7th July (Issue 254)
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
12 Dawson St, Dublin 2 Knight Frank are inviting prospective occupiers to register their interest now on No 12 Dawson St which is scheduled for completion in 2021. Upon delivery, the property will comprise 60,000 sq.ft. of grade A office space distributed over seven floors, following the addition of two new floors with private landscaped terraces offering panoramic views over St Stephen’s Green and Dublin city centre. The office floors will range in size from 8,200 sq.ft. to 10,700 sq.ft. The building also includes 12,500 sq.ft. of retail/restaurant space at ground and basement levels. At basement level, the property will have 10 car parking spaces, 91 bike parking spaces and seven self-contained shower/changing rooms. The Irish Times understands that the property, owned by Oakmount and Core Capital, is expected to command a rent of c.€65 psf. The Irish Times, 1st July
34 Molesworth St, Dublin 2 Agent Mason Owen & Lyons is expected to seek c.€60 psf for the office accommodation at 34 Molesworth Street, Dublin 2. The property extends to a total of 7,500 sq.ft. of modern office space distributed across five floors behind a listed Georgian facade. The ground floor comprises a large reception and waiting area along with 1,000 sq.ft. of office space, formerly occupied by the Norwegian Embassy. Each floor measures just under 1,500 sq.ft. and is available for letting individually. The Irish Times, 1st July
Dublin Office Market Research by Knight Frank has found that, as expected, Covid-19 curtailed Dublin’s office market in the second quarter of the year with just 83,000 sq.ft. of space being taken up by occupiers. This compares with 817,000 sq.ft. in Q1 and brings total take-up at the midway point of the year to 900,000 sq.ft, just over half the level witnessed in the same period in 2019. Knight Frank expect to see some improvement in deal levels in Q3, with a number of significant transactions due to sign over the coming weeks. However, take-up levels in 2020 will be well back on previous years, but there is confidence that 2021 will be a stronger year. The Irish Independent, 2nd July
MIXED-USE
Little Britain St, Dublin 7 Citywide Auctioneers are guiding €700,000 for No 9 Little Britain St in Dublin 7. The property previously had planning for a retail shop and two apartments, and has the potential to extend with an additional floor. The property, which the agents are advertising as a refurbishment project, is a mid-terraced, three-storey-over-basement mixed-use property with an enclosed rear yard. It comprises a ground floor retail space and rear WC, generous front and rear first and second floor rooms, and a WC at mezzanine level between the two. The basement consists of two storage rooms and extends under the pavement to the front. The Sunday Business Post, 5th July
RESIDENTIAL / LAND
Kevin St, Dublin 2 An Taisce, Senator Ivana Bacik and local residents have raised concerns over the €475m plans to construct a large-scale mixed-use scheme for the redevelopment of DIT’s former Kevin Street campus in Dublin. In May, Westridge Real Estate lodged plans for the development of 571,671 sq.ft. of office accommodation in two 11-storey blocks alongside 299 apartments across three buildings of up to 14 storeys in height. Westridge acquired the 3.57-acre site for €140m in August 2019. The Irish Independent understands that one of the main concerns raised was that the development “will have a deleterious effect on the quality of life for residents in the locality”. The Irish Independent, 1st July
Ringsend, Dublin 4 Nama have said that they expect to be able to recommend a preferred bidder to develop the former Irish Glass Bottle site in Ringsend in Dublin 4 by the end of this month. Ballymore Group and US real estate group Hines have been among parties vying to take an 80% stake in the 37-acre site, which was expected to achieve €130 million before Covid-19 struck earlier this year. Ronan Group Real Estate and Colony Capital also submitted an initial bid last year to partner Nama in building 3,500 homes, 25% of which are earmarked for social and affordable housing, as well as offices and shops on the site. The Irish Times, 1st July
Edgware, London The Irish Times understands that Ballymore has exchanged contracts to acquire the freehold interest of a 190,000 sq.ft. Shopping centre in Edgware, north London, from Aberdeen Standard Investments for a fee of c.€83 million. The centre sits on a 13-acre site that is primed for redevelopment. The developer will now work with the London Borough of Barnet and engage with the local community with a view to devising a plan for the site as part of the wider regeneration of Edgware town centre. The Irish Times, 6th July
INDUSTRIAL
Irish Industrial Market Transactional activity in the Dublin industrial & logistics market was supported in recent months by a number of short-term Covid-19-related transactions. Similar to other sectors of the property market, a number of requirements were put on hold during the lockdown period, which will negatively impact Q2 transaction volumes. Demand for modern logistics facilities remains robust in this sector with many companies requiring additional warehouse accommodation to hold inventory as a direct result of Brexit-planning or to support increased online retail sales activity. The biggest challenge facing industrial & logistics occupiers in the short to medium term will be a shortage of modern accommodation. CBRE Bi-Monthly Research Report, July 2020
HOSPITALITY
Hotel group iNua Hospitality is raising more than €10 million in new capital to help stabilise the business and take advantage of potential acquisition opportunities as the industry begins to emerge from the severe Covid-19 lockdown. The subordinated debt is being arranged by BlackBee Investments, which has already raised €46 million in equity funding for iNua from private investors. Investors were due to redeem their equity in 2023 with a target return of 75% after five years. The deadline is being extended for at least two more years to allow iNua time to recover from the effects of the crisis. The Sunday Times, 5th July
Bride St, Dublin 8 Boutique hotel chain CitizenM is planning to build its first Irish property in central Dublin. A company connected to the Dutch chain has applied for permission to construct a 247-room hotel on Bride Street, Dublin 8, near St Patrick’s Cathedral. The building will measure up to nine storeys in height. Its facilities will include a living room-style foyer with a bar, check-in pods, meeting rooms and a landscaped terrace courtyard. The Sunday Times, 5th July
OTHER
In its annual report, Nama said it has shrunk the size of the €32 billion balance sheet it started off with a decade ago by 96%. It has been left with loans with a carrying value of €1.23 billion (to 198 debtors) as of the end of March 2020, 124 of whom Nama was supporting or offering forbearance to. The remaining 74 were subject of enforcement action, including receivership, repossession or other legal proceedings, to recover owed money. Nama posted €265 million of net income in 2019, its ninth consecutive year of profitability. Total cash generated from 2010 to end-2019 was €45.3 billion, including €39 billion from asset disposals and €6.3 billion from non-disposal income. The Irish Times, 1st July
Irish Commercial Property Market Ireland’s commercial property market has experienced a ‘lost quarter’ as a direct result of Covid-19, with transactional activity in the occupational, development and investment sectors of the market having effectively ground to a halt since campaigns were put on hold in March. CBRE expect to see particularly strong demand for multifamily investment opportunities considering the extent to which this sector has demonstrated its defensive characteristics over recent months. However, it will be later in the year before there is a meaningful rebound in demand in the occupier or development sectors of the market. The outlook for the retail and hospitality sectors is far less promising, however, with both likely to remain “in the eye of the storm” for some time yet. CBRE Bi-Monthly Research Report, July 2020
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