5th September (Issue 413)
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.
MIXED-USE
Smithfield, Dublin 7 A private Irish investor is selling three Dublin investment properties. The most valuable of them is a mixed-use investment known as Oxmantown Green, near Smithfield, Dublin 7, which comprises 25 apartments and two commercial units. QRE is guiding €9m (GIY approx. 6.43%) for Oxmantown Green. The Oxmantown complex is fully occupied with the exception of a single apartment and is currently producing a total rent of approx. €560k pa which could increase to approx. €579k upon full occupancy. Its ground floor commercial units are occupied by Fuse Gym and McDermott Creed & Martyn Solicitors. The current owner bought the complex for more than €6m in 2014 from a KPMG receiver and subsequently undertook an asset management programme which resulted in increasing the rent roll from its then level of €385.5k. The other two lots are 11 Main Street, Rathfarnham, Dublin 14, and 69 St Patrick’s Road, Dalkey, Co Dublin, both of which have €600k guide prices. The Irish Independent, 31st August
For lending terms on this asset please contact rossmetcalfe@origincapital.ie
Suffolk Street, Dublin 2 JLL has brought a mixed-use investment opportunity to the market for sale at nos. 24 and 25 Suffolk Street in Dublin 2 for €7.15m for the pair. The two buildings, which extend to four storeys over basement, include prime retail/F&B at ground floor level with offices above. Combined, both assets extend to approx. 17,780 sq. ft. No. 24 Suffolk Street is a mid-terraced building constructed in 1919, extending to 6,792 sq. ft. The ground floor retail is occupied by the British and Irish Italian restaurant chain Zizzi, which accounts for 74% of that building’s income. Zizzi signed a 25-year lease, running to January 2042 and currently has a passing rent of €200k pa. Landscape architecture firm Cunnane Stratton Reynolds recently signed a 20-year lease from August 8, 2023 for the first, second and third-floor office accommodation, at a rent of €70k pa.
No. 25 Suffolk Street is an end-of-terrace building, comprising a mix of period and contemporary designs and extending to 10,988 sq. ft. Fáilte Ireland, which leases the ground floor, has vacated the unit and will be exiting upon the expiry of its lease in November 2023. The Bodywise Clinic occupies the second floor on a ten-year term. It had the option to break its lease last year, which it did not exercise. Likewise, the third-floor tenant, FFA Chartered Accountants, has been in occupation on a 35-year lease since 1989. The combined guide price of €7.15 million offers investors the opportunity to achieve a reversionary yield of approx. 8%. The Business Post, 1st September
HOSPITALITY
Hatch Street Lower, Dublin 2 Hotel operator Red Carnation Hotels has completed the sale of Hatch Hall in Dublin to a private investor for €23m (guiding €25m). Located on Hatch Street Lower in Dublin 2, Hatch Hall benefits from full planning permission for a 60-bedroom hotel, alongside two bars and a restaurant. The space spans eight stories over a basement, alongside the former chapel building, spanning approx. 78,490 sq. ft in total. React News, 31st August
Sandyford, Dublin 18 Esprit Investments has been cleared to build a nine-storey aparthotel in Sandyford, Dublin. The positive decision from An Bord Pleanála marks the end of a lengthy planning process for Esprit Investments, which first applied for permission for the development two-and-a-half years ago. Esprit Investments sought permission to demolish a two-storey warehouse and office building at Grafton House in Sandyford Business District in south Dublin. In its place it wants to construct a 124-suite aparthotel, a mix of one and two-bed rooms, of up to nine storeys. It was also seeking to build a 37-space car park and 36 bike-parking spaces. The Irish Independent, 5th September
Airbnb-linked tourism spending totalled €537m last year, the equivalent to 10.5% of all international travel-related spending in Ireland, according to a new report. The study, commissioned by the temporary accommodation provider and carried out by Oxford Economics, shows that employment linked to Airbnb activity accounted for approx. 5% of total tourism employment in 2022. The Business Post, 30th August
Dame Street, Dublin 2 NolaClan, the hospitality company, is set to take over the top floor premises at One Central Plaza. The space, which spreads out across two floors under a glass roof at the top of the Central Bank’s former headquarters, is set to reopen as a bar and restaurant. According to the last filed accounts for Capulat Limited, the holding company for NolaClan, it had post-tax losses in 2021 of €1.72m, down from €2.79m in 2020. The top floor, situated at level 10, extends to 8,923 sq. ft and is the main hospitality and dining area, while the level below covers 8,266 sq. ft and will accommodate the reception area, bar and back-of-house facilities. The Business Post, 3rd September
RETAIL
Cork Road, Waterford French investor Iroko Zen has completed its seventh acquisition in the Irish investment market, paying €9.8m for the premises of DIY retail giant Woodie’s on Cork Road in Waterford city. The property briefly consists of a large high-bay retail warehouse extending to 45,039 sq. ft. The building is let to Woodie’s DIY Ltd with a guarantee in place from its parent company, the Grafton Group PLC, on a 25-year term from June 2007 expiring in June 2032. The lease incorporates five-yearly upwards-only rent reviews. The passing rent is €909.2k pa, with the rent depending on good payment by the tenant. The property comprises a 3.4-acre site. The Irish Times, 30th August
South Anne Street, Dublin 2 Astrid & Miyu, the high-end jewellery brand has agreed a 10-year lease at number 2 South Anne Street, a mid-terrace unit leased from Irish Life Investment Managers (ILIM). The agreement was negotiated on ILIM’s behalf by Savills and joint agent Bannon. The store will sit alongside bespoke pen and watchmaker Montblanc and will also join premium athleisure brand Sweaty Betty, which opened its first stand-alone store in Dublin city centre at 32-33 South Anne Street earlier this year. The Irish Times, 1st September
Moore Street, Dublin 1 57/58 Moore Street in Dublin 1 is currently for sale through QRE Real Estate Advisers with a guide price of €1.65m (NIY 7.72%). The property comprises numbers 57/58 Moore Street along with the rear of No. 56, is currently leased to Eurogiant until April 2026, generating an annual rent of €140k. The three-story over basement mid-terrace building spans approx. 8,858 sq. ft. The capital value of approx. €186 per sq. ft is significantly below replacement cost. The Business Post, 1st September
INDUSTRIAL / LOGISTICS
Clonshaugh, Dublin 17 Principal Asset Management has completed its acquisition of two detached data centres, totalling 81,483 sq. ft, in Dublin for €10m. The deal was made on behalf of its Principal European Data Centre Fund I. Located at Willsborough Industrial Estate, the two facilities are leased to Verizon Ireland and Vodafone Ireland. Unit A, which is leased to Verizon, comprises 35,940 sq. ft of space used as a data centre and storage rooms over two floors. It also includes 8,901 sq. ft of office accommodation across three storeys. The second facility is let to Vodafone and comprises 45,542 sq. ft of warehouse space, with the remainder part-fitted out for data centre use alongside 8,772 sq. ft office space over three storeys. Both facilities generate a passing rent of €585k pa with a WAULT of approx. 5.1 years to break. Terms have been agreed to extend the existing lease on the property used by Verizon to 31st September 2032, and subject to fixed uplift rents of €315k pa beginning 14th February 2025 until 30th September 2029. A tenant break option is included subject to six months’ prior written notice and a six-month rent penalty on 1st October 2029, with the property due for an open market rent review on the same date. React News, 4th September
OFFICE
EY Ireland has narrowed its search for a new headquarters in Dublin city centre to four developments. The Big Four accounting and consulting firm set out earlier this year to find approx. 200,000 sq. ft of office space at a new location. It currently occupies approx. 100,000 sq. ft in a cluster of offices close to the Harcourt Street Luas stop in the capital, which it leases from the Clancourt Group. The shortlist for new, larger offices includes Clancourt’s Four and Five Park Place, overlooking Adelaide Road and Harcourt Road in Dublin 2, which is nearing completion and will comprise 198,000 sq. ft of space across two blocks. EY is also looking at office space being developed by Westridge Real Estate on the old DIT Kevin Street site in Dublin 8, as well as part of the 540,000 sq. ft of offices currently being constructed by Marlet Property Group on the corner site of Tara Street and Townsend Street. Social media group LinkedIn is also in talks to sublet or assign a 25-year lease it took out in early 2020 on Two and Three Wilton Park, which are currently under construction. The Irish Times, 2nd September
HEALTHCARE / NURSING HOMES
Dalkey, South Dublin Four Dalkey residents have brought a judicial review action challenging An Bord Pleanála’s decision to grant Bartra Property Ltd permission to construct a 104-bed nursing home on lands at Ulverton Road and Harbour Road, Dalkey. In its decision, the board overturned Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council’s 2021 decision to refuse to grant planning permission to Bartra. The Irish Times, 30th August
RESIDENTIAL / DEVELOPMENT
Harold’s Cross, Dublin 6 The McGrath Group has commenced the construction of 50 high-end apartments on the former Kenilworth Motors site at Harold’s Cross in south Dublin. The development, which is due for completion in the first quarter of 2025, will comprise a mix of one- and two-bedroom apartments in a single block. The subject site extends to 0.54 acres. News of the new development comes just weeks after the family-owned Irish property firm completed its acquisition of the Harold’s Cross site. The Irish Times, 30th August
Lisney Development Land Report The level of activity in the development land market saw a significant decline in the first half of 2023, with just 26 sites with combined selling prices of €86m sold in the Greater Dublin Area compared to total sales of €279m and €244m respectively in the first and second halves of 2022. Dublin accounted for 77% of total turnover in the development land market in the first half of this year. Out of the 26 sites sold in the first six months, 12 had planning permission, making up 7% of the total land sold by size (by acres) and 54% of the €86m in total turnover. Despite these low levels of activity Lisney reports that more than €170m worth of land was sale-agreed in the Greater Dublin Area at the end of June 2023. The Irish Times, 30th August
Rent Increase The average rent being paid in newly registered tenancies nationally rose to €1,544 per month in the first quarter of this year, up approx. 9% on the same period last year, despite a moderate increase in supply. The latest figures from the RTB indicate the average rent on new tenancies in Dublin, where demand is strongest, rose by 8% to €2,102 per month. The rise in rents nationally and in the capital, which coincided with an increase in the supply of new rental accommodation, underscores the affordability crisis at the heart of the State’s rental market. The index was derived from rents paid under 14,085 private tenancies which were newly registered with the RTB in the first quarter of 2023. This represented a decrease from 15,336 in the same quarter of the previous year. The Irish Times, 31st August
New Planning Guidelines New housing developments in cities near good public transport should be limited to one parking space per household, or have no parking where possible, under new draft guidelines. The draft Department of Housing planning guidelines for local authorities increases the permitted density of housing developments in urban areas, in an attempt to boost housing supply. However, if parking spots are not built for each housing unit, a limited number should be provided in new developments for people with mobility issues. The draft guidelines stipulate housing density in Dublin and Cork city centre should be increased from at least 50 dwellings per hectare (dph) to 100-300 dph. Similarly, housing density in the city centres of Limerick, Galway and Waterford should be 100-200 dph. The Irish Times, 31st August
Dunsink, Dublin 11 Dunsink, formerly home to Dublin’s largest landfill, has been identified for “intensive” residential development, with the potential for more than 7,000 homes, under plans to capitalise on State investment in public transport. The 1,075-acre land bank, to the southwest of Finglas, is one of 14 locations around the capital which could deliver a total of 130,000 higher density homes, according to a report commissioned by the Departments of Housing and Transport.
The Transport Oriented Development report sets out the areas in Dublin city and county which should have significantly higher levels of housing due to their proximity to high-capacity transport, including existing rail and tram lines, and planned metro, Luas, Dart and BusConnects routes.
It includes areas that have already seen substantial development such as Ballymun, Tallaght, Adamstown and Sandyford, as well as undeveloped or former industrial “brownfield” lands such as the Poolbeg Peninsula, the “City Edge” lands along the Naas Road, and Dunsink.
Nine locations have been identified as having capacity for approx. 60,000 homes in the “short to medium term” due to their proximity to existing high-capacity public transport, or schemes that will be delivered in the short term, by 2030, or medium term, by 2036, under the Transport Strategy for the Greater Dublin Area 2022-2042. The Irish Times, 4th September
Balgriffin, North Dublin An Approved Housing Body (AHB) is pushing on with a deal to buy over 400 residential units from housebuilder Cairn Homes in North Dublin. The deal, understand to be worth north of €150m, is for several blocks of Cairn Homes’ Parkside project in Balgriffin. Should it complete, it would represent the largest upfront sum invested by an AHB to date. Cairn has planning in place for a 730-unit apartment scheme at Parkside. React News, 4th September
Phibsborough, Dublin 7 A five-year planning permission for an apartment scheme for Phibsborough in Dublin is not long enough due to the threat of a High Court judicial review, according to a property developer. A planning appeal has been lodged on behalf of Bindford Ltd against conditions attached to a Dublin City Council planning permission for 184 apartments for its scheme at Cross Guns Bridge in Phibsborough. As part of the Cross Guns Large Scale Residential Development, Bindford had originally proposed a seven-year permission for 196 apartments made up of 118 build-to-sell apartments and 78 build-to-rent units within three blocks, ranging in height from three to 12 storeys. In its decision in July, the council ordered the omission of three floors in the 12-storey block, reducing the number of units to 184 as part of a five-year planning permission. Two third party appeals have also been lodged against the council decision seeking that the permission be overturned. The Irish Times, 4th September
Inchicore and Rathmines, Dublin A land swap between the HSE and Dublin City Council, which the council said is “urgently” required for the regeneration of St Michael’s Estate in Inchicore, has been approved by councillors. The council wants the HSE to vacate the property it owns at the sites of the former flat complex in Inchicore so the council can start work on its flagship cost-rental project. An Bord Pleanála in July granted permission for 441 cost rental homes, which will be available to rent to low and middle-income workers, and 137 social homes on the largely council-owned site. The council will swap the land with a site it owns in Rathmines. The site at Gulistan Terrace, behind the Swan shopping centre, has been in use as a council waste depot. The council plans to use part of the Rathmines land for housing, with the remainder transferred to the HSE for a primary care centre. In the new agreement, the HSE will agree to transfer the Inchicore site to the council and pay the council an additional €2m for the Rathmines site. However, in the event of the primary care centre not going ahead, the council would retain both sites and pay the HSE €3.5m. The Irish Times, 4th September
OTHER
Dublin Airport Comer Group has said it is “extremely interested” in acquiring 260 acres of land beside Dublin Airport that is being sold by the McEvaddy brothers. The land is estimated to be worth up to €210m. DAA, which operates the adjoining airport, is also in the hunt to buy the property but at a fraction of the price level being touted in the market, it is understood. The DAA, the semi-State company that controls Dublin Airport, is understood to have bid significantly less than €80m for the land, whose owners also include Brendan and Orla O’Donoghue as well as Sean Fox. The Irish Independent, 5th September
Docklands, Cork Cork City Council is seeking economic and financial consultants to prepare the preliminary business plan for approx. half a billion euro in key enabling works for the redevelopment of the Cork Docklands. The aim of the regeneration project is to create capacity to accommodate approx. 20% of Cork City’s population growth up to 2040. The Docklands project has been approved for €471m in funding for various enabling works that are to be delivered by 2030. The Urban Regeneration and Development Fund is supplying 75% of this funding with the remainder to come from other exchequer sources and Cork City Council through development contributions and borrowing. The Irish Examiner, 4th September
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