29th October (Issue 220)

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

24/26 City Quay, Dublin Docklands Knight Frank is quoting a rent of €62.50 per sq.ft. for the 38,600 sq.ft. which remains available across the building’s ground, fourth and penthouse floors at 24/26 City Quay in the Dublin docklands. KBC Bank will be taking up occupation of the third floor, which extends to 17,000 sq.ft. in the coming weeks, having vacated the property temporarily to facilitate its full refurbishment and upgrade by Irish Life to a new Grade A specification. The property has been transformed into a modern office building extending to more than 90,000 sq.ft. The Irish Times, 23rd October

Scotch House, Burgh Quay QRE are seeking a rent of €55 per sq.ft. and €4,000 per car parking space at the newly redeveloped Scotch House, located immediately beside the new Rosie Hackett Bridge. The building has undergone a complete redevelopment, and extends to 40,000 sq.ft. with an additional 1,500 sq.ft. of retail space, along with nine basement car parking spaces and 54 bike spaces. QRE are offering the building to be let to individual tenants on a floor-by-floor basis, or in its entirety to a sole occupier. The Irish Times, 23rd October

 

HOTEL

Temple Bar, Dublin 2 Dublin City Council has granted planning permission for a 12-bedroom hotel at the corner of Merchant’s Arch and Temple Bar Square, despite strong opposition from local residents. The development requires the demolition of an existing two-storey building which houses the Irish Pub Shop and the construction of a five-storey building with a retail unit on the ground floor and basement with the hotel on the four upper floors. The Irish Independent, 29th October

Navan, Co. Meath Lisney (incorporating Morrisseys) are guiding €3.5 million for the Ardboyne Hotel and wedding venue in Navan, Co. Meath. The property incorporates 29 bedrooms, a bar, restaurant, a banqueting suite for 300 people, three meeting rooms and a former nightclub with capacity for 450. The property also has expired planning permission for a substantial extension to include a leisure complex and 26 additional bedrooms. The hotel occupies a strong trading position overlooking the river Boyne, and has easy access via the N3/M3 to the south-east edge of Navan town. The Sunday Business Post, 27th October

 

INDUSTRIAL

Northwest Business Park, Dublin 15 Harvey are guiding €1.95 million for a detached warehouse in Northwest Business Park which extends to a gross external area of 16,243 sq.ft. on a 1.1 acre site which is fully utilised to provide a large yard and 24 car parking spaces. The warehouse extends to 11,937 sq.ft. with loading access via one full height level access door and one dock leveller. Two-storey offices and staff facilities extend to 4,306 sq.ft. and are situated to the front of the building and provide a mix of open plan and cellular offices, boardroom, a canteen and toilet accommodation. Northwest Business Park is situated 6.4km from Junction 5 and Junction 6 for both the N2/M50 and N3/M50 junctions providing easy access to Dublin Airport. The Irish Independent, 24th October

 

RETAIL

St Stephen’s Green Shopping Centre The Irish Times understands that a fund managed by Davy Real Estate has entered into exclusive talks in relation to the acquisition of two separate shareholdings amounting to a 62.4% stake in Dublin’s St Stephen’s Green Shopping Centre for c.€115 million. €30 million lower than the original asking price set by HWBC in June. Developed in 1988 by British Land, the shopping centre has more than 90 shops over three levels with an overall floor area of 320,000 sq.ft, and is currently producing rental income of c.€8 million per annum. As part of the sales process, potential investors were briefed on the centre’s capacity to accommodate an additional 200,000 sq.ft. of space. The majority of this would be office space and built above the existing retail scheme. The Irish Times, 23rd October

 

RESIDENTIAL / LAND

Gorey, Co. Wexford Wells House and Gardens has come to the market through DNG Wexford. The Irish Independent understands that the 40 bedroom property was expected to sell for c.€4.5 million, although it could sell for up to €7.5 million if an adjoining 285 acres of agricultural land was being purchased along with the property. The property comes with a craft courtyard and five self-catering chalets. In recent years, the property has begun to host weddings and corporate events, as well as house tours and a range of other activities. The Irish Independent, 27th October

Dublin Docklands Marlet Property Group has secured c.€45 million from the forward sale to UK fund, Realis, of 56 high-end apartments (€803k per unit) it is developing in Dublin’s south docklands. The development, known as Ropemaker Place, will comprise of 10 one-bed apartments, 29 two-bed apartments, six two-bed duplexes and 11 three-bed apartments and is located at the corner of Cardiff Lane and immediately adjacent to the Sorting Office, the 210,000 sq.ft. office scheme which Marlet is also developing. Upon completion, the seven storey over-basement development will also include 1,947 sq.ft. of retail accommodation as well as a concierge service and on-site amenities for residents. The Irish Times, 24th October

Bray, Co Wicklow Savills is guiding €27.5 million for a 52.6 acre site (c.€523k per acre) with potential for the delivery of a major residential and commercial quarter in Bray, Co Wicklow. Located within a short walk of the town’s main thoroughfare and just 700m from Bray Dart station, the site comes to the market with the benefit of existing planning permission for a substantial mixed-use scheme. However, a recent architects report suggests the lands have the capacity to accommodate a revised residential scheme with ancillary commercial accommodation, subject to planning permission. There is substantial short-term income from the existing tenants anchored by the German discount retailer, Lidl, which the prospective purchaser can benefit from while seeking permission for a revised scheme. The Irish Times, 23rd October

Baldoyle, North Dublin Richmond Homes has emerged as the successful purchaser of a 125 acre site in Baldoyle, north Dublin. The Irish Times understands that that the asking price of €42 million was not achieved and the winning bid was c.€38 million (€304k per acre). The Baldoyle site comprises 56 acres of residential zoned land and 69 acres of lands zoned for open space and high-amenity space and was offered for sale with the benefit of an existing planning permission for 546 units. A development feasibility assessment for the site suggested that it could accommodate at least 1,592 units through further planning permissions. If Richmond Homes opts to pursue such a development, it would be one of the largest in the history of the State. The Irish Times, 23rd October

Sandyford, South Dublin Oakmount and partners, Core Capital, have paid c.€17 million to acquire a 5.26 acre ready-to-go office site (€3.23m per acre) at Sandyford in south Dublin. The subject site has two live planning permissions for office developments extending to between 376,736 and 452,084 sq.ft. The site, located on Blackthorn Avenue adjacent to Sandyford Luas stop benefits from easy access to the M50, N11 and the Luas while the area is to have a stop on the recently announced MetroLink rail service with connectivity to Dublin city centre and airport. The Irish Times, 23rd October

 

OTHER

A report from Hooke & McDonald outlined that for the second successive quarter, c.55% of all investment transactions in Dublin involved the purchase by institutional investors of both newly-built and existing apartment developments, indicating that Dublin’s fast-growing Private Rented Sector continues to dominate the Irish property investment market. Hooke & MacDonald’s report shows there were 12 main Private Rented Sector transactions with a combined value of €602 million contracted in Dublin in the third quarter of 2019. The Irish Times, 23rd October

 


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


Origin Capital funds senior debt transactions in the CRE investment sector, typically in the €3m – €15m range. If you would like to discuss how Origin Capital can help with your funding requirements, please contact us on 01 662 9264.

Origin Capital is a wholly owned subsidiary of LeBruin, a leading provider of corporate finance and debt advisory solutions.