9th February (Issue 32)
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.
LOAN / PORTFOLIO SALES
The Glas Collection: After recently acquiring full control of Central Park for €310m, Green REIT has announced their intention to dispose of six properties which have a combined guide price of €168.7m. The Glas Collection is being sold through JLL and features four Dublin properties; the Arena Centre (€65m+), Classon House (€22m), the Ormond Building (€17m) and Parnell Car Park (€11.2m). The properties outside of Dublin are the Globe Retail Park in Kildare (€26m) and the Parkway (€27.5m) in Limerick. In total, The Glas Collection has a rent roll of c. €11.5m p.a. and a weighted average unexpired lease term of c. 9 years. The Irish Times, 3rd February
OFFICE
Sandyford Site: NAMA has retained Knight Frank to sell a 4.265 acre site in Sandyford, south Dublin for €9m. The site represents the majority of a five acre site purchased by Lalco in 2006 for €110m, which was at a time when sites in Sandyford were being sold for c. €20m an acre. James Meagher of Knight Frank believes that the site could facilitate up to 350,000 sq. ft. of office space. Among the expected bidders for the site is Green REIT, which owns the nearby Central Park development. The Irish Times, 3rd February
Belfast Telegraph Building: The former NAMA Borrower McAleer and Rushe has agreed to purchase the Belfast Telegraph building in Belfast, Northern Ireland, from Independent News and Media for c. €8m. Initial reports suggest that the new owner intends to convert the listed building into a 200-bed Jury’s Inn hotel. Independent News and Media are selling the building after making the decision to move all of their printing operations to their Newry offices. NAMA Wine Lake, 7th February
RETAIL
Liffey Valley: Hines Ireland has sought planning permission for an extension of Liffey Valley shopping centre in west Dublin, which proposes the development of c. 237,000 sq. ft. of additional retail space and an Olympic sized ice skating arena. Hines are already working on a c. €28m extension of the shopping centre which is expected to be completed later this year, and their latest extension is believed to have a project cost in excess of this amount. The retail space would allow for up to 60 new shops while the ice skating arena would also be able to host ice-hockey matches and live entertainment. The Irish Times, 5th February
HOTEL
Tulfarris Hotel: DTZ Sherry Fitzgerald has been chosen by the receiver Grant Thornton to handle the sale of Tulfarris Hotel in Co. Wicklow, which has a guide price of €5m. The four star, 67 bed hotel was purchased in 2003 by Paddy Kelly for €17.5m, with a further €60m invested renovating the hotel. The 220 acre asset also includes an 18-hole championship golf course and a manor house which has eight bedrooms. The asset was placed in receivership in 2009 by the former Anglo Irish Bank, when Paddy Kelly had loans of c. €25m outstanding. The Irish Times, 8th February
Cahernane House Hotel: Joint agents CBRE and Tom Spillane & Co are inviting offers in excess of €3m for Cahernane House Hotel in Killarney, Co. Kerry. The four star, 38 bed hotel is located on a 6.5 acre site and is owned by the Browne family. The boutique hotel is of a Victorian design and was built in the 1870s by the Herbert family. The hotel was previously placed on the market in 2000 with a guide price of IR£3.2m, however no sale was agreed. The Irish Examiner, 4th February
RESIDENTIAL
City Square: The listed property fund IRES REIT has agreed to purchase the City Square development in Dublin 2 for €5.9m. City Square is located on Gloucester Street and consists of 23 apartments (15 one-bed, 8 two-bed) and an office unit (613 sq. ft.). The development was completed in 2008 and the total rent roll is €500k p.a. The Irish Times, 5th February
Westport House: Ganly Walters is guiding €10m for one of Ireland’s leading tourist destinations, Westport House in Mayo. The house, which is part of a 455 acre site, has been home to the Browne family since the 1700s and open to the public since the 1960s. In 2006 a loan of €6.5m was obtained by Lord Altamont, for which c. 380 acres of the grounds were provided as collateral. The loan was later acquired by NAMA and the current balance is c. €9m after including outstanding interest. Over 162,000 people visited Westport House in 2014, generating a total of €1.7m for the local economy and state revenue. The Irish Times, 6th February
Abberley Square: Knight Frank has set an asking price of €6m for 50 apartments which form part of a mixed-use development in Tallaght, Dublin 24. The six storey development comprises retail units (Tallaght Retail Centre) on the ground floor and 107 apartments (Abberley Square) overhead. The apartments for sale have a very high occupancy rate and consist of 15 one-beds, 30 two-beds and 5 three-beds. There is potential to increase the current rent roll of €660k p.a. to €720k p.a. through active management. The apartments are being sold under the instruction of the receiver, Tom Kavanagh of Deloitte. The Irish Times, 3rd February
Mortgage Drawdowns: There has been a decline in the number of first-time buyers drawing down a mortgage in Q4 2015, believed to be as a result of the recently introduced Central Bank regulations. New figures show 3,813 new buyers took out a mortgage in this period, a decline of 220 on Q4 2014. Overall, 8,103 mortgages were drawn down in Q4 2015, an increase of 6.9% on Q4 2014. Cash buyers are continuing to represent a significant share of the market, as the latest figures from the Property Price Register reveal that 47,500 transactions were completed in 2015, with 24,134 mortgages issued. The Irish Independent, 5th February
Rental Figures: A recent report based on statistics from the Irish Private Residential Tenancies Board reveals that rents across the country rose by an average of 4.9% in Q3 2015. Average monthly rents in Dublin are now €1,221, with Dublin 4 the most expensive area. Apartment rental values rose by an average of 11.34% in county Dublin, which was significantly above the national average increase of 6.14%. Counties surrounding the capital, such as Meath (9.36%) and Kildare (7.79%) also showed strong increases. On a national level, rents are still 18% below the peak level reached in Q4 2007. The Irish Times, 4th February
OTHER
Mercantile Group: The Mercantile Group and the Capital Bars Group, two of Dublin’s leading entertainment groups, have announced their intention to merge. Frank Gleeson, the key individual behind the Mercantile Group, is to be the chief executive of the new entity. Once the merger is complete, the entity will have a turnover of c. €40m p.a. and c. 600 employees. The Mercantile and Capital Bars entities own 12 venues in Dublin, including Whelan’s, Opium and The Mercantile Hotel. The Irish Independent, 4th February
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