6th February (Issue 433)
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.
STUDENT ACCOMMODATION
Stephen Street, Dublin 2 Student accommodation group Scape, which is backed by Dutch pension fund APG, has started up an €80m sale (5.5% NIY) in Dublin’s city centre. Cushman & Wakefield has been mandated to run the process, which is the largest student sale in Ireland since early 2022. Located on Stephen Street, the accommodation offers immediate connectivity to Royal College of Surgeons (RCSI), Trinity College and University College Dublin. Constructed in 2020, Scape Dublin has 298 bedrooms across a range of shared apartments and studios. For the current academic year, RCSI has a nomination to reserve all of the accommodation. React News, 6th February
HOSPITALITY
Oakmount is preparing to put three of its Dublin pubs on the market. The Sunday Times believes that the company is mulling the sale of the Foxhunter in Lucan, Ashton’s in Clonskeagh and Thomas Rody Maher’s, formerly Larry Murphy’s, on Lower Baggot Street. The pubs are operated by Press Up, a hospitality group which is also owned by McKillen Jr and Ryan. Oakmount and Press Up are financed separately. The company bought Larry Murphy’s, at 43-44 Lower Baggot Street, from the ESB for more than €1m in 2021. It had been shut since the utility bought it in 2013. The refurbished pub, which sits in a five-storey building, reopened as Thomas Rody Maher’s in 2022. Oakmount bought Ashton’s for a reported €3m in 2022. Last year, it applied for planning permission to turn it into a boutique hotel, with a five-storey extension. The property overlooks the River Dodder and is close to UCD’s Belfield campus. The development company purchased the Foxhunter near Lucan village on the N4 motorway in 2019. It paid approx. €3m for the site, which in 2007 had sold for €17m to a consortium. Oakmount completely refurbished the pub and Press Up opened an Elephant & Castle restaurant on site. In 2022, An Bord Pleanala refused planning permission for the company to build 161 apartments on the land. The Sunday Times, 4th February
St Andrew’s Street, Dublin 2 Dublin City Council has cited the ongoing housing crisis as grounds for refusing planning permission for a new 111-bedroom hotel for Dublin city centre. Last year, Appalachian Property Holdings Ltd lodged plans for 19-24 St Andrew’s Street which would change the use of three floors from office to hotel and also for the construction a new six-storey extension. The A Post branch on the ground floor would remain where it is. The site is located less than 500 metres from College Green and Grafton Street. The Irish Times, 2nd February
Bray, Co Wicklow Lisney’s licensed premises division is offering O’Sullivan’s on Castle Street in Bray for sale by private treaty with a price guide of €1m. The traditional pub and overhead residential units have been completely remodelled and refurbished throughout and now comprise a bar and lounge areas complemented by two snugs, a modern fully fitted catering kitchen and ample storage. The two separate and self-contained apartments are at first-floor level. Of further benefit are the two apartments which are suitable for use by an owner-operator or alternatively ideal for creation of valuable rental income. The Business Post, 3rd February
OFFICE
Churchtown, Dublin 14 A private Irish investor has paid approx. €2.15m for Landscape House, a fully tenanted office building on Landscape Road in Churchtown, Dublin 14. The property comprises a detached two-storey office building extending to approx. 17,313 sq. ft on a site of 0.59 acres. The property is let to Apleona Ireland Limited, a leading international facilities management company, Red Box Direct Limited and Flextime Limited at an income of approx. €215.3k pa, all of which expires by 2027. Landscape House has extensive road frontage and is directly adjacent the Landscape Court apartment scheme and a row of commercial properties to the west. The Irish Times, 31st January
Swords, North Co Dublin A headquarter facility, on approx. 16 acres in Swords Business Park, is quoting a guide price of more than €19m. It was developed back in 1996, and was subsequently expanded in 2002, with a substantial extension to the existing buildings. It is being sold by Hertz. The facility offers more than 200,000 sq. ft of well-maintained, quality office accommodation over two floors in two interconnected buildings, together with approx. 447 surface car spaces. It is on an extensive site of approx. 16 acres, with three vehicular access points, meaning it can be easily subdivided. The entire facility is held under a 999-year leasehold interest from the IDA. Part of the first floor and 70 car spaces are let for a 10-year term from November 2018, providing immediate short-term income. The Irish Times, 31st January
Lower Leeson Street, Dublin 2 Lockton, the global insurance broker, has announced plans to move into a new office space in Dublin city centre. The firm is to set up its new Dublin base in 18 Lower Leeson Street – a Grade A office building owned by Aviva’s property fund, with 24,455 sq. ft of space over five floors. Lockton will rent the third floor of the building. The firm, which currently operates its Irish arm from Great Strand Street in Dublin, said it hopes to move in by early March. The value or length of the new deal has not been disclosed. However, according to a brochure advertising the Leeson Street property, the third-floor spans across 4,951 sq. ft, while JLL, one of the real estate agents managing the rental of the building, said that Aviva is seeking €60 per sq. ft for the property. This means that if the deal was agreed at the asking price, Lockton will pay €297k on an annual basis for the space. The Business Post, 1st February
Lower Leeson Street, Dublin 2 Joint selling agents Murphy Mulhall and Colliers have further reduced the asking price of No. 40 Lower Leeson Street to €1.7m. The four-storey over basement building had originally been placed on the market guiding €2.25m in May 2023. The property extends to 4,295 sq. ft and has been recently refurbished within the last five years. According to the agents, the property is ideally suited to owner occupiers looking for turnkey offices in the heart of Dublin city centre or is equally suited to opportunistic investors. The Business Post, 3rd February
INDUSTRIAL / LOGISTICS
Cork Airport Business Park Lisney has brought an industrial and office unit to market for sale at Cork Airport Business Park, one of the premier business parks in Cork. The property, known as Building 2400A, is situated on the western side of Cork Airport Business Park within easy walking distance of the airport terminal building. Cork Airport Business Park is situated approx. 6km south of Cork city centre and occupiers include Amazon, Aviva, McKesson, GSK and MMD Construction. The semi-detached warehouse/light industrial unit has a total floor area of approx. 11,754 sq. ft. The property is currently occupied by Matrox, a global company headquartered in Canada. Lisney is offering the property for sale at a quoted sale price of €1.35m (approx. €115 per sq. ft). The Business Post, 3rd February
HEALTHCARE / NURSING HOMES
Cherrywood, South Dublin La Française Real Estate Managers (REM) has completed the acquisition of a primary care unit in Cherrywood. The property was sold by US-based real estate firm Spear Street Capital, for just under €13m. The former office building was refurbished in 2023, to provide a three-storey primary care facility in a mixed-use development. The building, which will develop 25,361 sq. ft of space, will deliver a range of medical treatment spaces. The property is fully let to Laya Healthcare on a 25-year lease. Laya Healthcare’s fit-out will provide a mixture of rooms for treatment, minor theatre, consultation, MRI scans and staff rooms. React News, 1st February
RESIDENTIAL / DEVELOPMENT
Blackrock, South Co Dublin A newly completed scheme of 20 apartments located at 27-33 Carysfort Avenue in Blackrock is being offered to the market by Sherry FitzGerald Commercial at a guide price of €8.5m. The apartments have a B2 BER rating in the main, are available for immediate occupation and offer the prospective purchaser the opportunity to generate gross annual income of approx. €575k. The Irish Times, 31st January
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Coolock, Dublin 5 The LDA and Dublin City Council (DCC) have secured permission to build 146 new homes in Coolock. The project represents the first time that a Section 179A temporary exemption has been used for an LDA project, a scheme that allows local authorities to fast-track urgently needed social and affordable housing developments on state-owned land zoned for residential use. The Cromcastle development will include 13 social and 133 cost-rental homes, as well as new community, cultural and open spaces. The 1.7-acre site, owned by the DCC, is located opposite the Northside Shopping Centre. Construction is due to start by the fourth quarter, and the LDA has already issued a tender for a contractor to undertake the work. Permission for the Cromcastle development was secured by the LDA and DCC under a new planning provision introduced for local authorities by Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien in March of last year. Bisnow, 5th February
Fossa, Co Kerry Avison Young is seeking offers of €2.5m for Aghadoe House, a substantial property on 60.6 acres in Fossa. The sale of the property, which until recently had been in use as an An Óige youth hostel, is being offered for sale in one or more lots. Aghadoe House has 25 bedrooms and ancillary accommodation including kitchens, dining areas, recreational rooms, reception rooms and toilets together with ample on-site parking. The Lodge is located at the rear of the original house and comprises a single-storey residential building with 11 bedrooms. A part of the property comprising 11.83 acres is held by way of agreement for lease to a third party with an income of €50k pa available to the prospective purchaser. The Irish Times, 31st January
Sixmilebridge, Co Clare Atlantic Aviation Group, one of the largest employers in the midwest region, plans to provide accommodation for up to 36 staff in Clare in a bid to ease accommodation pressures faced by workers. The company, which has more than 750 employees, has acquired a vacant property in Sixmilebridge that will be repurposed into purpose-built co-living accommodation for new staff. The development project, based on a site close to AAG’s centre of operations at Shannon Airport, will be designed by O’Neill O’Malley Architecture and LyMar Contracts Limited, a Limerick-based construction company, will be the developer. The Business Post, 1st February
Peter McVerry Trust, the housing and homeless charity which ran into significant financial difficulties last year, has appointed a new chief executive to lead the organisation. The charity announced it had appointed Niall Mulligan as its new chief executive. Mulligan, who is currently the National Secretary for St Vincent de Paul, will take up the position from the middle of April, the McVerry Trust said in a statement. The Business Post, 6th February
Poolbeg, Dublin 4 A major redevelopment of a historic site in Dublin 4 may be brought back to market as talks are underway to resolve a lawsuit between Johnny Ronan and Dublin City Council, the Business Post understands. Ronan Group Real Estate (RGRE) issued judicial review proceedings against DCC in 2021 over the legality of a tender process to acquire and redevelop approx. nine acres at Dublin’s historic Pigeon House site. The land includes the old Pigeon House power station and hotel on the Poolbeg peninsula. DCC had selected Oval Horizon Limited, a company within Paddy McKillen Jr’s Oakmount Group, as the preferred bidder, but then terminated the tender process following a legal challenge from RGRE, which was an unsuccessful bidder. The case is now listed for mention only next month when legal teams will give the High Court an update of the progress. If the lawsuit is settled, the tender process to redevelop the lands can be reopened. The Business Post, 4th February
Limerick City and County Council has launched an expression of interest survey for prospective homeowners to determine if there is sufficient demand for affordable housing in the new Churchtown housing development. Centrally located in the town and 50 metres from the idyllic greenway walk, the homes are also within commutable distance, with Limerick city just a 30-minute drive from the development. Limerick City and County Council said it was “actively considering” the development of affordable homes at Castle Place, Churchtown, Newcastle West and has encouraged interested eligible buyers to complete a survey. The Business Post, 3rd February
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