europe, including in Ireland. In March, Realty Income completed its deal to buy eight retail parks from Oaktree Capital in a €220m deal. Iroko Zen paid nearly €25m for Kilkenny retail park last year, not long after Corum bought Mahon Point retail park for €50m. Sources say bids for Marlet’s portfolio were in excess of the asking price and that the three parks would be sold in one lot. A best bidder will be selected imminently. The three parks comprise Belgard retail park in Tallaght, M1 retail park outside Drogheda and Poppyfield retail park in Clonmel. The Louth Park also comes with 22 acres of adjoining development land. Marlet paid €78m for the parks in 2021 and carried out upgrades on all three. The Sunday Times, 25th May
HOSPITALITY
Lisdoonvarna, Co. Clare A hotel known globally for its match-making tradition, the Hydro Hotel, in Lisdoonvarna is being sold by tourism entrepreneur Marcus White. Savills is quoting €4.75m for the three-star venue which accommodates 113 bedrooms as well as a large function room for music and events and additional nightclub space. It is located on 1.8 acres which includes on-site parking, tennis courts and a lawn. The Hydro is being sold with vacant possession. The Irish Independent, 22nd May
Dalata Ireland’s largest hotel group, Dalata, is attracting attention from some of the world’s biggest private equity buyers. Last week the property website Green Street News reported that private equity buyers Starwood Capital, Davidson Kempner, TPG, Apollo, Bain and KSI submitted initial bids for the company. The Sunday Times reported this month that Dalata had opened its books to potential buyers, with its advisers Rothschild setting a deadline of May 1st for initial proposals and expecting a deal to be concluded before the end of the summer. Green Street News said sources close to the process estimated that bidding would reach in the region of €1.6bn, higher than Dalata’s current market cap of €1.23bn. The group owns the Maldron and Clayton hotel brands. The Sunday Times, 25th May
RESIDENTIAL/DEVELOPMENT
Baldoyle, Dublin 13 Knight Frank is guiding in excess of €10m for a site of approx. 12.6 acres which benefits from excellent sea views over Baldoyle Bay and Portmarnock Beach. The site benefits from an extant planning permission for the development of a 150-bed hotel and a 150-bed retirement home with respite care. The 150-bed hotel is set out over three floors and includes an attractive F&B offering together with extensive spa, gym, swimming pool and conference facilities. The accommodation is broken down into 134 bedroom and 16 suites. The retirement home is a part two storey / part three storey building set out to include respite care and comprises 150 ensuite bedrooms, medical facilities, consultant rooms, outpatient treatment rooms and physiotherapy rooms. The site benefits from approx. 280 metres of frontage to the Coast Road and approx. 150 metres of frontage to Red Arches Road. The site adjoins the extensive Baldoyle Racecourse Park. Knight Frank Press Release, 22nd May
Swords, Co. Dublin The former Emmaus Retreat Centre in Swords is being offered to the market by Bannon guiding €12m. The Centre extends to a gross internal area of 59,574 sq. ft and comprises 72 bedrooms, catering and meeting/conference facilities, along with a former church. While an application by the Christian Brothers in 2022 to have the Emmaus Retreat Centre and its 16.6 acres of grounds rezoned for housing under the Fingal Development Plan 2023-2029 was unsuccessful, the property’s positioning between the fast-growing town of Swords and the M1 motorway should ultimately see it being used for residential purposes, subject to planning permission. The Emmaus Centre is situated close to Estuary station, the proposed northern terminus stop on the planned Metrolink. Estuary station is also proposed to feature a 3,000-space multistorey park-and-ride facility. The entire 16.6-acre site is currently zoned MRE – Metro and Rail Economic Corridor and is categorised as an “accessible location” on the planned line. There is potential to add further accommodation, subject to planning permission. The Irish Times, 20th May
Baggot Street, Dublin 2 The former Baggot Street hospital building in Dublin is to be sold by the HSE on the open market as no State agency wanted to take it over. However, part of the complex, off Haddington Road, has been earmarked as the site of a new primary care centre for the south Dublin inner city. The facility, which was known officially as the Royal City of Dublin Hospital, was built in 1832 but closed in 1987. Parts of the premises, at the Haddington Road junction with Baggot Street, were used as a drug treatment and community facility until 2019. The HSE said it planned to split the former hospital site into two sections. It said one portion of the site, off Haddington Road, adjacent to the former Baggot Street Hospital building, had been identified as a suitable location for the development of a primary care centre to serve the south Dublin inner city area. The HSE said the remainder of the site was registered as surplus to requirements on the Office of Public Works Inter State Property Register and had been available for acquisition by other State entities. The Irish Times, 26th May
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