9th April (Issue 442)
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.
HOSPITALITY
Booterstown, Co Dublin The Scally family, the owners of the Hayfield Manor collection of hotels in Munster, are believed to be frontrunners to buy the Radisson Blu St Helen’s hotel. The hotel was put on the market earlier this year and it could sell for up to €45m. Located on four acres of gardens, the 151-bedroom luxury hotel is not too dissimilar to the Scallys’ previous investments. It underwent a €6m renovation in 2017. The Sunday Times, 7th April
Profits at the Lucan Spa Hotel fell by 40% in 2023, despite an increase of approx. a third in annual turnover. The west Dublin hotel, opened as a health resort in 1758, reported a turnover of €6.35m for the financial year to June 2023, up from €4.81m the year previously – an increase of 32%. However, after-tax profits at the hotel for the same period fell from €1.58m to €934.4k. Pre-tax profits for 2023 were €1.09m, down from €1.82m the year previously. The Business Post, 8th April
Rathmore, West Cork Knockfargal Ltd has lodged an application with Cork County Council, seeking permission for an expansion of the Kinsale Hotel and Spa, located at Rathmore, near Kinsale. The proposed changes include the construction of 17 new self-contained holiday homes, as well as the development of a new four-storey extension to provide an additional 35 bedrooms. The application seeks permission to revamp its existing reception area and construct a new restaurant terrace on the ground floor. The hotel currently has 71 bedrooms. The Irish Examiner, 2nd April
Crowe Hotel Update YTD February 2024 saw a moderate slowdown in RevPAR performance in Dublin and Galway decreasing 11% and 13% respectively to €89.6 in Dublin and €61.6 in Galway. Cork RevPAR is up 1% YoY at €84.4. Limerick has shown the greatest growth in RevPAR, an increase of 9% to €85.3. In the same period, occupancy rates were 66.9% in Dublin, 63.2% in Cork, 51% in Galway and 71. 8% in Limerick. ADR in Dublin was €133.9, €133 in Cork, €120.4 in Galway and €118.7 in Limerick. There have been approx. 4,500 bedrooms added in the Dublin market since the beginning of 2019. Crowe estimates that further 1,400 rooms are due to open by the end of 2024 with another 1,000 on-site. Crowe, 9th April
OFFICE
Navan, Co Meath A private Irish investor has acquired Athlumney House in Navan for €4.4m (9.09% return), a discount of 23% on the €5.7m guide price. Athlumney House is better known as the headquarter offices of the Garda Human Resources Directorate. The property is fully let to the OPW under a single, FRI 20-year lease from 2008. Athlumney House extends to GIA of 29,500 sq. ft and comprises an original two-storey over-basement period property that interlinks with a modern office extension extending to 20,506 sq. ft over ground and first floor. The Irish Times, 3rd April
Dawson Street, Dublin 2 Global private equity firm Mark and Irish investment group BCP Asset Management have leased the final tranche of office space at their prime development on Dawson Street. Renaissance RE, the global re-insurance group, has committed to leasing approx. 28,000 sq. ft at 60 Dawson Street. The deal means Mark and BCP have now leased the entire office element of the 190,000 sq. ft development. React News, 9th April
JLL Report Office leasing in Dublin has plunged to its lowest levels in more than a decade, excluding the years affected by Covid-19, a report from JLL Ireland has found. There have been low levels of leasing activity listed in the first quarter of 2024, equating to 196,000 sq. ft across 31 deals. The volume of space was down 44% on the previous quarter and 63% below the five-year quarterly average. Meanwhile, the vacancy rate space in the market has reached 15.4%, up from 14.9% the previous quarter. Grey space was identified as a big factor in Dublin’s vacancy levels. Grey space has reached a record high after increasing 18% YoY. React News, 5th April
INDUSTRIAL / LOGISTICS
Ballycoolin, Dublin 15 Park Developments has secured PCI Pharma as tenant for Unit 736 at Northwest Logistics Park in Dublin. The tenant has agreed to occupy the facility on a 15-year lease term. The rent is approx. €13 per sq. ft. Unit 736 extends to 68,978 sq. ft. Park Developments is now seeking an occupier for Unit 735 at Northwest Logistics Park. Upon completion, the facility will extend to 55,240 sq. ft. Unit 735 will be ready for occupation in the first quarter of 2025. The Irish Times, 3rd April
RESIDENTIAL / DEVELOPMENT
Royal Liver Retail Park, Southwest Dublin The LDA is in talks to buy the Royal Liver retail park on Naas Road in southwest Dublin. The 9.39-acre site has planning permission for the construction of more than 1,100 homes, made up of 992 build-to-rent apartments and 110 units which would be sold, and an additional 203 shared accommodation units. Negotiations are still at an early stage with the owner, Shorevale Investments, which is part of Allied Real Estate Group. The Sunday Times, 7th April
Social Housing Investments Five social housing investments in Dublin, Cork and Limerick will be auctioned by BidX1 on April 18 offering yields of approx. 7% each. They are all let to local authorities on 25-year leases. The two Dublin units include a ground floor two-bedroom apartment at 17 Woodbrook Crescent, Castleknock, which has a €235k guide price (rent €17.34k pa). The second Dublin property is located at 21 Latchford Park, Castaheany with a €235k guide price (rent €16.32k pa). In Limerick, a duplex three-bedroom apartment at 203 Bru Na Gruadan is guided at €205k (rent €14.79k pa). In Cork, a mid-terrace two-bedroom house at 16 Bramble Cottages, Old Spangle Hill is guiding €190k and 8 Na Fuinseoga, Spring Lane is guiding €185k (rents €13.44k pa each). The Irish Independent, 4th April
Credit Union Approved Housing Body Fund Irish credit unions have the capacity to invest up to €1bn in social housing initiatives, a director at the country’s first credit union-backed fund has said. The Credit Union Approved Housing Body fund, which is regulated by the Central Bank, allows credit unions, as investors, to provide loans to Tier 3 approved housing bodies. It is a sub-fund of Multaque Funds ICAV, an Irish Collective Asset Vehicle. 23 out of the approx. 200 credit unions around Ireland are currently involved in the fund – which now has €35m to invest in social housing schemes throughout the country. The Business Post, 7th April
Harold’s Cross, Dublin 6 A developer is contesting Dublin City Council’s refusal to grant planning for 181 apartments dubbed a Dublin Port ‘Silicon Docks’ style scheme for Harold’s Cross. Adroit Company Ltd lodged a first party appeal against the council’s refusal with An Bord Pleanála. The council last month refused planning permission to the LRD scheme that consists of four apartment blocks rising between four and seven storeys at Harold’s Cross Road after the scheme encountered strong local opposition. The Irish Times, 5th April
Monkstown, South Co Dublin Plans to build approx. 390 apartments in Monkstown have been stalled by a High Court challenge to permission that had been granted by An Bord Pleanála. The action has been brought by the Monkstown Road Residents Association and Richard Tempany, who lives near the proposed development. Permission to build 387 mainly build-to-let apartments and ancillary development was granted in February by the planning appeals board to GEDV Monkstown Owner Limited. The Irish Times, 5th April
Chapelizod, Dublin 20 Savills Ireland are guiding €2.75m for the 5.3 acres Willow Vale site located adjacent to Chapelizod village. The site offers potential for the development of 29 apartments on the 0.52 acres of residential-zoned land. The remaining 4.8 acres is currently zoned for open space. In addition, the sale includes a four-bedroom detached property within the site as well as a three-bedroom semidetached property at 5 Hibernian Terrace on Chapelizod Road. The Irish Times, 3rd April
House Price Inflation Housing stock levels nationwide reached a “record low”, new figures have shown, amid concerns that residential property price inflation is heating up. 10,935 homes were listed for sale in the first quarter of the year, according to MyHome.ie. This is 19.5% lower than a year earlier and comes as house prices have risen by 6.5% nationally in the same time period. Dublin, after a sluggish period of growth, is back ahead of national growth figures, rising 7.2%, compared with 5.5% for the rest of the country. The Business Post, 8th April
OTHER
Arklow, Co Wicklow A Middle Eastern investment consortium is advancing plans to build a multi-billion euro international airport in the vicinity of Arklow, after provisional deals with local farmers and families to buy more than 600 acres of land. Consultants in Ireland managing the East Leinster International Airport Project for the international consortium, which includes Middle Eastern investors, have held preliminary talks with the Irish Aviation Authority and Wicklow County Council ahead of lodging applications. The project is being planned for an area of Wicklow currently designated Class G airspace, which is outside the operating airspace around Dublin airport. The Business Post, 7th April
CRE Investment Spend The total volume of investment spend in Ireland’s commercial property market has fallen to its lowest level since the tail end of the global financial crisis. The latest statistics from BNP Paribas Real Estate show that just €161.7m was spent across the various sectors of the market in the first quarter of this year. The amount spent by investors in the latest three-month period represents 15% of the 10-year average of €1.067bn while just 20 deals of note took place in the latest quarter compared to the average of 55 recorded in the equivalent period during the last decade. The average deal size also fell from a 10-year average of €20.4m to €8.1m. The Irish Times, 3rd April
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