8th March (Issue 36)

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.

 

 

RETAIL

Childers Road Limerick: Joint agents HWBC and DTZ Sherry FitzGerald have set an asking price of €44m for Childers Road Retail Park in Co. Limerick. The 257,000 sq. ft. retail park is fully occupied and generating a rent roll of €3.22m p.a. from 14 tenants, which include Burton/Wallis/Evans/Dorothy Perkins (€400k p.a.), Next (€300k p.a.) and Boots (€200k p.a.). Dunnes Stores anchor the retail park and own their unit on a long leasehold basis. The retail park also has 1,000 free car parking spaces and an average unexpired lease term of c. 7.4 years. The Irish Times, 2nd March

Golden Island: Credit Suisse has completed the purchase of the 20 year old Golden Island shopping centre in Athlone, Co. Westmeath, for €43.5m. The 154,000 sq. ft. shopping centre contains 45 retailers and also has a 1,000 space car park. The current rental income is €3.1m p.a. and the key tenants are Argos (€270k p.a.), Elverys (€210k p.a.) and Boots (€200k p.a.). Tesco, Penneys and Lifestyle Sports are also in situ and own their units. The sale of the Golden Island shopping centre is the second significant retail sale in Athlone in the past year, after the nearby Athlone Town Centre sold for c. €61m. The Irish Times, 2nd March

 

OFFICE

Lynn House: Savills are inviting offers of €2.75m for Lynn House on Lower Rathmines Road, Dublin 6. The 7,864 sq. ft., four story detached office building is being sold by The Medical Council and will be purchased with vacant possession. There are also twelve car parking spaces available with the property. The Irish Times, 2nd March

Marine House: Hibernia REIT has completed the purchase of Marine House in Clanwilliam Place, Dublin 2 for €26.5m. The six storey, 41,000 sq. ft. property is fully let and generating rental income of €1.2m p.a. to tenants including Crowe Horwath, WK Nowlan, LeBruin and Origin Capital. While the sale price reflects an initial yield of 4.3%, there will be opportunities to increase the average rent of c. €23 psf in the short term as leases accounting for 20% of the property are subject to review / expiry over the next 18 months. The Irish Independent, 4th March

1 South Mall: Lisney is guiding €2.75m for 1 South Mall in Cork City. The six storey office block has a net floor area of 17,373 sq. ft. and is currently generating an annual rental income of c. €270k. There is potential to increase this to c. €315k p.a. upon letting of the third floor, which currently lies vacant. PWC are the primary tenant and pay a rent of €176k p.a., while the other tenants include Lisney (€42k) and Royal and Sun Alliance (€40k). The WAULT of the property is c. 4.2 years. The Irish Independent, 3rd March

Development Pipeline: New research from Savills shows that the amount of office space currently under construction in Dublin could facilitate 30,000 workers. In total there are 35 new buildings under development, with the majority of these in Dublin 1, 2 and 4. However given that it typically takes two to three years to complete the development of a new property, Savills expect the current supply shortage to persist and rents should rise to c. €65 psf before the end of the year. Of the office space under construction, c. 33% of it has been pre-committed to a prospective occupier.The Sunday Business Post, 6th March

 

HOTEL

Room Rates: A recent survey from hotels.com revealed that average hotel room rates rose by 15% to €118 per night in 2015, the fifth consecutive year of growth. The Irish hotel market substantially outperformed the global index, where prices rose by just 1%. The Dublin market was the most expensive Irish market with average prices of €129, while Waterford was deemed the most affordable with an average rate of €84. Additional analysis from HVS also shows that RevPar in Dublin grew by 13.4% in 2015, building on the strong growth of 13.2% in 2014. The Irish Times, 2nd March

 

RESIDENTIAL / LAND

Kildare Town: Agents REA Coonan have set a reserve of €3.75m (c. €179k per acre) for a 21 acre site in Kildare town, which is to be sold under auction on April 7th. The site comes with full planning permission for 164 houses, which was granted in April 2013 for 10 years. Given the fact that the site is the only major residential development opportunity in Kildare town and is also within the Dublin commuter belt, REA Coonan is anticipating a competitive bidding process. The Irish Times, 2nd March

Foxrock Site: Sherry Fitzgerald is guiding €4.75m (€2.58m per acre) for a 1.84 acre site in Foxrock in south Co. Dublin. The site includes two adjoining houses; Mandeville, which is a protected structure, and Carrigmore, which is likely to be demolished. According to Sherry Fitzgerald, a number of developers have already stated their interest in the site, with the consensus being that the site could facilitate a small number of detached houses or apartments. There is also another house adjoining Mandeville on a 1.25 acre site which is for sale through Lisney. To maximise the development value of the sites, it is anticipated that both sites will be purchased by the one developer. The Irish Times, 2nd March

Housing Supply: New research from Sherry Fitzgerald has revealed that there are currently just 26,773 properties (1.4%) available for sale in Ireland, which is the lowest number since records began in 2009. The current figure is in stark contrast to January 2010, when there were 54,121 units available for sale. The 1.4% is well below the generally accepted principle that 3.5% or more should be available for sale for a properly functioning market. In the UK, the current level of housing stock on the market is c. 6%. Sherry Fitzgerald also estimate that up to 50% of the Irish properties presently listed are distressed assets, where a bank is either selling them directly or else they are seeking that borrowers dispose of assets. The Irish Independent, 4th March

Property Prices: The CSO residential property prices for January 2016 highlight how the Central Bank’s new mortgage lending restrictions have played a part in creating a two-tiered residential market. Dublin prices fell by 1% for the month, with apartment prices declining by 2%. On the other hand, properties outside the capital rose by 0.1%. The average price of a home nationally is now c. €208k, with the average price of a Dublin home (€273k) approximately €100k above the average price of a provincial home. The national average home price peaked in September 2007 at c. €314k, before falling by 51% to c. €154k in March 2013. NAMA Wine Lake, 6th March

Cabra Development: Crekav Landbank Investments Limited has sought planning permission for 320 apartments and 35,000 sq. ft. of retail / office space in Cabra in north-west Dublin City. The application proposes that the properties are developed across eight 4-storey blocks on Carnlough Road. The application supersedes a previous application from 2015 which sought permission to develop nearly 400 apartments. NAMA Wine Lake, 6th March

Cairn Homes Acquisition: Cairn Homes is understood to be in talks to acquire the development assets of Argentum Property Holding for c. €75m. Argentum’s land assets include sites in Marino and Portmarnock in Dublin and near Ashbourne, Co. Meath. The Marino site is c. 7.4 acres and has planning for 79 houses and 22 two-bed apartments. The Ashbourne site has planning for 366 units, the majority of which are three-bed homes. Argentum is a JV between the investment fund Anchorage and the builder Newlyn. The Sunday Times, 6th March

 

OTHER

Cathal Brugha Street College: Following their decision to relocate six campuses to Grangegorman, DIT has retained WK Nowlan to sell Cathal Brugha Street College in Dublin 1, for between €15m – €20m. The property is a combination of two connected properties (one from the 1940s and one from the 1990s), with a total floor area of 115,716 sq. ft. The 1940s building comprises 76,712 sq. ft. and is for sale with a price range of €10m – €12.5m, while the modern building measures 39,004 sq. ft. and is projected to sell for €5m – €7.5m. As the college adjoins the 323 bed Gresham Hotel which is also for sale at €80m, it may also appeal to potential purchasers of the Gresham, as it could be converted into a hotel with up to 300 beds. The Irish Times, 2nd March

 


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