8th May (Issue 145)
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
No. 55 Grafton Street: Agent Lisney has brought the ground floor and basement of No. 55 Grafton Street to the market guiding €4.25m (€6,200 psf). The ground floor is rented by the Swatch Group UK producing €180k p.a. (€431 psf) on a lease due to run out in December 2020, at which point rent is expected to rise to c. €200k, reflecting a yield of c. 4.3%. The basement is used for storage while the floor above the shop is separately owned and occupied by a hairdressing business with access in an adjoining building. The Irish Times, 2nd May.
Jervis Shopping Centre: UK sports retailer JD Sports is preparing to relocate to a flagship store at the Jervis Shopping Centre in Henry Street, Dublin 1. The company will take over the 35,000 sq. ft. unit previously occupied by US retailer Forever 21 at an annual rent of €2.15m (€61 psf). JD will also take over the unit currently occupied by Next, who plan to relocate to a part of the former Arnotts store at 7-9 Henry Street this summer. The Irish Times, 2nd May
Mill Retail Park, Gorey, Co. Wexford: A recently renovated retail park on the edge of Gorey town centre in Co. Wexford is being brought to the market by CBRE for c. €4.3m (€98 psf). The development which has Iceland as the anchor tenant, also has tenants such as Maxi Zoo, Choice Homestore and Costa Coffee, producing a total rental income of €357k p.a., equating to a yield of c. 7.6% with potential to increase to c. 9% once the remaining 3,500 sq. ft. vacant unit is let. The park has a weighted average unexpired lease period of 10.2 years. The Irish Times, 2nd May
Ikea Store, south Dublin: Swedish furniture giant Ikea are in talks to purchase a site for a full-size store in Carrickmines, south Dublin where they currently operate a click and collect store. Ikea has been hunting for a suitable site on the Southside to add to its existing outlet in Ballymun, and discussions are ongoing to buy part of the Jackson Way site in Carrickmines, Dublin, where land is currently worth close to €1.4m per acre. The talks are said to be focused on the final size of the site required, along with issues such as whether the group should make its purchase subject to the site getting planning permission. The furniture merchant met with Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council last year to discuss potential sites. The Irish Times, 5th May
RESIDENTIAL / LAND
183 Acre Lucan Road Sites: Coonan Property Agents are seeking €7m – €9m (€38k – €49k per acre) for a land bank extending to 183 acres on the Lucan Road, near Ongar, Co. Dublin. The land is divided into four different lots ranging from 13 acres to 97 acres and are located along the Lucan/Clonee Road. The land is currently zoned for agriculture or equestrian use with the potential for residential use in the future. The Irish Independent, 3rd May
Student Accommodation, Drumcondra: Agent Finnegan Menton has brought five student apartments and an adjoining townhouse accommodating 28 beds at Botanic Avenue in Drumcondra to the market guiding €1.95m (€70k per bed). The student accommodation had a rental income of €164k in 2017 and a rise to €178k is expected this year, showing a gross yield of 8.4% in 2017 and 9.1% in 2018. All units are let to DCU students and the portfolio is also fully booked for short-term summer lettings to overseas students. The Irish Times, 2nd May
4 Acre Mullingar Site: A 4.23 acre prime site in Mullingar, with mixed-use zoning but no planning permission in place, has been brought to the market by Savills, guiding €1.8m (€425k per acre). The site previously had planning permission for a 366k sq. ft. town centre development and is expected to generate strong interest due to its close proximity to the town centre and train station. The Irish Times, 2nd May
Irish build-to-rent market: Quintain, the UK property development arm of Lone Star, is planning to enter the Irish BTR market and boost the supply of residential rental accommodation. Quintain recently announced that it will also work with Lone Star to advise on the design, planning and development of the new €200m Adamstown district centre in West Dublin. It has also looked at other possible build-to rent development opportunities in Dublin and hopes to engage with NAMA on potential sites. While its current focus is on Dublin, Quintain will also consider other Irish cities including Belfast, Cork, Limerick and Galway at a future stage. The Irish Independent, 8th May
Ballyogan Site, South Dublin: Development Company Viscount Securities has submitted a new planning application for the construction of 900 new homes at Ballyogan, south Dublin. An Bord Pleanala rejected Viscount’s original application over concerns at its plans for dealing with possible flooding. Viscount have addressed the flooding issues in their new application and plan to build 355 houses and 572 apartments on land that is largely zoned for residential use. The Irish Times, 4th May
OFFICE
Park Place, Dublin 2: The Clancourt Group plans to expand its Park Place office complex in Dublin 2, following successful lettings at its latest phase, Three Park Place. The developer has lodged plans with Dublin City Council to build Four Park Place, a top-of-the-range office building that will replace a former telephone exchange building on Adelaide Road. In 2015, Eircom sold the existing 1970s industrial building to Clancourt for c. €10m, with the telecoms company remaining in situ as tenants until 2019. The developer has now revealed its ambitions to erect a nine-storey office building in its place with a total gross floor area of c. 237k sq. ft., including a single-storey basement. The Irish Times, 1st May
CBRE Office Market Update: The latest bi-monthly report from CBRE has reported that the largest transactions in the Dublin office market continue to come from expansions of existing occupiers as opposed to new entrants. The sector produced a very strong first quarter in which c. 900k sq. ft. of take-up was recorded. There are currently 37 office schemes at various stages of construction in Dublin city centre, with more than half of the accommodation with a 2018 delivery date already pre-committed. The Irish Independent, 3rd May
HOTELS
Killeen Castle, Co. Meath: Plans for a major hotel development at Killeen Castle have been lodged with Meath County Council. Developer Joe O’ Reilly, through a company called Sasula has sought planning permission for a 177-bedroom hotel at the Jack Nicklaus designed golf course. Planning permission was previously granted in 2002 for a 202-bedroom 5-star hotel and championship golf course. The economic crash put paid to the development of the hotel however the 18-hole championship golf course and clubhouse went ahead and opened in 2009. The Meath Chronicle, 4th May
OTHERS
37 Dame Street, Dublin 2: Developer Gerry Conlon has been refused permission to turn a five-storey office block opposite the former Central Bank in Dublin into a pub after the council deemed that the change of use would lead to an over-concentration of entertainment uses in the area. Mr Conlon also owns the nearby Central Hotel, where he is planning a multimillion euro redevelopment, while he also intends to build a new boutique hotel on Dame Street. The Irish Independent, 3rd May
Elsewhere, the Sunday Business Post reports that Conlon has completed the acquisition of the Trinity Street car park off Dame Street for just under €24m. CBRE had offered the building for c. €18m and the €24m figure is believed to include the buildings freehold and leasehold interests. Conlon holds a number of commercial properties in the area and is expected to be a front runner for a site owned by Eir which is expected to be brought to the market shortly. This site is located between the Trinity car park and the Central Hotel. The Sunday Business Post, 6th May
DIT Building Sales: Three of DIT’s best located colleges are going to be sold this year to help pay for the development of the new campus in Grangegorman. DIT buildings on Cathal Brugha Street, Kevin Street and Rathmines will be placed on the market in the coming months and funds received will be used towards the next phase of developments at Grangegorman, which will eventually accommodate up to 20,000 students. The Sunday Business Post, 6th May
Yew Grove REIT: A British firm that spent millions assembling an Irish commercial property portfolio over the last four years is closing in on a €100m public floatation. Yew Tree, a company linked to Bristol based Peak Capital Advisors, assembled a €10m Irish commercial property fund in recent years to target deals of between €1m and €5m. The company is understood to have spent a multiple of that amount which includes industrial portfolios in Sandyford and Santry. The Sunday Business Post, 6th May
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