6th August (Issue 459)
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.
Hospitality
Brittas Bay, Co Wicklow Lisney Sotheby’s International Realty is looking for offers of approx. €35m for the 20-hole links at the European Club in Brittas Bay, Co Wicklow. The European Club occupies 193 acres including frontage just short of a mile on to the Irish Sea and unspoilt views for miles inland toward the Wicklow mountains. The estate includes a substantial clubhouse with an apartment suite overlooking the links as well as three private homes. The Irish Times, 2nd August
Thomas Street, Dublin 8 A Dublin councillor has called for the council to refuse planning permission for another proposed luxury accommodation space in The Liberties, citing an “overconcentration” of this type of development in recent years. The latest planning application was submitted by Welthomas Property to develop a part 7-storey aparthotel with 93 rooms and a bar/events space alongside The Masonry at 151 Thomas Street. The Irish Independent, 31st July
Grafton Street, Dublin 2 The operator of the Bewley’s café on Grafton Street is seeking to have its rent reduced by approx. €1m in a long-running row with its landlord, the Circuit Court has heard. Bewley’s Café Grafton Street Limited, whose 35-year lease expired in August 2022, wants its annual rent reduced to €518k, down from its current rate of approx. €1.4m. It has calculated this based on a headline rate of approx. €740k before applying discounts it argues should be included to account for various improvements and planning restrictions. RGRE Grafton Limited, the landlord and a company within Johnny Ronan’s real estate group, believes the appropriate yearly rent is €1m. The Business Post, 4th August
Office
Donnybrook, Dublin 4 The Brazilian embassy has signed a 12-year lease for office space on the second floor of Donnybrook House. Landlord MM Capital will provide a tailored fit-out for the embassy, which is set to take up occupancy of 6,878 sq. ft of office space on the second floor in six months. The building comprises 45,000 sq. ft of office space, a 4,000 sq. ft restaurant, and a 2,000 sq. ft cafe. The Irish Times, 3rd August
Clonskeagh, Dublin 14 French fund MNK Partners has acquired Block 5 of Richview Office Park for its Europe+ fund from Eagle Street Partners for just under €10m. Located in Clonskeagh, Block 5 is a three-storey detached unit with 25,245sq. ft of office space and 63 surface parking spaces. Richview Office Park is off the Clonskeagh Road and it forms part of the larger Clonskeagh business park hub. The Irish Times, 2nd August
INDUSTRIAL / LOGISTICS
Naas, Co Kildare Plans for a large-scale data centre on a site outside Naas will be lodged in the coming days. A company called Herbata Ltd says it is looking to build a data centre campus, comprising six two-storey data centre buildings at Jigginstown, Halverstown, and Newhall, in Naas on lands bound to the east by the M7 Business Park. The Irish Times, 1st August
CBRE Industrial and Logistics Report Ireland, particularly the Dublin market, continued to enjoy solid levels of demand and take-up for industrial and logistics assets through 2023, but in Q1 and now in a more pronounced fashion in Q2, a material slowdown in take-up is evident. Take-up in Dublin this quarter has fallen to its lowest level since 2014, and total space taken up in the first half of the year (787,778 sq. ft) is lower than the 10-year historical average for just one quarter. CBRE, 31st July
HEALTHCARE / NURSING HOMES
Primary Care Centres The HSE has begun a new primary care centre procurement process, demanding that developers who previously won contracts to provide such facilities either build them at previously agreed prices or withdraw from the process. The state body now plans to re-advertise tenders potentially worth hundreds of millions of euro where developers decide to withdraw. More than 40 primary care centres, representing a potential investment of over €500m, are currently at various stages of progression to add to more than 100 already built. The Irish Independent, 4th August
Aperee Living City Quarter Capital II, an issuer of loan notes investments within the troubled BlackBee group, has appointed a receiver to five nursing home properties in the Aperee Living chain. The appointment was made over an alleged failure to comply with the terms of loan agreements. In 2018, City Quarter Capital II provided loans to five homes in the Aperee portfolio at Callan, Co Kilkenny; Bantry, Belgooly and Conna in Co Cork; and Ballinasloe in Co Galway. The homes in Callan and Ballinasloe were closed earlier this year after the Health Information and Quality Authority cancelled their registration. The Sunday Times, 4th August
Residential / Development
Merrion Road, Dublin 4 Waste tycoon Eamon Waters is planning the construction of approx. 600 apartments and student beds on the former Jacobs Engineering site on Merrion Road in Dublin. Waters purchased Merrion House from Castlethorn Construction for approx. €20m this year. It overlooks Dublin Bay. Waters made the purchase through an entity called Capital Scene Unlimited, of which he and his brother Robert are directors. The deal was completed in February. It is understood that the 2.91-acre site will include 270 apartments and 320 student bedrooms. The Sunday Times, 4th August
Howth, Co Dublin Plans by Glenveagh to construct a €60m 135-unit apartment scheme on a site adjoining Howth demesne have been blocked by Fingal County Council. Glenveagh subsidiary GLL PRS Holdco Limited was seeking to build the apartments in four blocks ranging in height from three to five storeys. The proposed scheme would have seen up to 72 two-bedroom units and 63 one-bedroom homes on the 3.8-acre site. The Irish Times, 1st August
Coolock, North Dublin Concerns for the light-bellied brent goose have helped put paid to a large-scale housing development in Dublin that is “desperately needed amid the current housing crisis”. An Bord Pleanála has refused permission for 330 apartments, 60 assisted living units and retail units at the site of the former Cadbury’s pitch and putt course at Oscar Traynor Road, in Coolock. The large-scale residential development scheme proposed by OTR Development Company comprised six blocks ranging from two to nine storeys in height. The refusal of the scheme by the appeals board upholds a decision earlier this year by Dublin City Council, which was also based on concerns for the geese. The Irish Times, 30th July
Hooke & MacDonald Report First-time buyers account for a third of purchasers in the new homes market followed closely by public sector bodies, according to the latest research by Hooke & MacDonald. The public sector category has now become the second biggest purchaser of new homes, at 26% of the total, increasing from 22% in 2022 and an 86% increase from 14% in 2018. “At the present rate of activity in the various sectors it is likely that the public sector will be the leading purchaser of new housing stock within two years,” said Donald MacDonald, Hooke & MacDonald director. The Business Post, 5th August
If you have an article which you would like to have considered for inclusion in our next weekly report, please contact us at info@origincapital.ie