4th December (Issue 175)
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
The Exchange, IFSC, Dublin 1 Following the letting of the remaining 60,000 sq.ft. of office space for €50 psf, the Exchange, the first office block built in the IFSC since 2003, is now fully let. Tenants now include Mediolanum Banking Group, PartnerRe, Coinbase, Walkers, Food Safety Authority of Ireland and Ronan Daly Jermyn. Construction of the 106,000 sq.ft five storey grade A office block along with two retail units totalling 1,679 sq.ft. commenced in 2016. The Irish Times, 28th November
61 Thomas Street, Dublin 8 Developers Oakmount are currently constructing 13,401 sq.ft. of grade A office space over four floors along with a landscaped terrace area. Construction is expected to complete by end of Summer 2019 and will include six car parking spaces. The Sunday Business Post, 2nd December
The Wythe Building, Cuffe Street, Dublin 2 the 17,494 sq.ft. six floor office block currently under construction, which is due for completion by March 2019, has been brought to the letting market through joint agents Savills and CBRE who are seeking €55 psf. One floor has already been reserved. Floor plates are between 2,121 sq.ft. to 3,531sq.ft. The Irish Times, 27th November
Lennox Building, Dublin 2 The Irish Independent reports that Paddy McKillen Jr is in negotiations to sell the the Lennox Building to an unnamed party. The 32,938 sq.ft. four storey over lower ground basement currently under construction, with a January 2019 completion date, is pre-let to Iconic Offices. Press Up Entertainment Group will let the ground floor restaurant and ancillary area. Rent is expected to be €1.383m pa. The Irish Independent, 1st December
RESIDENTIAL
98 Merrion Road, Dublin 4 Bartra Capital has secured planning permission for the demolition of 98 Merrion Road and construction of 20 luxury apartments over five storeys. The Sunday Independent, 2nd December
Santry, Dublin 9 The Cosgrave Group has sold 219 apartments currently under construction at Bridgefield, Santry, Dublin 9 to joint venture purchasers QuadReal Property Group and Round Hill Capital for more than €80m. The apartments will be incorporated in three six-storey apartment blocks and will comprise three one-bed, 161 two-bed, 15 three-bed apartments along with 34 two-bed penthouses and three three-bed penthouses. The scheme will also include 328 car parking spaces. Construction is expected to complete at the end of 2019 and rents are forecast at €1.6k for one-bed, €1.8k for two-bed and €2.05k for three-beds. The Sunday Business Post, 2nd December
Dublin Landings, Docklands First round bids are due to be submitted by 12th December for 268 apartments currently under construction by Ballymore and Oxley at Dublin Landings. The Irish Independent reports that over 12 parties have expressed an interest and offers could exceed €200m. The Irish Independent, 29th November
DEVELOPMENT / LAND
42 Acres, Maryborough Ridge Douglas, Cork has been purchased by Glenveagh Properties for €22m (€523k per acres). 19 of the 42 acres has planning permission for 198 houses. The remaining 23 acres is zoned and has the potential to provide hundreds more. The land was offered as (i) a licence to develop on lot 1 (19 acres) and (ii) option to buy on lot 2 (23 acres). The company separately applied for planning last month under the fast track strategic development provision for 176 homes at Maple Woods, Ballincurra. The Irish Examiner, 29th November
4.2 acres Maynooth, Co Kildare Coonan Property are seeking €2.94m (€700k per acre) for a newly zoned residential 4.2 acre site near Maynooth. The site has capacity for up to 60 houses. The Irish Times, 28th November
3.75 acres, Killiney, Co Dublin Park Developments has purchased 3.75 acre site located beside the Graduate roundabout in Killiney for €9.5m (€2.53m per acre) and it is reported that they will seek planning permission for up to 150 apartments on the site. The Irish Times, 28th November
MIXED USE
Magna Business Park, West Dublin CBRE is guiding €3.75m (6.13% NIY) for a 31,620 sq.ft. warehouse / office property in Magna Business Park. The property is let to O’Brien’s Ingredients at €240k pa. The Irish Times, 27th November
HOTEL / LICENSED PREMISES
Heritage Hotel, Killinard, Co Laois a five star, 98 bed room hotel, known for its spa, which is one of the top five spas in the country has been sold for almost €9m to FBD Hotels and Resorts. The hotel overlooks the Seve Ballestros-designed championship golf course. The Hotel and golf course were previously sold separately by Receivers. The Irish Times, 3rd December
LOAN SALES
Project Beech AIB is preparing to open the data room for Project Beech in the next few days, a loan sale worth an estimated €1bn. It is reported the majority of the sale will relate to non-family home loans. AIB has reduced its non-performing loans from €31bn peak in 2013 to €7.2bn. The Sunday Business Post, 2nd December
Project Glenbeigh The Permanent TSB €1.3bn bad loan portfolio has completed bringing the bank’s non-performing loan ratio to less than 10%, the lowest it has been since the economic crash. The tranche of non-performing loans, primarily regarding private homes, was dealt with through a securitisation procedure, rather than a straight loan sale. Irish banks have until 2020 to comply with European Central Bank stipulations to reduce their bad loan exposure to 5% of their loan books. The Times, Irish Edition, 30th November
OTHER
DIT Cathal Brugha Street, Dublin 1 a 76,126 sq.ft four storey over basement property has been bought by the Department of Education for €24m. It is expected that the Department will use this for their planned “1,000-pupil post-primary school” for students from Dublin 1, Marino and Drumcondra. The property was previously brought to market guiding €15m in 2016 but was withdrawn over uncertainty on the timeframe for the relocation to the DIT campus in Grangegorman, Dublin 7. This will be available by 2020/21 academic year when DIT will vacate Cathal Brugha street. The Irish Times, 28th November
Cushman and Wakefield Q3 Report – Limerick Industrial / Office
175,452 sq.ft of industrial space transacted in the first nine months in 2018, 90% of which related to leasehold transactions. There is currently 1,469,812 sq.ft. of space available at the end of Q3 and while this is the highest of the three regional centres outside Dublin, it is a decrease of 5% YoY. Cushman and Wakefield highlight that while availability is the highest, Limerick also holds the largest volume of Grade C space at 65% compared with 19% in Cork and 7% in Galway. Prime rents have increased to €5.48 psf up from €4.48 psf during the same period in 2017.
68,351 sq.ft. of office space was taken up in Limerick in the first nine months in 2018 over 11 lease deals compared with 84,497 sq.ft in the same period in 2017.Notwithstanding this, there was 65,660 sq.ft. either signed or pre-let at the end of Q3 which if taken up by year end will match 2017 figures. At the end of Q3 there was 631,303 sq.ft. available, which represents at 19.2% decline YoY, and is the first time in ten years the figure has fallen below 645,834 sq.ft. Vacancy rates were 15.3% at the end of Q3 from 19.4% the previous year. City Centre prime grade A rents are achieving €30.19 psf while new building in the suburbs are achieving 26.62 psf. Prime headline rents remain at €19.97 psf.
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