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.
MIXED USE
Dawson Street, Dublin 2 The owners of Grafton Place and 60 Dawson Street, an office, retail and leisure complex have reignited their plans to sell it for more than €250m. BCP and MARK, an international real estate investment manager, delayed a plan to sell the newly built complex in 2024 as they waited for the market to improve and for the development to be let fully. Green Street News has reported that the sale is back on, and CBRE has been appointed to handle it. The development is near full occupancy. ServiceNow signed a 12-year lease in 2024 for the top four floors at a rent of just over €6m a year. Pinterest agreed to take a 12-year lease on the second floor for nearly €1.9m. Last month Victoria’s Secret agreed a ten-year lease at €750,000 a year for units 1 and 2 at Grafton Place. The owners have also secured a host of new entrants to the Irish market, such as Arket, Sandbox VR, Joe & the Juice, and Pitch. The Sunday Times, 10th October
96/98 Churchtown Road, Dublin 14 Having paid approx. €17.5m across separate transactions in 2019 to secure ownership of three mixed-use investment properties in Galway, Churchtown, Dublin 14 and Smithfield, Dublin 7, MNK Partners has instructed Colliers to find a buyer for the portfolio in one or more lots. Located on the site of the former Braemor Rooms and McGowan’s pub in Churchtown, this mixed-use investment extends to 12,260 sq. ft and is occupied by Centric Health, Glorious Flowers and a restaurant unit which is scheduled to open shortly. The property is generating €376,087 in annual rental income and has a WAULT of 9.8 years to break and 13.65 years to expiry. The income profile combines CPI-linked and open-market rent review provisions across the tenancy mix. The guide price is €6m, reflecting a NIY of 5.7%. The Irish Times, 7th October
Smithfield Square, Dublin 7 The second investment property for sale by MNK is Block F at Smithfield Square and comprises 16,191 sq. ft of retail and office accommodation. The property is fully let to Fresh and Brown Bag Films and is producing passing rental income of €417,243 a year. The investment benefits from a WAULT of 12.4 years and incorporates both CPI-linked and open market rent review provisions. The property is guiding €6.2m, which equates to a NIY of 6.12%. The Irish Times, 7th October
HOSPITALITY
Clarendon Street, Dublin 2 Aviva Life & Pensions Ireland is seeking an experienced hotel operator to lease a new, luxury hotel it intends to develop near Grafton Street. The hotel, which will have frontage on to Clarendon Street (number 38-44) and South William Street (number 52-55) will comprise a seven-storey-over-basement 184-bedroom hotel along with a restaurant, bar and commercial space, subject to planning permission. The proposed scheme will involve the refurbishment of four Georgian buildings on South William Street which will comprise commercial use at ground floor and basement level and 10 apartment suites on the upper floors, extending to a total area of 9,300 sq. ft. The subject site was acquired in 2016 by Aviva’s predecessor, Friends First, as part of its wider €30m purchase of nine retail and office properties within the Madrid Portfolio. The Irish Times, 7th October
RETAIL
Shop Street, Galway Located on Galway’s main pedestrianised retail street, 33 Shop Street comprises a landmark three-storey retail building extending to 11,226 sq. ft. The property is fully let to Eason Ireland and is producing a passing rent of €551,250 a year. The investment offers a WAULT of approx. 8.4 years to break and 18.4 years to expiry, with open-market rent reviews every five years. The property is guiding €7.5m, reflecting a NIY of 6.68%. This is the third and final asset Colliers are selling on behalf of MNK Partners. The Irish Times, 7th October
Killarney, Co. Kerry Investcorp has instructed Cushman & Wakefield to offer Deerpark Retail Park to the market. The retail park is guiding at a price of €15.4m, reflecting a NIY of 7.83%. Developed in 2006, the scheme extends to a total area of 112,835 sq. ft and is distributed across 13 units with a mix of part-open/ part bulky-use planning permission. The units range in size from 1,018 sq. ft to 21,473 sq. ft and comprise a mix of retail warehouse stores along with a complementary neighbourhood centre and 248 car-parking spaces. The first floor of the neighbourhood centre is fully let to Peak Performance Academy, providing additional rental income. The retail park also has a lease agreement with Tesla, which is set to operate eight electric-vehicle charging bays within the car park. Deerpark Retail Park is generating overall rental income of €1,326,458 a year and has a WAULT of 4.45 years to break options. The park is 100% occupied. Investcorp paid approx. €10.5m for the Retail Park in 2024. The Irish Times, 7th October
OFFICE
Harcourt Street, Dublin 2 Forvis Mazars Ireland is set to relocate its headquarters to the former EY headquarters on Harcourt Street. The company, which has doubled its Irish headcount in the last five years and now employs 1,000 people, will next year make the move next door, from its existing offices in Block Two of Harcourt Centre into the larger Block One at the same site. The 60,000 sq. ft Block One is owned by Clancourt. Blocks Two and Three are owned by Iput, which last year secured permission to knock down the two blocks and build a new 11-storey building. Mazars was advised as part of the move by HWBC. EY, the building’s previous occupant, last week officially opened its new headquarters at Wilton Park in Dublin 2, a 187,000 sq. ft building beside the Grand Canal. The Business Post, 8th October
Sir John Rogerson’s Quay, Dublin 2 JLL are selling 52-55 Sir John Rogerson’s Quay, a fully let office investment extending to 13,341 sq. ft with 6 car parking spaces situated. Contracted rent of €690,060 p.a. is generated from a tenant line-up of PTC Therapeutics and Zarion. The premises occupies a prime riverfront position, with direct water frontage overlooking the River Liffey. Term certain of 6.89 years with a WAULT to expiry of 7.18 years. JLL Press Release, 8th October
RESIDENTIAL / DEVELOPMENT
Cherrywood, Dublin 18 Spear Street Capital has instructed JLL to find a buyer for a site with residential development potential which it acquired as part of a 2018 transaction to purchase 8 office blocks. The 4.79 acre holding is being offered for sale at a guide price of €10m. Located within close proximity to both junction 16 of the M50 motorway and the junction of the N11, the subject site is zoned “town centre environs” under the Cherrywood strategic development zone (SDZ). This zoning allows for a range of uses including residential and strategic urban employment. In a recent amendment to the SDZ, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council increased the share of residential space to 55% along with a commensurate reduction in employment space to 45%. The variation in the plan also provides for buildings ranging in height from three to six storeys with a maximum gross floor space of 417,600 sq. ft. The Irish Times, 7th October
Prosperous, Co. Kildare A 12.85 acre landholding has just come to the market with residential development potential. Coonan Property is guiding more than €6.75m which equates to approx. €525,300 per acre. Planning permission is already in place for four houses comprising three two-storey detached houses and one detached bungalow. About 10.63 acres are zoned New Residential under Objective C of the Kildare County Development Plan 2023-2029, which underpins the prospect of a significant portion of the lands also offering further potential for residential development, subject to the relevant planning permission. The remaining 2.25 acres, fronting the R403, are zoned Objective E for Community and Education use. The Irish Independent, 8th October
Dalkey, Co. Dublin Located on Ulverton Road and Harbour Road, the subject site, which extends to 1.56 acres, is guiding €3.9m through Knight Frank. The lower section of the site, known as Yonder, is accessed from Harbour Road while the upper section is accessed from Ulverton Road. The lower portion of the site is occupied by Maple Tree House, a detached seven-bedroom house. The entire site falls under the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Development Plan 2022–2028 and is zoned Objective A Residential. A feasibility study has now been prepared for the site with two options for its development. Option one provides for the construction of 14 houses consisting of two four-bed detached units, four three-bed terraced units, six three-bed plus-study terraced units, and two two-bed semi-detached units. Option two replaces four of the terraced houses in option one with six apartments/duplexes, allowing for a total of 16 units. The mix would comprise three two-bed apartments, three three-bed duplexes, two four-bed detached houses, six three-bed plus-study terraced houses, and two two-bed semi detached houses. The Irish Times, 7th October
Mabbot Lane, Dublin 1 A portfolio of fully let apartments has been brought to the market at a guide price of €3.85m. Located just off Talbot Street and within walking distance of O’Connell Street, the investment comprises 14 apartments. There are three one-bedroom apartments and 11 two-bedroom units and these are generating an average rent of €1,540 a month, giving an overall annual rental income of €258,672. All the apartments are occupied under standard residential tenancy agreements. Existing tenants will not be affected by the sale. The subject property also includes vacant ground-floor commercial accommodation, offering investors an asset-management opportunity with potential for alternative uses, subject to planning permission. The Irish Times, 7th October
Sutton, Dublin 13 A 1.1 acre site at Sutton Cross, including a substantial period residence and adjoining greenfield land, has been brought to the market with a €2.4m guide price and potential for residential development, subject to planning. CBRE has been appointed for the property, known as Corona, which extends to approx. 1.14 acres. The site is being offered for sale by private treaty. It is currently occupied by the period house, with the undeveloped portion of the site to the east. A feasibility study by Plus Architecture has examined a number of residential development options for the site and is available to prospective purchasers. The site is zoned RS – Residential, with the planning objective to provide for residential development while protecting and improving residential amenity. Uses permitted under the zoning include residential development, residential care and retirement homes, retirement villages and sheltered accommodation. The Business Post, 7th October
New Orchard Road, Co. Kilkenny An 11 acre parcel of land on the eastern outskirts of Kilkenny city has come to the market following its rezoning for residential development. Sherry FitzGerald is guiding the lands at €350,000 per acre. The property backs onto Kilkenny Golf Club and has approx. 180m of frontage onto the road. The lands were previously zoned as strategic reserve and have been rezoned for new residential development under Variation 8A of the Kilkenny City and County Development Plan 2021-2027. Planning guidelines indicate that a density of between 10 and 14 units per acre could be considered, giving a potential yield of approx. 110 to 156 homes across the site, subject to planning. The vendors have reserved the right to retain up to two acres along the northern boundary around Orchard House. At the asking price, the full 11 acre holding would have a guide value of approx. €3.85m, although the vendor’s right to retain up to two acres means the ultimate sale area may be smaller. The Business Post, 8th October