4th March (Issue 486)
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
Dublin Landings, Dublin 1 Having sold for €106.5m in 2018, No 2 Dublin Landings, which is let to We Work, looks set to change hands for approx. €50m, representing a 53% fall in value of the 100,546 sq. ft office building. The amount being paid by German investor MEAG is also some €10m less than the €60m which had been sought by Savills on behalf of receivers Deloitte. The €50m sale price also falls short of the €60m plus loan the German bank Helaba extended to the building’s outgoing owners, South Korean real estate investment trust JR AMC and Hana Financial Investment. The €50m figure pales even further in comparison to the €140m valuation which was mooted when JR AMC and Hana weighed the sale of the property in 2022. The Irish Times, 27th February
Merrion Square, Dublin 2 Cushman & Wakefield is guiding €10m for the Merrion Square Collection, a development opportunity which comprises several properties extending across a total area of 18,634 sq. ft and sits on a 0.4 acre site. The properties in question are 54 Merrion Square, Clifton House, Clifton Hall, Clifton Mews, the car park at Clifton House and a portion of the rear yard of 55 Merrion Square. The subject property is in use as a serviced office and the scheme is 70% occupied, with a total rent roll of approx. €404,000. The subject site has dual frontage on to Merrion Square and Fitzwilliam Street Lower. The Irish Times, 26th February
Capel Street, Dublin 1 89-94 Capel Street is being offered to the market by Savills guiding €6.5m (9.93% NIY). The five-storey office building extends to 25,073 sq. ft. Close to its junction with North King Street, and adjacent of the Technological University Dublin Bolton Street campus, the property is approx. 84% let to the OPW with the remaining income generated by Autoaddress. The property is producing a total rent of €709,550 pa, with a weighted average unexpired lease term of about 1.9 years to the nearest break option. The Irish Times, 26th February
Green Street, Dublin 1 Savills are also selling 16-22 Green Street, a 29,897 sq. ft office building guiding €7m. State-backed entities occupy the majority of the assets through the IHREC and St Michael’s House. The property is producing a current gross rent of €426,951 yearly and this figure is expected to increase in May to approx. €479,950 a year following the index-linked rent review of the IHREC premises. In addition, a vendor underwrite on the available office spaces amounting to €135,000 a year ensures an overall rent roll of approx. €614,950 annually. The property has a weighted average unexpired lease term of 5.6 years to the nearest breaks. The guide price of €7m reflects a NIY of 8% and a capital value of just €234 per sq. ft. The Irish Times, 26th February
Leopardstown QRE and BNP Paribas are quoting a rent of €26 psf for the offices at Five South County. The campus is a well-established business location and is home to other employers including Microsoft, SSE Airtricity, ICON, Fannin Healthcare and Accenture. The accommodation, which has recently been refurbished and is distributed over the ground, first and second floors, ranges from 2,500 sq. ft to 6,500 sq. ft. The Irish Times, 26th February
St. Stephens Green Vodafone is eyeing up a move to 70 St Stephen’s Green, a six-storey office block currently leased to the pharmaceutical company Horizon Therapeutics. The telecoms giant is in the market for between 48,000 sq. ft and 70,000 sq. ft of office space as it considers a move from its headquarters in Leopardstown. Sources say it has identified No. 70, formerly Hainault House, as a likely contender. The office has been let to Horizon Therapeutics on a 20-year lease since 2021. However, it is understood it has been quietly put out to the market as a sublease. The Sunday Times, 2nd March
Camden Yard is being readied for the market after the receivers appointed CBRE to sell the site. Grant Thornton asked four property agents — Eastdil, CBRE, JLL and Savills — to pitch for the business and each valued the Kevin Street scheme at about €80m. Camden Yard was put into receivership in December after the alternative lender BentallGreenOak appointed Grant Thornton as receivers. The developer Westridge Real Estate paid €145m on behalf of US and Canadian investors for the site in 2019. Approx. €65m was spent on site excavation and construction. The developer had planned to build offices, apartments and retail and restaurant units. The Sunday Times, 2nd March
HOSPITALITY
Arran Quay, Dublin 1 Deka Immobilien is paying €86m for the new Ruby Molly Hotel. Developed by its seller, the ESR Group, and completed in April 2024, the hotel comprises 272 rooms along with a restaurant and one retail unit and is located at the junction of Arran Street East and Little Mary Street. The hotel is operated by Ruby Hospitality Ireland Ltd, a subsidiary of Munich-based Ruby GmbH. Deka already owns a number of other well-known Dublin hotels including the Clayton Hotel Burlington Road, The Marker, The Gibson Hotel and the recently developed Premier Inn at Newmarket Yards. The Irish Times, 26th February
Sutton, Dublin 13 Hotels Properties Limited has completed the purchase of the 48 guestroom Marine Hotel in Sutton from the Ryan family. The sale attracted numerous bids from domestic and international hotel groups, but the purchaser secured the deal with a bid for more than the €10m guide price which had been quoted by JLL. Hotels Properties is a group of companies owned by Sheila O’Riordan, and it operates 17 hotels and guesthouses. The Irish Independent, 27th February
Cork City A major Cork city complex, fronted by The Flying Enterprise bar, has been put up for sale for €5.3m through Cohalan Downing and Lisney’s. The mix includes the rebuilt four-storey Flying Enterprise bar (named by previous owners after a famous 1952 shipwreck), a first-floor restaurant, five overhead apartments, the Courtyard deck area and the enclosed indoor/outdoor entertainment space, called the Quarter Deck, capable of holding 700. The Examiner, 3rd March
Glass Bottle Site, Dublin Pembroke Beach DAC is to lodge plans in the coming days for a 20-storey tower to house a 228-bedroom hotel at the former Irish Glass Bottle site in Dublin’s docklands area. A published statutory planning notice said that Pembroke Beach DAC was seeking planning permission from DCC for the hotel scheme on the 37-acre site. The notice said that the scheme would have a 20-storey “landmark” tower with a setback storey at the 16th floor level. It would also have two basement levels and include a bar, restaurant and ancillary spaces. Pembroke Beach DAC is a joint venture made up of Ronan Group Real Estate, Oaktree Capital and home builder Lioncor. Currently the consortium is progressing with the first phase of the redevelopment of the site with 894 units under construction. The Irish Times, 3rd March
MIXED-USE
Dublin and Galway JLL, on behalf of receivers Interpath Advisory, have five investments for sale in individual lots across Dublin’s traditional central business district and at Galway’s Ballybrit Business Park. The properties, which range in value from €1.6 m to €2.5m, carry an overall guide of €8.45m. The three Dublin properties are 58 Northumberland Road (€2.45m), 60 Baggot Street Lower (€1.9m) and 63 Baggot Street Lower (€1.6m). The two Galway properties, blocks four and nine, are available in one or more lots at an overall guide price of €2.5m. The Irish Times, 26th February
Burgh Quay, Dublin 2 Maguire Chartered Surveyors is guiding €100,000 for annual rent or €1m for a sale of Foster House, which benefits from dual aspect as it is located on the corner of Burgh Quay and Hawkins Street. With views overlooking the River Liffey, O’Connell Bridge and Rosie Hackett Bridge, the four-storey over-basement property extends to 3,034 sq. ft. The Irish Independent, 27th February
INDUSTRIAL
Newbridge, Co. Kildare Located adjacent to the Keurig Dr Pepper facility and Primark’s all-island distribution hub, the 23.6 acre site comes to the market through agent CBRE with the benefit of full planning permission for a 120,000 sq. ft logistics unit. The site is guiding a price of €8.85m (€375,000 an acre). The site is zoned and serviced and is readily accessible from the M7 motorway. The Irish Times, 26th February
RETAIL
South Anne Street Bannon is guiding a price of €1.6m for No 2 South Anne Street, a prime retail investment located just one building from Grafton Street. The property comes up for sale with the benefit of a 10-year lease to jewellery and lifestyle brand, Astrid & Miyu. The lease commenced on 31 July 2023 and generates an annual rental income of €100,000. Should a sale of the building proceed at €1.6m, the purchaser would be in line for a yield of just under 6%. 2 South Anne Street extends to 2,211 sq. ft of space distributed across five floors. The Irish Times, 26th February
RESIDENTIAL/DEVELOPMENT
North Wall Quay RGRE has secured planning permission from DCC for the construction of the capital’s tallest residential building at its Waterfront South Central scheme in the city’s north docklands. Rising to 274 ft, the landmark 25-storey block is to form the centrepiece of the mixed-use development and is to sit alongside the new nine-storey European headquarter offices that RGRE is building for global banking giant Citi at North Wall Quay. The permission allows for the construction of 550 high-end apartments across three blocks – of eight, 12 and 25 storeys. The 25-storey building will, apart from its residential accommodation, include two floors of public space featuring a restaurant and viewing terrace at the top of the building with panoramic views of Dublin Bay, the Liffey and the Wicklow Mountains. The Irish Times, 26th February
Goatstown, Dublin 14 DLRCC has given the green light for a €75m 150-unit scheme for Mount Anville Road in Goatstown despite local opposition. The scheme by Knockrabo Investments DAC for the 138 apartments and 12 houses also includes one apartment block eight storeys in height. The developers initially proposed 158 units but the council ordered the omission of a five-storey apartment block comprising eight apartments. As part of its Part V social housing obligations, Knockrabo put a €7.37m price tag on the sale of 15 units to the council. The Irish Times, 25th February
Waterford City A major residential development site with full planning permission for 292 new homes at Greenway Park has come to the market with Savills guiding a price of more than €6.75m. This shovel-ready site extends to 17.35 acres and the approved development would consist of a mix of six four-bed houses and 160 three-bed houses. In addition, the plans permit four three-storey apartment blocks with 60 two-bedroom duplex units and a five-storey apartment block containing 34 one-beds and 32 two-bed age-friendly apartments. The Irish Independent, 27th February
Northern Cross An Bord Pleanála has refused planning permission for 176 apartments in north Dublin as the scheme did not provide 5% or more of space for community, arts and culture spaces. The appeals board has refused planning permission to Walls Construction Ltd to demolish its Rosemount House HQ, Northern Cross, Malahide Rd, Dublin 17, and replace it with a €77m nine-storey mixed-use scheme made up of 176 apartments. The scheme consists of 72 one-bed apartment units, 57 two-bed apartments units and 47 three-bed units. The scheme also includes 11,300 sq. ft in office accommodation on the ground floor, which will house the building firm’s new headquarters. The Irish Independent, 28th February
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