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
Henry Street, Dublin 1 UK retail property company Hammerson is set to take full ownership of Dublin’s Ilac Centre after agreeing to buy co-owner Irish Life’s 50% stake. The Irish Times understands the deal will be submitted to the Consumer and Competition Protection Commission (CCPC) for approval. Hammerson acquired its original 50% stake in 2015 through the €1.85bn purchase of Project Jewel from NAMA. Sources expect Hammerson to pay at least €45m for Irish Life’s share, implying a valuation of about €90m for the centre. Opened in 1981, the Ilac Centre spans 500,000 sq ft, contains more than 80 retail units, and provides over 1,000 customer parking spaces. The Irish Times, 29th May
Cabra, Dublin 7 French investor Alderan has made its third investment in the Irish commercial property market, paying €7.15m (7.5% NIY) for the Maple Centre on the Navan Road in Cabra. The investment on behalf of its real estate fund SCPI Comète comprises a neighbourhood retail scheme with seven units across a total area of 27,500 sq. ft along with a surface car park. The tenant line-up includes McDonald’s, O’Brien’s Wines and the supermarket chain Polonez. The transaction follows its purchase last September of Blocks 1 and 2 at The Pavilion in Dún Laoghaire for €11.5m. That investment comprises a portfolio of 12 retail units let to a variety of tenants that include Eason, O’Briens, Casper & Giumbinis, and Eddie Rockets. Alderan entered the Irish market in July 2024 with a €10.75m deal for Grattan Business Park at Clonshaugh in Dublin 17. The Irish Times, 27th May
Grafton Street, Dublin 2 Victoria’s Secret has confirmed that it will close its flagship store on Grafton Street this summer and move to a new location. The 20,000 sq. ft retail space and storage at 28-29 Grafton Street is now surplus to its requirements. While it is understood that Victoria’s Secret had applied to its landlord on Grafton Street, Sretaw, to assign the remaining seven years of its lease to a new occupier, Sretaw is weighing the potential benefit of subletting the property instead. The Irish Times understands that Victoria’s Secret is looking at opening for business in a new and smaller unit next door to Swedish fashion retailer Arket’s store at nearby Grafton Place. The luxury beauty brand Space NK, meanwhile, is looking to take Victoria’s Secret’s place at numbers 28-29 and relocate from its current, smaller premises at 82 Grafton Street. The Irish Times, 27th May
OFFICE
Molesworth Street, Dublin 2 Commercial property giant Henderson Park has agreed a deal with German property investor MEAG for One Molesworth Street. While a transaction price was not disclosed the property was guided on the market by real estate agents JLL for €110m. The seven-storey building provides around 89,879 sq. ft of office and retail space on the corner of Dawson Street and Molesworth Street. The property generates close to €6m a year in rental income. Tenants of the building include Barclays, The Banking Payment Federation of Ireland and TD Securities. Retail accommodation on the ground floor includes occupiers such as The Ivy Group, Boots, Six by Nico, and Barry’s Bootcamp. The Business Post, 28th May
Cork Street, Dublin 8 CBRE is guiding €14m (8.3% NIY) for the Guild Building on Cork Street. The 38,746 sq. ft grade A office building also has 45 secure car-parking spaces at basement level. The building is fully let to the Office of Public Works on a 10-year lease commencing October 2024, at a passing rent of approximately €1,278,462 a year (€30 psf), with an open-market rent review due in October 2029. The building is arranged over seven floors over basement, with the largest floor plates on the second and third floors at 7,387 sq. ft each. The fourth, fifth and penthouse sixth floors all have private terraces, providing breakout space and views across Dublin city centre. There is a reception area at ground-floor level and two passenger lifts serve the building. The Irish Times, 27th May
Industrial
Dublin 9 & Dublin 5 An Post is selling two north Dublin warehouses with residential development potential. TWM is guiding €2.1m for the pair and is also open to offers for individual sales. The properties are located in Griffith Avenue, Dublin 9 and Harmonstown, Dublin 5. Both premises are currently used as An Post local delivery depots and the vendor will remain in situ in both locations for a period of 12-18 months post-sale which would benefit prospective purchasers who may wish to undertake a redesign or planning application. An Post is willing to pay a nominal rent for the period that it remains on site. 263 Griffith Avenue comprises a purpose-built single-storey sorting office building which extends to 9,167 sq. ft on a 0.47-acre site. Brookwood Grove, Harmonstown is a 5,382 sq. ft purpose-built, single-storey, light industrial building is set on a 0.19-acre site. The Irish Independent, 28th May
Swords, Co. Dublin GIC, a Singaporean sovereign wealth fund, has closed a deal to buy the Horizon Logistics Park in Dublin from the US fund Henderson Park for about €500m. The transaction, the highest price paid for an industrial logistics park in Ireland, was referred to the CCPC on Friday. The park consists of 25 buildings set within 400 acres of zoned industrial land close to Dublin airport and is one of the largest logistics campuses in the country. The sale includes a further 264 acres with development potential. Henderson Park took over Horizon as part of its acquisition of the office-led Green Reit in 2019 for €1.34bn. Since then, it is understood that Henderson Park has almost tripled the size of the estate, buying several plots of adjacent land. It has 1.8m sq. ft of warehouse space with planning consent for an additional 559,723 sq. ft. Based on its existing land bank, the park has the potential to add an extra 4.5m sq. ft of logistics space. The Times, 31st May
Hospitality
Dame Court, Dublin 2 CBRE’s hotel division is seeking to secure an occupier for 13-14 Dame Court guiding annual rent of €200,000. The 6,541 sq. ft property, a five-storey over-basement Victorian redbrick, will be better known as the former premises of the Odessa Club. The building is currently in shell condition following significant structural works and presents what the letting agent describes as “a blank canvas” for a new occupier to complete the fit-out. The building’s previous tenant received planning permission from Dublin City Council in 2019 for the conversion of the upper floors into a 14-bedroom boutique hotel, with the 100-cover capacity ground floor restaurant and rooftop terrace at the fourth floor level retained. That plan was delayed and ultimately abandoned following the onset in early 2020 of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Irish Times, 27th May
Lombard Street & Townsend Street, Dublin 2 Having secured planning permission from Dublin City Council in February, developers Charles and Max O’Reilly Hyland are to proceed with the construction of a 97-bedroom hostel on the site at 19-20 Lombard Street and 112-114 Townsend Street. The Hylands’ acquisition of the site, which was subject to their receipt of planning permission, is understood to have been completed last week. The property was first offered to the market by agent JLL at a guide price of €5.5m in September 2023. The approved 97-bedroom hostel will comprise a part five-, six- and seven-storey, over basement-level building, with the guest rooms distributed over the first to sixth floors. The accommodation will be complemented by a reception area, cafe/bar and resident amenity space at ground-floor level along with bin and bike stores, a luggage store, kitchen, back-of-house area and staff facilities. The Irish Times, 27th May
Camden Street, Dublin 2 An Coimisiún Pleanála has granted permission to Balrath Investments Unlimited to turn 1-4 Camden Street Lower into a 463-bed tourist hostel. The building, which currently houses a gym and a Fresh supermarket, was put on the market through Lisney in May 2016 and again in May 2018, then guided at €4.3m through CBRE. Balrath plans to add two floors to bring the building to six floors, with a courtyard, retail options, and a cafe on the ground floor, as well as a communal space in the basement area. Prominently located at the corner of Camden Street Lower and Montague Street, the 1930s building is a protected structure and was originally built as a department store. The Currency, 26th May
Tramore, Co. Waterford Plans have been lodged to restore Tramore’s historic Grand Hotel and transform the long-vacant landmark into an aparthotel. The four-storey building, closed since 2014 and declared derelict in 2018, would undergo major refurbishment, including demolition of extensions, structural repairs, façade upgrades, new windows and doors, roof works, and the addition of new accommodation areas. The proposal also includes reception, staff facilities, laundry and storage areas, landscaped public spaces, and 12 car parking spaces. Dating back to the 1790s, the Grand Hotel was once one of Ireland’s longest continuously operating hotels and played a key role in Tramore’s development as a Victorian seaside resort. A planning decision is expected in July. The Irish Independent, 1st June
MIXED USE
Herbert Street, Dublin 2 Agent Avison Young is guiding €1.5m for number 18 Herbert Street in Dublin’s south city centre. Located within the city’s Georgian core, the subject property comprises a mid-terrace, four-storey over-basement redbrick building with an interconnected two-storey mews to the rear, fronting on to Herbert Lane. The property is positioned between Lower Baggot Street and Upper Mount Street. Number 18 extends to a gross internal area of approximately 5,770 sq. ft, and comprises net office space of 3,452 sq. ft. The building features a modernised, self-contained 840 sq. ft two-bedroom apartment at third-floor level. The property retains many of its original Georgian features. The property is primarily vacant, with the basement and first-floor return occupied under a short-term licence agreement which expires in July. The Irish Times, 27th May
RESIDENTIAL / DEVELOPMENT
Kinsale, Co. Cork Cushman and Wakefield is guiding €3.25m for a 2.72-acre development site with full planning permission for 18 luxury homes in Kinsale. The site, located, off Catholic Walk, a predominantly residential area close to the town centre and with harbour views, has permission for a mix of units including five four-bed detached homes (2,828 sq. ft); eight three-bed semi-detached units (1,968 sq. ft); three two-bed apartments (900 sq. ft to 1,528 sq. ft) and two one-bed apartments (573 sq. ft). The subject site includes an existing six-bed dwelling, with demolition permitted under the recent planning grant. The Irish Examiner, 28th May
Milltown, Dublin 6 Plans by property developer Ardstone to develop a €350m, 556-unit apartment project in south Dublin have been stalled after fresh appeals from local residents. Ardstone has sought to develop the site for almost seven years, having paid €65m for the Jesuit Order’s former Milltown Park campus. In mid-April, Dublin City Council granted permission for the proposed scheme. However, in documents filed with ACP last week, these plans were appealed by Cherryfield Avenue residents’ association and Norwood Park residents’ association. The 556 apartment units in the revised scheme would consist of 267 two-bed apartments, 176 one-beds, 70 studio apartments and 43 three-bed apartments. These would be spread out across seven apartment blocks, ranging in height from between three to eight storeys. The Business Post, 27th May
Finglas, Dublin 11 The Land Development Agency (LDA) has acquired a 9.6-acre site in Jamestown Industrial Estate in Finglas, with the potential to deliver around 600 homes. The site is located near the N2 and M50 motorways, directly opposite the planned Finglas Green Luas extension Subject to planning permission, the location has the potential to deliver around 600 new homes alongside associated commercial uses and community facilities. The LDA added that development is expected to be residential led and forms part of a wider plan that could ultimately accommodate up to 3,500 homes in the Jamestown area. The purchase was made under the LDA’s private site acquisition initiative, which was launched in August 2023 and targets well located land with strong housing potential. To date, the agency has purchased nine privately-owned land banks. The Business Post, 27th May
Ballyboughal, North Dublin Skidoo Farm, a 237-acre tillage and livestock farm located 22km from Dublin city centre between Swords and Ashbourne, and the five-bedroom Skidoo House have been launched for sale by Savills guiding €7m. The Ballyboughal farmland and house are guiding €6.625m and the two-bedroom Skidoo Lodge is available separately for €375,000. The 7,357 sq. ft Skidoo House, complete with recently-refurbished roof, windows, plumbing and electrics, contains a newly-extended open-plan kitchen, dining room and sitting room. The farm includes a 35-box stable courtyard suitable for both private and commercial equestrian operations, while the main farmyard offered a range of modern agricultural buildings, including a former dairy unit. The farmland, currently grass but suited to arable cropping, includes around 1.5km of road frontage and an “excellent network” of internal tracks. The two-bedroom Skidoo Lodge provided a further residential unit with potential as staff, guest or rental accommodation. The Business Post, 26th May
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