9th November (Issue 322)

Dublin 1 and Dublin 2 Knight Frank is bringing a collection of six mixed-use assets in Dublin 1 and 2 to the market. The assets will be brought to market individually. In total, the entire collection is valued at c. €11.35m. The first mixed used lot is at 38-39 Abbey Street Upper and 20 Liffey Street Lower, in Dublin 1. It comprises two restaurants, a retail/café unit and six residential units extending to a total of 11,351 sq. ft. (GIA) with an auction guide price in excess of €2.5m.

The second lot, at 72 Middle Abbey Street in Dublin 1, is guiding in excess of €750k. It’s a terraced, three-bay, five-storey commercial building over basement close to O’Connell Street. It currently stands as a partly stripped-out unit, with the roof, floors and external envelope retained. The property has an active planning permission for a 17-bedroom hotel with a penthouse suite granted. The development opportunity would also suit a variety of alternative uses, subject to planning permission.

Further along the same street, the third lot on offer is at No. 58-59, a four-storey over basement, mid-terraced building comprising two ground floor commercial units – a restaurant and hookah lounge, and seven apartments extending to a total area of just under 8,700 sq. ft. (GIA). The agent is guiding in excess of €2.5m.

119-120 Capel Street in Dublin 1 is a pair of four-storey over basement buildings with a ground floor and basement Korean restaurant, and overhead offices let to the Simon Community. Let off low base rents, and with the ability to let a further three vacant office suites, it presents as a highly reversionary prospect. This has a €1m auction guide.

The final Dublin 1 lot comprises the Clifton Court Hotel at 10-11 Eden Quay and 12 Harbour Court, a hotel and bar investment. The entire lot extends to 19,252 sq. ft. and has an advised minimum value in excess of €3m.

On the south side of the river Liffey, 10 Harcourt Street and 10-11 Montague Lane in Dublin 2 are guiding in excess of €2.6m. No. 10 Harcourt Street comprises a four storey over basement, mid terraced, mixed use, Georgian building. No. 10-11 Montague Lane consists of a vacant three-storey warehouse with planning permission for a full demolition and the construction of a three-storey over basement office scheme of c. 10,225 sq. ft. The Business Post, 7^th November

For lending terms on these assets please contact rossmetcalfe@origincapital.ie

OFFICE

Newtownpark Avenue, Dublin 3 The Courtyard Business Centre has been brought to the market by Savills with a guide price in excess of €2.75m. Located just off Newtownpark Avenue, the property measures c. 12,550 sq. ft., on a site of c. 0.5 acres. The business centre comprises seven separate business units all spread over two stories across three blocks. There is currently one unit occupied on a 10-year lease from 2019, while the rest of the units are vacant. Floor plans of the units vary from c. 915 sq. ft. to c. 2,056 sq. ft. The site is zoned objective A – to protect and/or improve residential amenity within the current Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown Development Plan, while the draft county development plan 2022-2028 retains the same objective. According to Savills, this provides an investor with a redevelopment opportunity. A feasibility study has been carried out by Plus Architecture, which illustrates the potential to convert the office space into a residential development. The Irish Times, 2^nd November

For lending terms on this asset please contact rossmetcalfe@origincapital.ie

Blackrock, South Dublin Commercial agent HWBC has brought to market the Frascati Buildings on Blackrock’s Frascati Road with full vacant possession, having previously been occupied by Zurich. HWBC is guiding a price in excess of €11m for the building, which comes complete with planning permission for a significant extension and refurbishment. That includes creating a new landmark office HQ comprising 48,760 sq. ft. of net internal area over six levels with dedicated tenant amenity and 18 parking spaces at lower ground level. In addition to enlarging existing floor plates and increasing tenant amenity space, the new building footprint includes a new penthouse floor on the fifth storey. This adds 5,005 sq. ft. to the net area, providing generous outdoor terraces and impressive views over Dublin Bay. The Frascati Buildings enjoy an unrivalled profile fronting onto the Frascati Road, and are less than five minutes’ walk from Blackrock’s Dart station. Both the Frascati Shopping Centre and Blackrock Shopping Centre recently underwent multimillion-euro refurbishments while significant investment in public cycling and walking infrastructure leaves Blackrock as an attractive HQ option for indigenous and multinational companies alike. The Business Post, 7^th November

HEALTHCARE /NURSING HOME

Foxrock, South Dublin The Four Ferns Nursing Home, part of the Virtue Group, is looking to expand its existing facility on the outskirts of Foxrock village in south Dublin. The nursing home, located on the upmarket Brighton Road, was one of Ireland’s most expensive when constructed at a cost of c. €28m. Now the operators are seeking to extend the 144-bed nursing home, by adding an additional 33 bedrooms and associated resident amenities. FWNH Limited, a company of which Cillian and Ronan Willis, founders of the Virtue Group, are directors, has applied for planning permission to demolish the adjacent house, known as Tall Trees. In its place, it is looking to construct one three-storey extension to the east and west wings of the nursing home to accommodate the additional rooms. It is also seeking to supply six further car parking spaces. The Irish Times, 3^rd November

Nursing Home Sector, Munster Cork investment firm BlackBee is preparing to exit the nursing home sector and has appointed the adviser PwC to devise a sales strategy for its portfolio of 12 care home properties, all of which are based in Munster. It comes just over two years since the firm launched a €250 million fund that it said would build 1,000 state-of-the-art single en suite beds and fund the acquisition of 750 existing beds operating under a new brand, Aperee. BlackBee raised tens of millions of euros from investors, mostly retail clients, to fund the purchase of nursing homes, first under the Ditchley Group and then under the Aperee franchise, which is headed by Paul Kingston. Last year Aperee took over the operation of the Ditchley homes. In total, BlackBee investors control about 700 beds. Ditchley operates seven nursing homes in Munster. Aperee homes include Padre Pio nursing home in Churchtown, Co Cork. The Sunday Times, 7^th November

RESIDENTIAL / DEVELOPMENT

Ballsbridge, Dublin 4 An Post’s post office on Shelbourne Road is being brought to the market as a development opportunity, with a guide price in excess of €1.5m. The landmark property measures c. 5,419 sq. ft. on a site of c. 0.12 acres with profile to the river Dodder and offers a wide range of potential options including office, food and beverage and medical uses. The property comprises a retail unit to the front of the building at ground and first floor measuring c. 1,186 sq. ft. It is occupied by An Post on a four-year, nine-month licence agreement. The property also has separate office accommodation to the rear at ground and first floor, which is vacant, and measures c. 4,441 sq. ft., as well as several vacant outbuildings. The site is zoned Z4 – District Centre and will provide an investor with a prime redevelopment opportunity, ideal for office, food and beverage or medical uses subject to planning permission. The Irish Times, 3^rd November

Merrion Road, Dublin 4 Dublin City Council has agreed a €2m social housing deal with hotel operator Dalata for its Tara Towers development on the Merrion Road. In order to fulfil Part V social-housing obligations for the development, which will be home to a four-star Maldron hotel as well as 69 apartments owned by Ires Reit, Dublin City Council has acquired seven apartments at the nearby Elm Park development in Dublin 4. This means that there will be no requirement for social-housing units at the upmarket apartment development, which will be run by Ires Reit. The hotel is expected to open in 2022, with the residential element of the redevelopment – 12 one-bed, 43 two-bed and 14 three-bed apartments – also expected to be handed over next year, after Covid-related delays. The Irish Times, 5^th November

Dundrum Shopping Centre, South Dublin Proposals for the redevelopment of the old Dundrum Shopping Centre in south Dublin have been published by a local group – while the landowner is in discussions with An Bord Pleanála for a fast-track planning application to develop 889 apartments on the centre and on other properties in the village. Councillor Anne Colgan, spokesperson for the ‘Imagine Dundrum’ (ID) group, is concerned that the landowner, Dundrum Retail GP DAC (DRGP), might seek permission for tall towers, similar to the 14-storey tower which the government’s Land Development Agency sought for the nearby Dundrum Mental Hospital site. Instead, ID wishes to restrict the height of development on Dundrum’s Main Street to three storeys, in order to retain the character of the village. DRGP, a joint venture between Hammerson and Allianz, is currently in discussion with An Bord Pleanála about a Strategic Housing Development (SHD) fast-track planning application. A spokesperson said it remains in the Stage 2 SHD “pre-application process for a residential-led scheme on the land adjacent to Dundrum Town Centre.” If it gets approval from ABP, it will have until next February to make a formal application with full details of its plans, as after that date SHDs are expected to end. The Irish Independent, 4^th November

OTHER

Commercial Property Market, Ireland Investment market analysis by BNP Paribas found that German investors accounted for €700m of the €3.5bn in sales, or c. 20%, transacted in the first nine months of the year in the Irish market. Overall, research from the real estate group found that the third quarter of 2021 was the busiest in the commercial property market in six years, with turnover up 12% on the five-year average. Investment doubled from €1.8bn in the first nine months of 2020 to €3.5bn in the same period in 2021, while there were 140 investment deals in the first nine months of 2021, outstripping the full-year figure for 2020 (138). The private rented sector accounted for more than half, at 52%, of all sales in the third quarter, and 54% of activity in the first nine months of the year, with €415m worth of residential assets purchased. The office sector experienced a lull, however, in the third quarter, with just €128m worth of offices trading, the lowest quarterly total in five years. The Irish Times, 2^nd November

Commercial Property Demand, Galway Galway property agent O’Donnellan & Joyce’s commercial department has reported a strong rise in demand across the entire sector this year, specifically for retail, office and development land across Galway city and beyond despite the Covid-19 pandemic. Since the second quarter of the year, the agent has experienced a surge in demand for such commercial properties and enquiries are up an estimated 15% year-on-year. The division recently achieved two successful commercial sales in Galway city. These include No. 5 Lombard Street, a high-profile commercial/residential investment unit located in the heart of the city. Boasting prime retail frontage, it comprised a self-contained three-storey building extending to c. 3,900 sq. ft. Above the commercial unit, the property had two self-contained two-bedroom apartments positioned on the second and third floor. These extended to c. 667 sq. ft. and were presented in turnkey condition. This property sold in excess of the guide price of €1.2m. A second strong result was the sale of No. 24 William Street, on a busy retail thoroughfare which links to Eyre Square and Shop Street. The property also sold in excess of its €1.2m asking price. The self-contained, three-storey investment property was sold with strong tenants in situ on a long-term lease. It had an open plan retail area on the ground floor with overhead storage accommodation on the first, second and attic floors. The Business Post, 7^th November

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