5th January (Issue 27)
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
Windmill Lane: Hibernia REIT and Starwood have obtained a €46.7m debt facility from Deutsche Bank to finance the development of the one acre Windmill Lane site in Dublin’s south docklands. The site has planning permission for 120,000 sq. ft. of office space, 15 residential units and 7,000 sq. ft. of retail space. The term of the facility is three years, with the option to extend for a fourth. Hibernia and Starwood hope to have the development completed by late 2017. The Irish Times, 29th December
RETAIL
Dún Laoghaire: The owner of Dún Laoghaire Shopping Centre, Coltard, has sought planning permission for the development of two large anchor retail stores in an attempt to revitalise the shopping centre. The cost of the redevelopment is estimated at €10m. Should Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council approve the application, it is hoped that the redevelopment would be completed in Q2 2017. The shopping centre is currently generating rental income of c. €2m p.a., with SuperValu anchoring the centre. The Irish Times, 5th January
The Park: The investment fund IPUT has emerged as the preferred bidder for the 18 acres of undeveloped land known as Q3 at The Park in Carrickmines, Dublin 18. IPUT already own the first phase of the retail park after paying c. €90m in 2015. Tenants in the first phase of the park include Woodies DIY, PC World and Next. IPUT has invested over €800m in the Dublin property market since 2013, with their assets generating c. €85m of annual rental income. The Sunday Times, 3rd January
RESIDENTIAL
Hanover Quay: Irish homebuilder Cairn Homes has purchased a site in Hanover Quay, Dublin 2 for c. €18m. The site will allow for the development of over 100 apartments. With planning permission already granted for the site, work is expected to begin later this year. Cairn purchased the site from a consortium which included NAMA, Oaktree Capital and Bennett Construction. The Irish Times, 5th January
Property Prices: The latest House Price Report from Daft.ie highlights the change in the residential market in 2015. On a national basis, house prices rose by an average of c. 8.5%, however the price increase in Dublin was only 2.7%, with south county Dublin reporting growth of just 0.7% in 2015. The recovery in the market is now being led by counties outside the capital, with Cork, Clare and Cavan recording average increases above 17%. The report also identifies the shortage of houses available for sale, with 25,000 houses on the market on December 1st, significantly below the peak of over 60,000 in 2009. According to the report, the introduction of the Central Bank’s mortgage lending criteria has been effective at controlling price growth in Dublin. The Daft.ie House Price Report, 4th January
Mortgage Indemnity Proposal: The insurance broker JLT has asked the Central Bank to consider the introduction of a mortgage indemnity guarantee scheme to allow prospective buyers to borrow more than currently allowed under the Central Bank’s guidelines. Under the proposed scheme, when a buyer obtains a mortgage above the current limits, an insurance provider would be responsible for the default risk on the amount in excess of the Central Bank’s restrictions. Any prospective insurance provider would be required to meet security thresholds before being allowed to provide an indemnity guarantee. The Sunday Independent, 3rd January
Irish Mortgages: New figures from the Central Bank reveal that the mortgage market in Ireland declined in 2015, as repayments of existing loans exceeded new drawdowns by c. €2bn in the twelve months ending November 2015. November itself was a significant month, as the market contracted by c. €315m. On a positive note for the banking market, other forms of household debt increased by €33m in November. The Irish Independent, 1st January
Fianna Fáil Proposal: A new proposal from Fianna Fáil to increase competition amongst the Irish banking system includes giving the Central Bank the ability to cap variable mortgage rates where necessary. Under the proposal the Central Bank would only intervene where competition in the market fails to keep rates at fair levels. Fianna Fáil’s Michael McGrath noted that the current variable rates are an example of a situation when the Central Bank would intervene under their proposal. Current variable rates in Ireland are significantly above the European average. The Irish Independent, 29th December
Social Housing: Fingal and Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Councils have identified four sites which will facilitate 110 modular homes for social housing in 2016. Fingal will deliver 60 units across two sites in Pinewood Green Court, Balbriggan and Wellview Green, Mulhuddart. Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown will provide a further 50 units across two sites in Georges Place, Dun Laoghaire and Whitebarn, Nutgrove. Dublin City Council will provide an additional 153 social housing units on five sites already identified. The Irish Independent, 23rd December
OTHER
Lioncourt Acquisition: Lioncourt Investments has purchased the Dublin language school ECM College for over €1m. The property was purchased through their subsidiary, Real Experience Group. Lioncourt’s investment portfolio already includes Valeo Foods, Lioncourt Homes, Beechfield Nursing Home Group and Elysian Collection. Real Experience Group has turnover of c. €33m at present and is looking to increase this to c. €80m by 2020. The Irish Times, 4th January
Investment Activity: According to JLL, there was c. €3.45bn of investment transactions in the Irish property market in 2015. Activity was most prevalent in Q4 2015, when €1.2bn of transactions were completed. Nine transactions were completed for in excess of €100m, with the largest transaction being Project Molly in Q1. Project Molly was an office portfolio sold by Lone Star for €350m and included Iveagh Court (Dublin 2), Marsh House (Dublin 2) and The Watermarque Building (Dublin 4). The Irish Times, 4th January
Trinity Expansion: Trinity College in Dublin has stated its intention to expand its technology facilities, by adding c. 320,000 sq. ft. of teaching and research facilities. A tender document has been issued seeking construction consultants who wish to oversee the project. With the proposal in its initial phase, no funding is in place and the location of the buildings has not been decided. Trinity’s current Technology and Enterprise Campus is located off-campus on Pearse Street. Trinity also received planning permission in 2015 to construct a new €70m building for a new Business School. The Sunday Independent, 3rd January
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