5th March (Issue 186)
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.
RETAIL
Baggot Street, Dublin 2 Chez Max restaurant (3,919 sq. ft.) at 133 Lower Baggot Street in Dublin 2 generating rent of €90k p.a. has been reportedly acquired by a private investor for €2m (NIY 4.15%) via agent CBRE on behalf of receivers Mazars. The three storey over basement property, which is reportedly in very good condition, contains a restaurant/café including functional courtyards at ground and basement levels. The upper floors are used as ancillary storage/office space. It was initially launched on the market in February 2018 guiding €2.1m. The Irish Times, 27th February
Liffey Valley Shopping Centre, Dublin 22 TK Maxx has reportedly agreed to rent a 29,870 sq. ft. unit at Liffey Valley Shopping Centre in west Dublin at c. €475k p.a. It is believed that TK Maxx is likely to trade from a store in a three storey unit at the western end part of the shopping centre which will also include two external food and beverage units trading onto an external plaza and a smaller retail unit opposite Penneys. It is reported that construction of the new facility could start in the second quarter of 2019 with completion by Q2 2020. The Irish Times, 27th February
Exchequer Street, Dublin 2 American Holidays travel agents has reportedly agreed to rent the former Buffalo Shoes outlet at 16 Exchequer Street (1,482 sq. ft at ground and basement levels) on a 10 year lease at €65k p.a. JLL acted for American Holidays and Agar acted for the landlord. The Irish Times, 27th February
Bray, Co. Wicklow Oakmount has commenced construction work on the new Bray Town Centre retail development (269,100 sq. ft.) on the 2.4 acre former Florentine Centre site in the centre of Bray, Co. Wicklow expected to open in Spring 2020. The development will include three anchor stores (of which a grocery unit is reserved), nine other retail units, restaurant and café space, and 250 car parking spaces. The anchor units will range from 10,764 – 32,292 sq. ft., eight retail units will take up another 37,125 sq. ft. and three restaurants will have a combined 5,866 sq. ft. Savills is acting as letting agents for the scheme quoting indicative rents of €50 – €60 psf for retail space and has advised that several other pre-lets to the reserved anchor are confirmed including Press Up Entertainment hospitality group which will operate a five screen Stella cinema complex. The Irish Times, 27th February
MIXED USE
Talbot Street, Dublin 1 Chartered Land has reportedly acquired Independent House and Brett Court on Talbot Street for €24.3m. The two properties totalling 61,000 sq. ft. comprising of Grade A office space, a supermarket unit, 10 apartments and 26 basement car parking spaces were initially brought to the market by CBRE in October 2017 guiding €24m. The properties generate annual rent of c. €1.47m with a WAULT of 8 years for the commercial element. Independent House is a six-storey over-basement level office and retail building totalling 55,000 sq. ft. with the office element fully let to Independent News & Media at €1.04m p.a. on a 25 year lease from 2004 with a break option in 2024. The retail element including an instore café is tenanted by Kane’s SuperValu on a 25-year lease from 2004 at €275k p.a. Brett Court comprises of an adjoining, six storey over-basement residential block fronting Foley Street with 10 of the 11 apartments included in the sale generating rent of c. €152.4k p.a. (from 9 units) as at October 2017. The Irish Independent, 28th February
Dublin 14 A mixed-use centre at 96 – 98 Churchtown Road Upper (the former Braemor Rooms/McGowans of Churchtown pub site), south Dublin generating rent of €371k p.a. is on the market at €5.7m (NIY 6%) with BNP Paribas Real Estate on behalf of MM Capital. The site extends to 12,260 sq. ft. and benefits from 33 surface car parking spaces. Centric Health Churchtown Medical produces more than 50% of the rent from its medical centre and a pharmacy unit sublet to Meaghers Pharmacy. Union Café, part of Press Up Entertainment Group, leases its premises with an allday dining and liquor licence at €155k p.a. A third unit is let to Floral Art of Greystones at a passing rent of €18k p.a. The Irish Times, 27th February
Baggot Street, Dublin 2 A fully-let 2,631 sq. ft. mixed-use property at 50 Upper Baggot Street generating rent of €127k p.a. has been launched on the market for sale guiding €1.9m (NIY 6.16%) by Cushman & Wakefield. Millers Pizza Kitchen has occupied the ground floor (790 sq. ft.) since 1991 and its current lease terms are a 25 year lease from January 2010 at €55k p.a. The upper floors, with separate access, contain three apartments and are let to one occupier at €72k p.a. on a 12 month lease. Cushman & Wakefield suggests there may be potential for development to the rear (subject to planning permission) as both adjoining properties extend out over a couple of levels. The Irish Times, 27th February
Dawson Street, Dublin 2 Oakmount has been granted planning permission to redevelop the former New Ireland Assurance headquarters from 9 – 12 Dawson St. including converting the ground floor of the structure fronting Dawson St. into a restaurant. The existing five storey structure will have the remaining office use areas upgraded and additional staff facilities built increasing total floor area to 99,103 sq. ft. from 72,452 sq. ft. post a rear extension and two setback floor on top of the properties. The basement is to be continued to be used as car parking in addition to cycle parking, storage, shower and locker facilities. The Irish Times, 27th February
RESIDENTIAL
Dublin 7 Three pre-1963 two storey terraced houses at 88 – 92a Prussia Street, Stoneybatter converted into 12 apartments with a ready-to-go infill site on 0.026 acres to the rear are being marketed for sale in one lot quoting €3m through agent Robert Colleran. All the units are short term let generating rent of €135k p.a. The site to the rear has planning permission for four apartments with ERV of €84k p.a. Planning permission was secured before residential densities were increased recently so a higher density on the site may now be allowed for subject to planning permission. The properties are also beside a large garage site acquired by Marlet with permission for a 203-bed student accommodation building. The Irish Times, 27th February
Harold’s Cross, Dublin 6 Kelly Walsh is seeking offers in the region of €1.85m for a redevelopment opportunity comprising of a portfolio of mixed use buildings at 145 – 146, Harold’s Cross, Dublin 6 on a site of 0.20 acres. Kelly Walsh noted that the site is well located and has the potential to accommodate up to 16 ‘high-end’ apartments subject to planning permission. The Irish Independent, 28th February
Blackrock, Co. Dublin Oakmount has sought planning permission from An Bord Pleanála for an €80m development of 294 apartments in 14 buildings of up to 8 stores high plus 272 car parking and c. 670 bicycle spaces on a 10 acre site at Temple Road, Blackrock. The plans include the refurbishment and conversion of St. Teresa’s House, a protected building that dates from 1862, into six apartments. It is also proposed to dismantle St Teresa’s Lodge, a protected gate lodge, and rebuild it on the site. Oakmount acquired the site for c. €30m in 2017. The Sunday Times, 3rd March
LAND
Sandyford, Dublin 18 It is reported that a 3.81 acre site, known as Sandyford Central, guiding €36m, has been sold for c. €38m (€9.974m per acre) by Cushman & Wakefield on behalf of receivers Duff & Phelps (appointed by NAMA) to Avestus Capital Partners and asset manager Ares Management. The reported sales price of c. €10m per acre equates to half of the peak value of €20m per acre in the area. The receivers obtained planning permission for the site in 2018 to develop 459 build-to-sell apartments in blocks of up to 14 storeys in height with 454 car parking spaces on the site. The vendor’s consultants identified that 539 apartments could be accommodated on the site from changes in national apartment design guidelines introduced in March 2018, and could potentially be further increased due to the removal of the cap on building heights that came into effect in December. The Irish Times, 27th February
Dundrum, Dublin 16 Knight Frank is guiding in excess of €1.3m for a 0.32 acre residential site with full planning permission within walking distance of Dundrum Town Centre on Sandyford Road. The site has 35m of road frontage and planning permits the demolition of the existing, single-storey, detached dwelling, and the construction of a new part two/part three-storey building comprising eight own-door apartment/duplex units (4 x 1-beds, 3 x 2-beds and 1 x 3-bed). Subject to planning permission, there is potential to achieve a higher-density scheme on site the site. The Irish Independent, 28th February
Dublin 15 Chartered Land is reported as the purchaser of a 12.29 acre site at Rathborne, Ashtown, Dublin 15 for c. €22m through Savills on behalf of a receiver appointed by NAMA. The acquisition by Joe O’Reilly’s Chartered Land is 13 years after his own Castlethorn company sold it to Capel Developments for in excess of €70m. Planning permission for 296 houses and apartments on the site has been obtained. Due to changes in market conditions and planning regulations, it is believed that Chartered Land may seek planning permission for a new scheme incorporating a far higher proportion of apartments. A feasibility assessment commissioned by the vendor suggests that the site could accommodate more than 700 apartments. The Irish Times, 27th February
Dublin 12 It is reported that a Singaporean fund has acquired a 2.11 acre high-profile site close to the Walkinstown Roundabout for €3.25m (c. €1.54m per acre). The site has planning permission for a 18,923 sq. ft. food store, two retail units and a restaurant café, with 99 surface car parking spaces. The current local development plan allows for residential-led regeneration and the selling agent QRE believes that the new owner may seek to revise the existing planning permission to take advantage of the upsurge in Dublin’s Build-to-Rent and Private Rented Sector markets. The Irish Independent, 28th February
OFFICE
Sandyford, Dublin 18 Two fully-let floors (20,384 sq. ft.) of office space and 40 basement car parking spaces generating rent of €568.7k p.a. in a modern Sandyford office block at Paramount Court, Corrig Road are being offered for sale at €7m (NIY 7.49%) by Lisney. Electricity supplier Prepay Power occupies the second floor and UK financial and professional services firm Smith & Williamson occupies the third floor. WAULB and WAULT is just under five and 12 years respectively. Rent reviews were recently completed for both leases and the two tenants have also just completed refurbishments of their respective space. The first floor in the building extending to 8,700 sq. ft. and 16 basement car parking spaces, also occupied by Prepay Power, was marketed for sale by Turley Property Advisors in June 2018 guiding €2.9m reflecting a yield of 8.34%. The Irish Times, 27th February
INDUSTRIAL
Dublin Enterprise Zone A sale of a warehouse and office building extending to 59,014 sq. ft. under construction on a site of 3.5 acres at Unit 2, Vantage Business Park in northwest Dublin has been reportedly agreed to plastic packaging specialist NPP Group as an owner occupier for more than €8.85m through agent Harvey. The unit will have a clear internal height of 12m with dock level and grade loading access. Separately, Unit 1, Vantage Business Park extending to 45,869 sq. ft. with a build timeframe of c. 12 months is on the market for sale or to let via Harvey quoting €150 psf or to let at €9.50 psf. The Irish Times, 27th February
Dublin 11 Harvey is seeking €11.9m for a 67.71 acre (€175.75k per acre) land bank with 600m of frontage to the M50 in north Dublin on the planned setting for Abbotstown Business Park. The land bank was previously sold in October 2013 for €6m (€88.6k per acre and down from its previous peak value of €1m per acre). Planning Permission in place until April 2022 permits 27 buildings comprising of two offices with floor areas of 140,275 sq. ft., 14 light industrial/warehouse buildings, seven blocks of starter units and four blocks of business units. The agent, Harvey, believes a purchaser may apply for a revised planning permission that “reflects the change in end user requirements towards larger-sized industrial and logistics buildings”. The Irish Times, 27th February
HOTEL
Henry Street, Dublin 1 Carra Shore is seeking planning permission to build a seven storey 195-bedroom hotel at the junction of Little Britain Street and Little Green Street close to the Henry Street shopping district. The site is currently occupied by a two storey warehouse building. The Sunday Times, 3rd March
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