7th June (Issue 350)
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
Baggot Street, Dublin 4 The owner of AIB’s 52-54 Upper Baggot Street branch has instructed Turley Property Advisors to offer it to the market with full vacant possession for €3.2m. The agent expects to see interest from a range of developers, investors and owner occupiers given the building’s potential to facilitate several uses including a boutique hotel, supermarket or even a pub. The Irish Times, 1st JuneFitzwilliam Street, Dublin 2 Having engaged Cushman & Wakefield to secure an occupier for its Fitzwilliam Street offices on the basis of a lease assignment just four weeks ago, Slack’s new owner, US tech giant Salesforce, is understood to have received an approach from Savills on behalf of SMBC Aviation Capital for the entire building. While the talks are still at an early stage, should a deal be agreed between the parties, the IFSC-based aviation leasing specialist would take on the long-term lease Slack Technologies committed to in early 2020 at a rent of €7.7m pa. Having been acquired subsequently for €27.7bn by Salesforce, the workplace collaboration specialist will now relocate its entire operations to Salesforce’s new European headquarters in the city’s north docklands instead. The Fitzwilliam 28 scheme is owned by Amundi Real Estate, a specialist subsidiary of Europe’s leading asset manager Amundi, a company with c. €1.527tn in AUM. Amundi acquired Fitzwilliam 28 for €180m in November 2020. The Irish Times, 31st May
George’s Quay, Dublin City Centre Professional services consulting firm, Aon Ireland has agreed to pre-let c. 35,000 sq. ft. of office accommodation from Iput at Block B in the George’s Quay complex in Dublin city centre. While the deal will provide the company with sufficient space for over 300 workers, it will likely be a further two years before it occupies its new premises. Iput is set to carry out a full refurbishment of Aon’s new offices in the interim as part of its plans for the redevelopment of the five-storey building. Block B had been occupied in recent years by Ulster Bank as part of its wider headquarter operations at George’s Quay. Iput secured planning permission in November 2020 to add two floors to the property, increasing its overall floor area from 56,188 sq. ft. to 84,464 sq. ft. The approved development also provides for the addition of a new facade to the building along with the development of a café facing on to Georges Quay at ground-floor level. The Irish Times, 31st May
Dawson Street, Dublin 2 American software giant ServiceNow has signed a 12-year lease with private real estate investment management firm, MARK, and BCP Asset Management to let space at 60 Dawson Street, a new 144,990 sq. ft. Grade A office development in Dublin city centre. ServiceNow will take a little over 89,986 sq. ft. across the top four floors and will make its offices at 60 Dawson Street its Irish headquarters. The Business Post, 4th June
MIXED-USE
Rathmines, Dublin 6 A mixed-use investment property in Dublin’s southside suburbs has been brought to the market by Knight Frank at a price of €3.5m. Extending to 6,250 sq. ft., it comprises a ground floor retail unit and nine residential units above. At a guide price of excess €3.5m, its total passing income of c.€286k equates to a gross return of 8.2%. Spar grocery occupies the entire ground floor with storage to the back. Its lease extends to May 2031 with an annual rent roll of €75k. The residential units generate c.€184k per year and these are one-bedroom flats, studios and three-bed duplexes. An advertising sign on the gable wall generates €26k pa. The Irish Independent, 2nd June
For lending terms on this asset please contact rossmetcalfe@origincapital.ie
HOSPITALITY
Cork City The Rendezvous Bar, a long-standing fixture of Cork City’s suburban pub trade, is up for sale for €2m. Occupying 0.4 acres on Model Farm Rd selling agent Casey & Kingston expects “considerable interest”. The two-storey 6,757 sq. ft. over basement premises includes bar/restaurant on the ground floor, with a fully fitted kitchen and toilets overhead and cold rooms and storage in the basement. During the pandemic, the business created more seating outdoors and can now accommodate 200 customers to the front of the building. Inside, the bar area can seat 180. Parking for c. 25 cars is out back. The pub last sold four years ago when Joe O’Sullivan, with experience in the trade, bought it for c. €1.5m. It had gone to market for €1.25m. The Irish Examiner, 2nd June
Hatch Street, Dublin 2 The owner of Ashford Castle has secured planning permission for a boutique five-star 60-bedroom hotel for the capital. An Bord Pleanála granted planning permission to Red Carnation Hotels (UK) Ltd for the conversion and extension of a former Jesuit university students’ residence at Hatch Hall into the hotel. The plan, which includes a new eight-storey extension, was put on hold last year after a resident lodged an appeal against the Dublin City Council decision to give the project the green light. The Irish Times, 3rd June
College Green, Dublin 2 Hawksmoor, the upmarket British steakhouse chain, is adding Dublin to its slate, opening a restaurant in a former Bank of Ireland building on College Green. The chain will be taking over Abercrombie and Fitch’s previous abode. Plans lodged with Dublin City Council last week ask to change its use from a retail space to a licensed restaurant. No. 34 College Green belongs to Clarendon Properties, owned by Paddy McKillen and Tony Leonard. The Sunday Times, 6th June
RETAIL
Harcourt Developments Shopping Centre Portfolio The sale of a €100m+ portfolio of Irish shopping centres is about to get under way. The six regional centres are owned by Harcourt Developments, Donegal developer Pat Doherty’s property company. Harcourt Developments has been trying to refinance debt held against the assets since last year, a process complicated by the impact of the pandemic on retailers. Apollo Global Management bought loans attached to the centres from Nama in 2017. The current process is understood to be a consensual sale by Harcourt Developments and Apollo. The portfolio includes Donaghmede shopping centre in Dublin, the Longwalk centre in Dundalk, Co Louth, and the Letterkenny shopping centre in Donegal. JLL, who is advising on the sale, is understood to be exploring the sale of the six assets as a portfolio and in individual lots. React News, 1st June
INDUSTRIAL / LOGISTICS
Celbridge, Co Kildare A property group owned by Eric Kinsella, is investing €100m in a new logistics park in Co Kildare. Esprit Investments has applied for permission from Kildare County Council to build 11 warehouses and light industrial units on a site off the M4 motorway in the townlands of Mooretown and Crodaun, Celbridge. The industrial estate will total 290,625 sq. ft. The Sunday Times, 6th June
RESIDENTIAL / DEVELOPMENT
Brookfield Road, Dublin 8 A development site on Brookfield Road, which extends to 0.6 acres and has full planning permission for 79 apartments is being offered for sale by Savills at a guide price of €6.75m. The permitted scheme comprises a mix of 14 studios, 48 one-bedroom and 17 two-bedroom apartments. The various unit types extend to an average floor area of 422 sq. ft., 496 sq. ft. and 830 sq. ft. respectively. The approved scheme will benefit from 6,795 sq. ft. of residential amenity space. The planning permission also provides for 18 car parking spaces, two motorcycle spaces and 140 bicycle spaces all at lower ground-floor level, while a further 26 bicycle spaces are to be provided at surface level. The Irish Times, 1st June
Ranelagh Road, Dublin 6 CBRE is inviting offers of c. €5.6m (GIY 6%) for a residential portfolio comprises 16 apartments within a Georgian period property located at 74-75 Ranelagh Road. All units which have been refurbished to what the selling agent describes as an “exceptional standard”. The portfolio – a mix of four studios, 11 one-bedroom apartments and one three-bedroom apartment – is fully income-producing, with one unit retained vacant for show purposes. The projected tabilized gross rental income is c. €337k pa, assuming 100% occupancy. The Irish Times, 1st June
For lending terms on this asset please contact rossmetcalfe@origincapital.ie
Nama Land Sales Nama has sold 13,536 acres of land since 2011 with a potential for 86,145 homes to be developed on it but to date, fewer than 11,000 units have been built, new figures from the Department of Finance show. The bulk of the Nama land and potential residential units were in Dublin, Cork, Kildare, Wicklow, Meath, Galway and Louth. Cork County Council saw the biggest area of land sold through Nama disposals (3,138 acres) with a potential for 11,669 residential units. 780 acres with a potential for 11,792 units were sold in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown while Dublin City Council accounted for 415 acres of Nama land sales with a potential for 11,240 units. Fingal County Council accounted for 1,300 acres with a potential for 9,890 residential units while Meath County Council accounted for 1,403 acres with a potential for 8,679 units. The estimate of potential units was based on planning permission where a suitable permission was granted or estimates from planning consultants until the time Nama’s security over the property was sold. The Irish Times, 6th June
Brennanstown Road, Dublin 18 The Glendruid Dolmen Public Group (GDPG) has hit out at plans to construct 534 BTR apartments close to a site containing the Glendruid portal tomb in south Dublin. The scheme by Cairn Homes Properties Ltd is across eight blocks with one block up to 10 storeys in height on a site at Winterbrook and Barrington Tower, Brennanstown Road, Dublin 18. The scheme comprises 30 studios, 135 one-bed units, 318 two-bed units and 51 three-bed units. Planning documents lodged with the Strategic Housing Development (SHD) state that the scheme is “of a very high-quality design and with ready access to amenities such as resident lounges, entertainment space, gyms and cinema rooms, while also being located close to good quality public transport”. More than 20 objections have been lodged against the proposal. A decision is due on the scheme in August. The Irish Times, 1st June
East Road, Dublin 1 Investment management firm Harrison Street and pan-European real estate investment manager Eagle Street have formed a joint venture to develop a BTR scheme with 554 residential units at East Road in Dublin’s north docklands. Eagle Street, founded by Justin Bickle and Shane Scully, will serve as developer of the project through its operating platform, Resident Space, the two companies said. The lands at 1-4 East Road came with full planning permission for the 554 apartments, which will be distributed across nine buildings ranging in height from three to 15 storeys. The development will also include 43,162 sq. ft. of commercial space comprising offices, a cafe, a daycare facility and retail units. The Irish Times, 1st June
Ballincollig, Cork Plans for 123 apartments at a site in Ballincollig have been unveiled. O’Flynn Construction Co Unlimited Company has applied for permission for a SHD scheme at Old Fort Road, Ballincollig. The 3-acre site is located north of the Main St in Ballincollig. The development includes proposals for 123 apartments in three blocks, ranging in height from three to six storeys. They will all be one and two-bed apartments. The new application includes, a creche/childcare facility, internal residential amenity space and multi-purpose amenity room are proposed, while the developers also propose set-down areas, footpaths, a cycle lane, and table-top junction arrangement, and associated amenities for pedestrian/cyclist facilities. The Irish Examiner, 1st June
OTHER
New Tax Breaks, Ireland Small landlords would be incentivised to charge cheaper rents in return for being taxed less, under proposals set to be considered by the government. Officials at the Department of Finance are conducting a review of the tax treatment of landlords and are due to deliver a report in the coming months. Their findings will then feed into the tax strategy papers for the upcoming budget. It is understood a tax incentive for so-called “mom and pop” or small landlords is one of the key measures under consideration and, if implemented, would require the property owner to charge rents a certain percentage below the relevant market rate to qualify for the scheme. There is a growing appetite in government to address the tax treatment of small landlords, who currently pay up to 52% in tax on rental earnings. The latest Daft rental report showed that average rents had risen by 12% in the first quarter of this year to close to €1,570 per month. The Business Post, 5th June
BlackBee Investments, a prominent seller of property investment to retail clients, is winding down operations by restructuring its extensive property assets and disposing of its European licence to offer investments to the public. It follows the settlement of a dispute with management at its Aperee nursing homes business that had obstructed the sale of most of Aperee’s properties to a large European real estate fund. The decision by one of the country’s largest alternative investment managers to exit the business was influenced by rising interest rates, according to sources. Agreement is believed to be imminent on the sale of its regulated business to a British investment firm that plans to use the Central Bank licence to establish a presence in Ireland and to passport investment services from Ireland into other EU markets. BlackBee is also reassessing its property portfolio, assembled over the past seven years, with a view to “disposing or restructuring” some of the assets, which include residential and commercial real estate as well as nursing homes, according to sources. Its most valuable assets include offices at the Parkgate business park in Dublin and iNua Hospitality, a chain of hotels in regional centres including Radisson Blu hotels in Cork, Limerick, Athlone and Sligo. BlackBee’s residential property interests include plans for a BTR apartment scheme on the site of the former Quinn’s pub in Drumcondra in Dublin. The Sunday Times, 5th June
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