3rd November (Issue 271)
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
Baggot St, Dublin 2 Kennedy Wilson has sold the Baggot Plaza office block in Dublin for c.€141m to Deka Group. Kennedy Wilson acquired the 92,000 sq.ft. building on Upper Baggot Street as part of the Project Opera non-performing loan portfolio in 2013. Once it had vacant possession, the group added 37,700 sq.ft. to the building and transformed the site into a Grade A corporate headquarters. In 2015, Bank of Ireland signed a 25-year lease agreement for occupation the following year. The sale reflects a net initial yield of 4%. The Irish Independent, 31st October
Dublin 1 Insurance technology company, Companjon, have committed to a lease assignment from digital platform company WeTrade for offices at the IFSC in Dublin city centre. The agreement will see Companjon relocate to the fifth floor of Custom House Plaza 2. The company has agreed to a six year lease assignment from head tenant, WeTrade, at a rent of c.€43 psf. Located immediately adjacent to Connolly Station, Custom House Plaza 2 is a five-storey over basement office building extending to 29,430 sq.ft. built in the late 1990s. The fifth floor extends to 4,800 sq.ft. The Irish Times, 28th October
RESIDENTIAL / LAND
Dublin’s North Docklands The Irish Times understands that US real estate investor Cortland has withdrawn from a planned €315 million investment in hundreds of apartments being developed by Ronan Group Real Estate (RGRE) in Dublin’s north docklands. Cortland had been prepared since its selection as preferred bidder last year to purchase all 550 apartments and co-living spaces but that plan was put on hold and ultimately abandoned following repeated legal challenges from Dublin City Council in relation to the scheme’s height. In the past number of weeks the High Court overturned a fresh grant of planning permission from An Bord Pleanála to increase the height of two blocks within the development from seven to 11 and 13 storeys respectively. The Irish Times, 28th October
Youbid.ie saw 16 of the 18 (88%) lots sold at its latest auction, at an average of 13% above reserve prices, with the remaining two properties under negotiation. One property, a large, unfinished detached house at Moydriston near Kilnaleck in Cavan sold for €102,000 – an increase of two thirds on its reserve of €60,000. Two houses sold for c.50% more than their reserve – a detached two-bed Co Tipperary cottage with a reserve of €40,000 sold for €61,000 and a three-bed semi-detached house in Newtownforbes, Co Longford, sold for €119,000 from a reserve of €80,000. Youbid.ie’s next auctions take place on Thursday, November 19, and Wednesday, December 16. The Business Post, 1st November
Dunshaughlin, Co Meath Agent Lydon Farrell Property is offering a 31.5 acre landbank in Dunshaughlin, Co Meath for sale. The lands are located adjacent to the Gem Group’s newly-developed housing scheme, The Willows, and comes with the benefit of frontage on to the N3 (Old Dublin Road). The landbank is being offered for sale in one or more lots at a guide price in the region of €40,000 per acre, with the exact price per acre depending on the lot size. The site is predominantly Zoned E2 – General Enterprise and Employment which allows for industrial, manufacturing, distribution, warehousing and other general employment or enterprise. The Irish Times, 28th October
The Sunday Times understands that a subsidiary of a quoted Singaporean pawnbroker and second-hand jewellery retailer has emerged as the financial backer of a number of proposed co-living and apartment projects in Dublin. Maxi-Cash Capital Management Pte has registered a charge over lands owned by Asia Atlantic Investments (AAI). AAI is managed by Trinity House Investments (THI). The lands secured include a former Kenilworth Motors site in Terenure. Plans have been lodged to redevelop the former motor showrooms into a shared living space. The planned five-storey building would have 147 single bedrooms and 27 double rooms, providing accommodation for up to 201 people. AAI has also acquired sites in Finglas, Mulhuddart and Walkinstown. It plans to develop 1,500 new units comprising 1,000 private rental scheme units and 500 co-living apartments at the sites, pending planning permission. The Sunday Times, 1st November
Newcastle, Co Dublin A 2.1 acre site on the main street in Newcastle, Co Dublin has come available for sale through agent Knight Frank. The site is laid out in one block and enjoys c.100 metres of frontage to Main Street and Hazelhatch Road. The site also benefits from being identified as a Housing Capacity Site in the SDCC development plan 2016 – 2022. In the settlement strategy, Newcastle is designated as a “Small town within the Metropolitan Green Belt”. The front portion of the site is c.0.7 acres and is Zoned RES: “to protect and /or improve residential amenity”. The rear portion of the site is Zoned RU: “To protect and improve rural amenity and to provide for the development of agriculture.” Knight Frank Press Release, 2nd November
Dunboyne, Co Meath Knight Frank are inviting interested purchasers to submit best bids on a 27.3 acre site in Dunboyne, Co Meath. The site includes a detached 4 bedroom house which is currently occupied, on c.0.51 acres with the balance of the site currently in tillage. Under the Meath County Development Plan 2013-2019 approx. 13.34 acres are zoned residential. Under the Draft Meath County Development Plan 2021-2027 the residential zoning is to be increased to approx. 15.14 acres. Situated on the Navan Road in Dunboyne Town, the site is within a 1km walk of the Dunboyne Train Station. Knight Frank Press Release, 29thOctober
INDUSTRIAL
Galway TWM is guiding €3.75 million for 19 Mervue Business & Technology Park in Galway. Unit 19 comprises a mid-terrace industrial manufacturing property extending to 19,266 sqft (€194.64 psf) in one of the top IDA industrial park locations within Galway city. The property is fully let realising an annual rent of €187,209 (€9.72 psf) per annum to August 2021, after which a new ten-year fully repairing and insuring lease has been executed which will increase the annual rent to €298,871 (€15.51 psf). This ten-year lease incorporates a CPI-linked rent review in 2026. The Business Post, 1st November
RETAIL
Limerick City Cushman & Wakefield is guiding €9 million for the landmark former Debenhams building at 134-135 O’Connell Street, Limerick. The subject property comprises a four-storey over-basement commercial premises with dual frontage on to O’Connell Street and Sarsfield Street. The entire property extends to 72,113 sq.ft. (€124.80 psf) with the ground floor specifically extending to 21,590 sq.ft. and is within a short walking distance of Cruises Street, the proposed new city campus of the University of Limerick at Sarsfield Bridge, and Arthur’s Quay Shopping Centre. The Irish Times, 28th October
Grafton St, Dublin 2 Bagnall Doyle MacMahon are offering the ground floor (753 sq.ft.) and basement (492 sq.ft.) of 118 Grafton St for lease at a rent of €140,000 per annum (€112 psf). The retail premises occupies a prime location on Dublin’s main shopping street. The upper floor offices are also available to lease either separately or in conjunction with the retail unit. The office accommodation extends to 2,758 sq.ft. and is quoting a rent of €100,000 per annum (€36 psf). The Irish Times, 28th October
OTHER
Fast Track Planning The head of the Office of the Planning Regulator has called on Developers with planning permission to build a combined total of more than 40,000 homes through the fast-track scheme to focus on delivering them instead of asking for further planning policy changes. Since 2018, a fast-track housing scheme has allowed developers to bypass local authorities’ planning systems, while new planning guidelines have also been put in place to encourage the development of apartments. Despite the new policies to speed up housing delivery, only a small fraction of homes approved under the fast-track scheme have started construction. The Business Post, 1st November
Supply of Housing The industry body, Irish Institutional Property (IIP), which represents large property developers has warned in a report that the supply of new homes is grossly out-of-kilter with demand and that this mismatch is “intrinsically linked” to affordability. As many as 47,000 homes will have to be built each year for the next five years just to meet demand, it says, while noting that the Government’s target in Project Ireland 2040 is just 25,000. The report estimates that Dublin alone needs an additional 125,000 apartments to meet demand. In its report, IIP estimates the typical development costs of a number of different housing types, noting delivery costs and affordability vary significantly by location and type. It puts the cost of a two-bed apartment in a semi-urban area at €455,000, rising to the €615,000 in city centre locations. The cost of a two-bed town house is put at €306,000. The Irish Times, 27th October
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