2nd April (Issue 441)
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.
HOSPITALITY
St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2 Archer Hotel Capital has bought the Shelbourne Hotel in Dublin city centre for an estimated €260m. The Dutch investment firm, which owns the Conrad Hotel, had been reported as the purchaser of the property from US group Kennedy Wilson. Now filings show that Archer Hotel Capital joint managing directors Guy Pasley-Taylor and Dominic Seyrling have been named directors of KW Shelbourne Ops, the company behind the hotel. Archer Hotel Capital is jointly owned by affiliates of Netherlands-based APG Asset Management, one of the world’s largest pension investors, and Singapore’s sovereign GIC wealth fund. Last year, Kennedy Wilson hiked its valuation of the Shelbourne by almost a quarter to approx. €236m as the property benefited from a recovery in business following the pandemic. The trophy property had been bought in 2004 for €140m by a consortium. The group spent approx. €125m refurbishing the hotel. The Irish Independent, 29th March
Trinity Street, Dublin 2 Having secured planning permission recently for the development of a 30-bedroom hostel with 198 bed spaces at 13 Trinity Street in Dublin City Centre, US-headquartered real estate investor and private lending firm Grand Coast Capital is seeking a buyer for the property. No. 13 is available for sale through Cushman & Wakefield at a guide price of €4m. Located at the junction of Andrew’s Lane and Trinity Street, the property comprises a part-two-storey, part-four-storey building extending to 8,353 sq. ft over basement level. While Trespass currently occupies part of the ground floor under the terms of a licence agreement generating €36k pa plus 10% of annual turnover, vacant possession is available at short notice. Planning permission was granted by Dublin City Council last November. The Irish Times, 27th March
Planning Permission Airbnb hosts across Ireland must apply for planning permission to rent their premises as the government enforces stringent new EU rules on the sector. The Department of Housing confirmed that hosts in both urban and rural areas would have to apply for permission to provide tourist accommodation. The decision on whether to grant the licence will lie with the local authority. It had been suggested that only hosts in rent pressure zones would have to apply for planning permission but this is no longer the case. Failte Ireland says there are approx. 34,000 short-term tourist lettings advertised online. A spokesman for the Department of Housing said that owners “homesharing” their principal place of residence for short-term letting purposes would be exempt under the new rules. The Sunday Times, 31st March
OFFICE
EY Ireland has narrowed the search for its new Dublin headquarters down to two locations, one of which is situated just across the street from its existing offices at the Harcourt Centre on Harcourt Street. The Big Four accounting and consulting firm set out last May to find approx. 200,000 sq. ft of space with a view to accommodating the growth of its Dublin-based workforce. The company currently occupies approx. 100,000 sq. ft in a cluster of offices at the Harcourt Centre, which it leases from the Clancourt Group. In the first instance, it is looking at the possibility of relocating to Harcourt Place, a new office scheme to be built by its current landlord, the Clancourt Group, on a 1.33-acre site the developer has assembled at the intersection of Charlemont Street, Harcourt Road and South Richmond Street. The scheme is set to comprise 320,377 sq. ft of offices. EY’s other option, The Irish Times understands, is to move from its longstanding home on Harcourt Street altogether, and to relocate to Wilton Park, the 580,000 sq. ft office campus developed by Irish property company, Iput, at Wilton Place. The Irish Times, 27th March
Ballsbridge, Dublin 4 After lying dormant for several years now, the redevelopment of Carrisbrook House in Ballsbridge is set to get under way in the coming weeks. The former location of the Israeli embassy is to be demolished and replaced with a new building to be known as “One Pembroke”. Carrisbrook House currently comprises 30,000 sq. ft of office space distributed over eight floors. Upon completion, its replacement, One Pembroke, will have 100,000 sq. ft of LEED-Platinum rated space with capacity for 650 workers across 10 storeys. The ground floor will incorporate a cafe facing on to Pembroke Road. Gresham House Real Estate (formerly Burlington Real Estate) is development manager for the project. Gresham House acquired Carrisbrook House from Colony Capital and U+I in partnership with Orion Capital Managers for approx. €29m in 2021. The Irish Times, 27th March
Irish Life Investment Managers (ILIM) expects to spend approx. €300m redeveloping Irish commercial real estate as it upgrades its outlook on property investments. ILIM expects investment returns in Irish property to grow by 4.5% a year on average over the next 10 years, as per a recently published yearly update to clients and investors, up from 4% last year. It also upgraded its outlook for European property to 5.5%, up from 4.5%. The upgrade on Irish and European property comes despite warnings about the outlook for the sector. ILIM said it had invested approx. €300m over the last five years in redeveloping Irish commercial real estate. It expects to spend a similar amount in the coming five years. The Irish Independent, 31st March
RETAIL
College Green, Dublin 2 French investor Altixia REIM has entered the Irish commercial property market, paying €4.6m for the College Green Collection, a portfolio of two prime retail properties let to US-headquartered coffee chain Starbucks and Canadian convenience store giant Circle K. The price paid represents a 23% discount on the €6m HWBC had been guiding when it offered the portfolio to the market on behalf of UK investor Henderson Park Capital last May. Altixia REIM has acquired the investment on behalf of its SCPI Altixia Cadence XII fund. The Starbucks premises at 1-2 College Green (lot 1) occupies the corner position at the junction with Foster Place. The property comprises the ground floor and basement only and extends to 2,478 sq. ft. The passing rent from Starbucks is €185k pa, with approx. six years remaining to lease expiry. The Irish Times understands Altixia completed its purchase of nos. 1 and 2 College Green last week, while its €2.1m deal for Circle K’s premises took place last December. Nos. 4-5 College Green (lot 2) occupies the corner position at the junction with Anglesea Street leading to Temple Bar. The property comprises the ground floor and basement only and extends to 3,070 sq. ft. The passing rent from Circle K is €167k annually with a guarantee from Circle K Ireland Holding. The lease is for a term of approx. 25 years from 2004 with approx. five years to lease expiry. The Irish Times, 27th March
Kilnamanagh, Dublin 24 Dunnes Stores has succeeded in having its planning contributions relating to a planned expansion of a South Dublin shopping centre almost halved to €230.7k. An Bord Pleanála upheld an appeal by the retailer against a South Dublin City Council condition demanding it pay €448.1k in planning contributions. It relates to plans to expand the Kilnamanagh Shopping Centre. The application by Dunnes Stores firm Better Value Unlimited sought an upgrade that would include a two-storey extension at the shopping centre’s eastern elevation. The southern lobby to Dunnes Stores would also be demolished and replaced with a new glazed lobby entrance. In the appeal, consultants for Dunnes Stores, Tony Bamford Planning, stated the council had double-counted a first-floor extension in calculating the financial contributions. A letter from the local authority noted “the fee as stated in the appeal letter submitted by the applicant would be correct”. The Irish Times, 28th March
MIXED-USE
George’s Quay, Cork Nos. 13 and 14 George’s Quay have been brought to market by agent Casey & Kingston with a guide price of €3.5m. The assets generate a return of €190k pa. Both buildings have the same owner and both include a ground-floor commercial unit occupied in each case by Izz Cafe which expanded from No. 13 into No. 14 late last year. The upper floors in both buildings, which contain four apartments apiece, are fully let following conversion from offices to living quarters after they were sold last year. All eight apartments are leased to the local authority on a 25-year lease. The Irish Examiner, 28th March
RESIDENTIAL / DEVELOPMENT
House Price Inflation DNG has revised its property inflation forecasts for 2024, predicting house prices will now rise up to five-times faster in Dublin than previously expected. Keith Lowe, chief executive of DNG, said the agency previously forecast property prices would increase by approx. 1% higher in Dublin this year, and 4% outside the capital. “In terms of the properties for sale, there are fewer for sale today than there were during the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic, which is an unbelievable statistic”, Lowe said. He added that the number of homes for sale dropped significantly between the beginning of 2023 and 2024, down from 14,000 to 10,500. New data released by DNG has shown that on an annual basis, prices of resale residential property in Dublin increased by 4.3% in the 12-month period to the end of March, compared to 2% the previous year. The new data from DNG around property prices also showed costs of apartments in Dublin have increased 1.9% in the first three months of the year. The Business Post, 1st April
Knight Frank Report on the Living Sector Market estimates that up to 58,000 housing/living-sector units will be required annually until 2027, based on Ireland’s demographic profile. The number hits 61,700 when one factors in the requirement for up to 4,000 student-bed spaces. Of that total of 58,000 annually, 32,000 would be first-time buyer family homes; 9,000 homes for downsizers and mature family homes; 10,000 homes to meet the current and future senior-living requirements; the remaining category of mature family homes will require approx. 6,700 units. The Irish Times, 27th March
Tax Legislation The government is drawing up plans to discourage one-off housing developments including potential new taxes on developers building in rural areas, the Business Post can reveal. The proposals, contained in a new draft plan aimed at cutting car usage, would either lead to new taxes or levies being imposed on undeveloped, greenfield sites outside of urban areas, or tax reliefs being granted for building on previously developed brownfield sites within built up areas. The Business Post, 31st March
Newcastle, South-West Dublin Quinn Agnew has brought a site to the market for sale at lands in South-West Dublin. The asset comprises a partially completed development, which is being sold by public tender on Thursday May 16 and for which the agent has not supplied a guide price or estimated value. Lamberton Properties had secured planning in 2007 for a 225-room seven-star hotel at the site in Ballynakelly and Rathcreedan in Newcastle. The partially constructed hotel and lands, which extend to approx. 24.4 acres, together with adjoining lands, which contain the completed access roadway, have planning permission. Lamberton Properties subsequently applied for and were granted an extension of the duration of the planning permission by South Dublin County Council for the hotel portion of the development only. That permission will expire in March 2025. The Business Post, 30th March
Social Housing The Government failed to reach its social and affordable housing delivery targets in 2023, with a shortfall of approx. 2,700 homes. Approx. 11,939 new social homes were delivered last year, an increase of 16.33% on 2022 with 10,263 social homes. However, this year’s figure fell short of the Government’s target of 13,130 by 1,191 homes. Of the 11,939 new social homes accounted for by local authorities and Approved Housing Bodies last year, 8,110 were newbuild homes, 1,830 were acquisitions and 1,999 were through leasing programmes. Local authorities accounted for 2,429 newbuilds, with Dublin City Council delivering 323 followed by Cork City Council (263) and South Dublin County Council (190). Separately, approx. 4,011 affordable houses came on stream in 2023, despite a target of 5,500 for the year. The Irish Times, 31st March
OTHER
Lower Abbey Street, Dublin 1 The Methodist Church in Ireland has engaged Lisney to sell its City Centre base, which is known as the Dublin Central Mission and which is located at 9 Lower Abbey Street. The period redbrick is located adjacent to the red Luas line stop and is being sold with the benefit of vacant possession. The property itself extends to approx. 10,742 sq. ft and retains original features. Lisney is guiding €2.75m for the property. The Business Post, 31st March
Dublin Airport Euro Car Parks is to table a bid for a car park near Dublin Airport which DAA was recently prevented from buying as competition for the sought-after site hots up. The car park business has confirmed its interest in buying the site with a third-party investor, making it the second firm to express an interest in the facility. The company was believed to have been involved in a bid for the car park in Santry, previously operated by ParkFly, when it initially went on the market in 2022 with a guide price of €70m. Another of the original bidders, Innovest, has also reportedly confirmed that it would be willing to bid for the car park should it come back on the market. The Business Post, 31st March
Quanta Capital, a Dublin-based investment fund, is making a play for prime assets in the ¬portfolio of Signa, the collapsed Austrian real estate group. The Sunday Times understands the fund is looking to buy up to €2bn worth of assets from Signa Prime, one of the main companies in the Signa empire. Quanta would buy the properties through its Goldstein ICAV wing. Signa is the co-owner of luxury retail stores such as Brown Thomas and Arnotts in Dublin. Quanta’s interest in Signa is restricted to its European assets, including the Park Hyatt. It is not interested in the retail element of the portfolio. The Sunday Times, 31st March
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