2nd July (Issue 454)
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
Wilton Park, Dublin 2 Stripe has chosen One Wilton Park beside the Grand Canal in Dublin as the location for its new Irish headquarters. The payments giant signed the deal last Friday. The agreement will see Stripe triple the amount of office space it has in Dublin from 47,361 sq. ft to 156,076 sq. ft. It will not move into One Wilton until the second half of next year and will remain in Grand Canal Street until then. The parties would not comment on the length of the lease. The Sunday Times, 30th June
Wilton Park, Dublin 2 LinkedIn is close to subletting a 200,000 sq. ft chunk of its EMEA headquarters in Dublin. EY Ireland’s search for a new 200,000 sq. ft head office in the Irish capital has settled on Wilton Park. EY Ireland, which is targeting occupation in 2026, currently occupies approx. 100,000 sq. ft in a cluster of offices on Dublin’s Harcourt Street, which it leases from the Kenny family’s Clancourt Group. Green Street News, 2nd July
INDUSTRIAL / LOGISTICS
Grange Castle, Dublin 22 Google is planning to extend its data centre operations in Ireland, with an expansion of its existing centre in Dublin. The company wants to build a 779,307 sq. ft data storage facility at its Grange Castle site in Dublin 22. This will bring the number of data centres at the Grange Castle site to three. The Irish Times, 27th June
HOSPITALTY
Leonardo Hotels Accounts Pre-tax profits at the Leonardo chain of hotels, formerly Jury’s Inn, last year increased to €14.7m. New accounts filed by Fattal Leonardo Operation (Ireland) Ltd show the surge in profits coincided with revenues rising by 11% to €53.48m. The sharp increase in profits arose mainly from a €9.5m exceptional gain connected with ‘right of use’ assets held by the company undergoing a rent review last year that resulted in a revaluation. The pre-tax profits of €14.7m last year compared with pre-tax profits of €4.18m in 2022, an increase of 252%. The group recorded a gross profit of €35.5m and administrative expenses of €22.1m, reducing operating profits to €13.45m, down marginally on operating profits of €13.66m in 2022. The Irish Independent, 1st July
MIXED-USE
Lusk, Co Dublin A mixed-use investment in Lusk is guiding €2.25m. Located at 69 Main Street in Lusk, the property comprises four retail units and four apartments in two blocks with a small car park and service area to the rear. The fully-let properties are let at a contracted annual income of €186.5k (NIY 8.3%). Their established commercial tenants include a pharmacy, a barber and two takeaway restaurants with WAULT averaging 9.5 years. Two retail units are located at ground floor in each block. All of the apartments are located at first-floor level and comprise three one-bedroom units and one two-bedroom apartment. The Irish Independent, 27th June
Residential / Development
Savills Report The number of new PRS units completed next year is set to plunge by approx. 70% from recent highs as the withdrawal of institutional investors in recent years works through the system. Analysis by Savills included in its pre-budget submission says the PRS sector had been responsible for 5,000 new homes per year, mostly apartments, in Dublin in 2022 and 2023. However, that is expected to drop to just 1,600 next year, a decline of 68%. Savills blamed rent caps, introduced to curb soaring rents, for turning institutional investors off the Irish market. The Irish Independent, 26th June
Dunboyne Business Park, Co Meath The Walsh family, who developed Dunboyne Business Park, are selling 13 acres of the park and agent Coonan Property is guiding €400k per acre, equating to €5.2m. The lands are zoned Objective E2 General Enterprise and Employment in the 2021-2027 Meath Development Plan. The Irish Independent, 27th June
Cherrywood, South Dublin PGIM Real Estate has agreed a €91.5m loan to a joint venture between Hines and Dutch pension fund manager APG Asset Management. The financing is for a 431-home multi-family BTR scheme in Cherrywood owned by the partnership. Spanning two residential blocks, the property was completed in 2022 and is 99% occupied. Green Street News, 1th July
BPFI Report New figures for the BPFI point to high levels of activity in the first-time buyer (FTB) market despite a decline in the volume and value of mortgages approved for prospective homeowners from May 2023. A total of 4,559 mortgages were approved in May 2024 (7.5% increase YoY). The value of mortgages approved in the month declined 2.2% from May 2023 to €1.37bn. FTBs remained the most active cohort in the market, accounting for more than 62% of total approvals in May despite a 10.3% decline in approval volumes from May last year, the BPFI said. Mover purchase mortgage approvals, meanwhile, continued to decline, dropping 5.1% from May last year to 980 last month. The Irish Times, 28th June
Donnybrook, Dublin 4 RTÉ is set to enter discussions with the LDA with a view to selling part of its Donnybrook campus to the affordable housing developer. The LDA has first refusal to purchase RTÉ’s sites at a price below market rate and is keen to acquire any land put up for sale by the broadcaster. Several property sector experts told the Business Post the land would be worth approx. €120m to €150m if sold on the private market, but that it would likely fetch less than €100m if the valuation was based on affordable housing, as it would be in any sale to the LDA. The Business Post, 27th June
Stillorgan, South Dublin DNG is guiding €4m for a site at Beaufield Mews on Woodlands Avenue in Stillorgan. The site extends to approx. 0.72 acres and has planning in place for 30 luxury apartments. The planned development at Beaufield Mews will consist of 30 one, two and three-bedroom apartments in a four-storey block, with a recessed penthouse level, and 31 surface-level car parking spaces. Planning permission was granted by Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council with a 10% Part V requirement. The Business Post, 28th June
Trim, Co Meath Joint agents Loman Dempsey Property Consultants and Lisney Commercial Real Estate have been instructed to place approx. 58.73 acres on Dublin Road in Trim on the market. The lands are situated on the western side of the Dublin Road (R154) just to the south of the town and boast approx. 800 metres of road frontage. The price is on application. The Business Post, 28th June
Cork Road, Waterford Monaco Developments (Tramore) Limited has submitted a planning application proposing the construction of 292 new homes on the former Waterford Crystal site, which is located on the Cork Road in Waterford. It has proposed six four-bed detached and semi-detached houses, and 160 three-bed houses, comprising semi-detached, detached and terraced units. Additionally, there are plans for four three-storey apartment blocks containing 60 duplex units; a five-storey apartment block with 66 age-friendly apartments; and a standalone creche building. The Irish Examiner, 26th June
Planning Permissions The Randles Hotel on Muckross Road in Killarney, Co Kerry, has applied for planning permission to change the use of the leisure centre for use as 10 guest bedrooms. The four-star hotel currently has 77 rooms. Elsewhere, plans for a 90-bed nursing home in Killarney have been approved by Kerry County Council. NKP Limited has been granted permission to build the nursing home, as well as 18 independent living units, on lands at the junction of the N22 and Ballycasheen Road in the bustling Kerry town. Approx. 31 apartment units are also proposed. The Irish Examiner, 26th June
Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) Report The country needs between 35,000 and 53,000 new-build homes a year to meet demand, new research by the ESRI has said. Last year, Darragh O’Brien, the housing minister, asked the ESRI to review housing demand in the country ahead of the government’s plans to amend its current housing target this autumn through the National Planning Framework. Last year, 32,695 new homes were built in Ireland. The Business Post, 2nd July
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