28th March (Issue 89)
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
Permanent TSB (PTSB) Loan Sale: The Irish Independent reports that PTSB is aiming to finalise a “clean-up strategy” for its non-performing loans this year, with expectation building that the bank will seek to offload some of the distressed loans via a loan sale. Although the bank reported that it held €5.9bn of non-performing loans in its most recent annual results, sources close to the bank have stated that any loan sale may be limited to the bank’s buy-to-let mortgage book. The paper reports that private equity funds such as Lone Star, Cerberus and CarVal are monitoring the bank’s progress. The Irish Independent, 23rd March
RETAIL
Beacon South Quarter: Clarendon Properties, which is led by Tony Leonard and Paddy McKillen, has paid c. €10.6m to acquire 24 retail units in the Beacon South Quarter development in Sandyford, Dublin 18. The sale also includes a warehouse and a site of more than half an acre on 19 Corrig Road. Of the 24 retail units acquired by Clarendon, 10 are still vacant. The 14 units which are occupied are generating net rental income of c. €534k p.a., however this figure is expected to increase once vacant units are let and rent free periods / stepped rents in the occupied units expire. The warehouse and site on Corrig Road is generating rental income of c. €40k p.a. The Irish Times, 22nd March
Merchants Quay Shopping Centre: Clarendon Properties, together with the Belgian company Finaxer, have completed the purchase of Merchants Quay Shopping Centre in Cork city centre for c. €13.7m. The shopping centre is producing rental income of c. €1.47m p.a., however the anchor tenants Dunnes Stores, Debenhams, Marks & Spencer and SuperValu have been excluded as they own their units. The adjacent multi-storey car park is also excluded. The Irish Times, 22nd March
The Capitol Cork: John Cleary Developments (JCD) has advised that the redeveloped Capitol cinema site in Cork City is now 80% let, with just one floor of office space available. The retailers will be Lifestyle Sports and “an undisclosed international homewares operator”, who sources say is HomeSense, a discount homewares company who operates within the TK Maxx group. The secured office tenants are a Facebook / Oculus VR subsidiary, AlienVault and Huawei. The refurbished Oyster Tavern bar and restaurant is to be occupied by Alan Clancy, following a c. €1.5m fit-out. JCD acquired the site for c. €6m in 2015 and the total cost of the redevelopment is c. €50m. The Irish Examiner, 26th March
OFFICE
City Quay Development: Irish Life has agreed a deal to pre-fund the c. €125m development of 13 – 18 City Quay in Dublin’s docklands. The 118,000 sq. ft. property, for which a lease has already been agreed with Grant Thornton, is due to be completed next year. Upon completion, ownership of the property will transfer from the City Development Fund (a sub fund of Targeted Investment Opportunities) to Irish Life. Irish Life has acquired c. €1bn of direct property assets in the past four years. The Irish Times, 28th March
Crumlin Office Blocks: Savills is guiding €2.75m for two interconnecting office blocks in Cashel Business Centre in Crumlin, Dublin 12. The three-storey blocks extend to 28,384 sq. ft. and currently have rental income of c. €287k p.a. The blocks consist of 14 office suites, however with only eight occupied at present, there is potential to increase the rental income through asset management. The blocks have a weighted average unexpired lease term of c. 3 years. The Irish Times, 22nd March
Galway Office Block: Offers in excess of €2.25m are being sought by Cushman & Wakefield for Fáilte Ireland’s Galway tourist office on Forster Street in Galway city centre. The three storey property extends to 6,265 sq. ft. on the ground floor, 6,937 sq. ft. on the top floor and 1,744 sq. ft. in the basement. Fáilte Ireland recently relocated most of its staff to Liosbaun Business Park, however they are planning to occupy the property under a nine-month lease for c. €25k. The Irish Times, 21st March
Cork Development: John Cleary Developments (JCD), together with architects Henry J Lyons, is expected to shortly submit a planning application for a €25m office block on South Mall in Cork City. The application will seek to redevelop a 0.34 acre site which fronts onto South Mall at buildings 85 & 86, with permission being sought for a c. 50,000 sq. ft., five-storey block which will accommodate c. 450 workers. Subject to achieving planning permission, JCD intends on commencing work on the site immediately and completing the development by 2018. The Irish Examiner, 23rd March
Dublin 6 Development: Hines is behind a c. €23m office block proposed for Grand Parade in Dublin 6. If completed, the block would extend to c. 161,000 sq. ft. and stand at eight storeys tall. The Sunday Business Post, 26th March
RESIDENTIAL / LAND
RTE Montrose Campus: Savills is expected to launch the sale of a portion of RTE’s Montrose campus in Donnybrook, Dublin 4 in the coming weeks. It is expected that RTE will seek to dispose of up to 15 acres of its 32.12 acre campus, for which offers above €75m will reportedly be sought. The site being disposed of is expected to be able to facilitate up to 20 high value houses and up to 500 apartments. The Montrose campus was rezoned Z12 in 2013, which means that housing is now a “permissible use” for the site. The Irish Times, 22nd March
Dublin 2 Investment: Bids of €2.1m are being sought by QRE for seven apartments on Benson Street in Dublin’s Grand Canal Dock. The current rental income from the apartments is c. €143k p.a. Each apartment has its own car space. The Irish Times, 22nd March
Dalkey Investment: Joint agents JLL and Lansdowne Partnership are seeking €2m for a mixed use property in Dalkey, south Dublin. Blue Court contains four two-bedroom duplex units, two two-bed townhouses and three retail units, with the retail units ranging from 410 sq. ft. to 625 sq. ft. Four of the apartments and one of the retail units are occupied, generating rental income of c. €78k p.a. The property also includes nine car spaces. The Irish Times, 22nd March
Foxrock Houses: Lisney has placed a €10.25m asking price on a 2.36-acre site which includes two detached houses on Brighton Road in Foxrock, south Dublin. Subject to planning permission, the site could facilitate 20 homes. The site is being sold under the instruction of the receiver, Aiden Murphy of Crowe Horwath. Should the site fail to sell as one lot, Lisney will guide €6m for the development site and €1.75m and €2.5m for the two houses. The Irish Times, 22nd March
Raheny Application: Coralvale Ltd has sought planning permission from Dublin City Council for a 71 apartment development on a one-acre site in Raheny, north Dublin. The application proposes to demolish four houses on Station Road and replace it with a four-to-six storey block which will contain seven one-beds, 52 two-beds and 12 three-beds. Coralvale is controlled by Conor, Gavin and Matthew Gallagher. NAMA Wine Lake, 26th March
Mount Merrion Development: David Doyle, son of PV Doyle, has sought planning permission from Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council to build 47 residential units on the grounds of Thornhill House in Cherrygarth, south Dublin. The application proposes the development of 33 apartments and 14 houses on the 3.5-acre site. Thornhill House, which was home to the Doyle family since the 1960’s, does not form part of the application. The Sunday Business Post, 26th March
February Mortgage Approvals: The February 2017 report by the Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) on mortgage approvals shows that the number of mortgages approved for the three month period ending in February 2017, based on moving averages, was 2,840. The value of mortgages approved for the corresponding period was c. €585m. Based on the value of mortgages approved, these figures represent an increase of 54.4% YoY (c. €379m February 2016) but a decrease of 6.8% MoM (c. €628m January 2017). Based on the value of mortgages approved, the first-time buyer segment recorded the most substantial growth YoY, rising by 69.6%. BPFI Mortgage Approvals February 2017
INDUSTRIAL
Ballymount Industrial Unit: Rent of €1.2m p.a. is being sought by Savills for the former Johnson Brothers logistics building on Ballymount Avenue in Ballymount, Dublin 12. The property extends to 145,140 sq. ft., which includes 27,264 sq. ft. of office space. The Irish Times, 22nd March
OTHER
AIB Naas: Savills is seeking offers of €3m for an AIB branch on the Main Street of Naas, Co. Kildare. The three storey property extends to 7,460 sq. ft. and is situated on a 0.33 acre site. The current rental income of the property is c. €250k p.a. The lease has c. 7.6 years until the next break and c. 12.6 years until the next expiry. The Irish Times, 21st March
If you have an article which you would like to have considered for inclusion in our next weekly report, please contact us at info@origincapital.ie