Blanchardstown, Dublin 15 Blanchardstown Centre’s multiplex cinema is being offered for sale by Colliers on behalf of Davy Real Estate at a guide price of €17m (NIY approx. 7%). The property is leased to United Cinemas International (Ireland) Limited, which is part of Europe’s largest cinema operator the Odeon Cinemas Group. There is a WAULT with no breaks of 9.25 years. The cinema’s nine screens are complemented by a coffee shop, serving counters, office space and back-of-house facilities, and extends across a total area of 45,510 sq. ft. The Irish Times, 15th May
Kildare A private equity fund backed by the luxury goods group LVMH is reported to be close to buying a majority stake in the Kildare Village outlet centre. British property group Hammerson is in talks with L Catterton, which is backed by LVMH and the family office of Bernard Arnault, on a sale of its interests in nine fashion outlets across Europe The Sunday Times, 19th May
O’Connell Street Upper, Dublin 1 JLL has brought 1-2 O’Connell Street Upper to market with a €9m guide price. The property is being sold together with two attached buildings at 29 North Earl Street and 10 Cathedral Street. The corner, six-storey over basement building includes a vacant retail unit at ground and basement along with full planning permission for a 38-bedroom hotel from the first to fifth floors. 10 Cathedral Street has a vacant ground floor retail unit extending to approx. 237 sq. ft along with 10,000 sq. ft of storage from basement to second floor, which is currently occupied by Dunnes Stores which is overholding at a rent of €80k pa. The Business Post, 17th May
Grafton Street, Dublin 2 Dublin City Council has refused planning retention for a souvenir shop on Grafton Street because, the council said, the outlet would set an undesirable precedent for similar type development and would devalue property in the vicinity. In refusing planning permission to Fashionflo Investments Ltd for planning retention for the Seasons of Ireland souvenir shop at 111 Grafton Street, the council also concluded that the retention of the unit would “not achieve an appropriate mix and balance of uses on this part of Grafton Street”. The Irish Times, 20th May
Fitzwilliam Place, Dublin 2 Nos. 12 and 13 Fitzwilliam Place and their mews buildings at nos. 12 and 13 Lad Lane are being offered to the market for €4.4m (32% discount on the original asking price). Nos. 12 and 13 comprise two adjoining four- and five-storey over-basement Georgian buildings extending to 4,737 sq. ft and 4,371 sq. ft respectively. The two-storey mews buildings at nos. 12 and 13 Lad Lane extend to 759 sq. ft and 1,623 sq. ft respectively and come with 14 car parking spaces. The entire investment is generating an annual rental income of €293.8k. The Irish Times, 15th May
Ship Street Little, Dublin 8 Developer Padraic Rhatigan has secured Liberty IT, a part of the Liberty Mutual Group, as tenant for the sixth-floor penthouse offices at One Le Pole Square on a 10-year lease. Other lettings to date include the fifth floor, which has been let to ecommerce company Etsy, on a 10-year lease term and financial services firm Alantra. The Irish Times understands that Liberty have agreed to pay €55.50 per sq. ft for the 8,700 sq. ft penthouse space while Etsy is paying €56.50 per sq. ft for the fifth-floor accommodation, which extends to 16,000 sq. ft. The Irish Times, 15th May
Rutland Place, Dublin 1 TWM is guiding a price of €1.2m for the former An Post delivery service premises at no. 9-11 Rutland Place in Dublin city centre. The subject property comes for sale with full vacant possession. The building comprises a two-storey mid-terrace property with a pitched roof extending to 9,845 sq. ft. The Irish Times, 15th May
Docklands, Dublin Ronan Group Real Estate (RGRE) is contesting Dublin City Council’s rejection of its planned 17-storey mixed-use scheme for Dublin’s Docklands. This follows RGRE lodging an appeal to An Bord Pleanála against last month’s council refusal. RGRE is seeking permission for the redevelopment of Citigroup’s current European headquarters at 1 North Wall Quay in Dublin’s docklands. The Irish Independent, 18th May
Ballymount, South Dublin M7 Real Estate Ireland has engaged CBRE to find an occupier for Ballymount Logistics Hub, a 151,000 sq. ft logistics facility located next to junction 10 of the M50 motorway. The property is undergoing an extensive refurbishment programme at present with a view to having it available for use by this September. The Irish Times, 15th May
Adamstown, West Dublin The LDA has done a deal with the homebuilder Quintain Ireland for approx. 400 apartments in Adamstown. The LDA will buy the 392 apartments when they are completed in 2026 and provide them for cost rental. Construction of the scheme, which is already under way, is being financed by AIB. The Sunday Times, 19th May
Mungret, Co Limerick The LDA is to join with Limerick City & County Council to deliver 183 affordable purchase and social-rental homes in Mungret. The development includes 183 houses and duplexes. Limerick Council has already secured planning permission for 252 homes at the greenfield site, and the LDA is partnering with the local authority to build 181 of the homes for affordable purchase for low-to-middle income earners. The remaining homes, creche and community uses will be delivered by Cluid, an Approved Housing Body, as part of an integrated scheme for older people. The Irish Examiner, 20th May
Middle Abbey Street, Dublin 1 UK-headquartered property developer Summix Capital has acquired the former headquarter offices of Independent Newspapers on Middle Abbey Street. The Irish Times understands the company paid Penneys approx. €8m to secure ownership of the asset. The price represents a premium of approx. 33% on the €6m Penneys’ parent company, Primark, paid when it acquired the building from receivers in 2013. Independent House is a protected structure comprising several buildings extending to an overall floor area of 114,000 sq. ft on a site of 0.72 acres. The Irish Times, 15th May
Ratoath, Co Meath Agent Grimes has brought residentially zoned lands to market on the Fairyhouse Road in Ratoath. The lands are located 700m from the town and have a €3.75m guide price. The lands extend to approx. 5.56 acres (€674.5k per acre). The Business Post, 17th May
Kimmage, Southwest Dublin A developer has failed to prevent the High Court overturning one of two planning permissions it has for 208 apartments on an L-shaped site in Kimmage, southwest Dublin. An Bord Pleanála, as the defendant decision-maker, had conceded it erred in how it applied a section of urban development guidelines in making its decision. It did not contest Kimmage Dublin Residents’ Alliance’s application to quash the approval granted in September 2022 under SHD. Opposing the application was developer 1 Terenure Land Limited, a subsidiary of Lioncor Developments. The Irish Times, 14th May
Abbotstown, Dublin 15 Funding for Dublin’s new international-class velodrome has been included in the €165bn National Development Plan, which looks to have cleared the way for an €87m shared cycling-badminton facility to be built in Abbotstown. The venue will also provide 12 badminton courts with 1,000 permanent seats for spectators, plus room for an additional 2,500 temporary seats for nonsporting events, while a café, changing rooms, offices, training facilities and bicycle storage will be created beneath the track level. Bisnow, 20th May
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East Wall Road, Dublin 1 Colliers is guiding €35m for the Beckett Building on behalf of receiver Grant Thornton. The price represents a reduction of 56% on the €80m guide price when CBRE offered the building for sale in January 2023, and a discount of 65% on the €101m Kookmin Bank paid when they acquired it from Comer Group in 2018. While Meta has now vacated the Beckett, it remains responsible for its annual €5.75m rent (€29.30 per sq. ft; NIY 14.9%) until the break option of its lease on July 31st, 2027. The Beckett Building extends to 188,228 sq. ft. The Irish Times, 8th May
Molesworth Street, Dublin 2 Deka Immobilien has secured ownership of 40 Molesworth Street, having paid State Street Global Advisors approx. €40m (€1,195 per sq. ft) for the property. The asset comprises 29,820 sq. ft of office space over six floors, along with a ground and basement retail unit extending to over 3,649 sq. ft. The offices are occupied in their entirety by DLA Piper. The lease which is due to expire 2037 has a term certain of 12 years and has a headline rent of approx. €60 per sq. ft. Specsavers occupies the retail element of the building, and the property is generating overall rental income of €2.175m pa (approx. NIY 5.4%). The Irish Times, 10th May
City Quay, Dublin 2 The developer behind a bid to build Dublin’s tallest building on the site of the former City Arts Centre at City Quay has suffered a further setback after An Bord Pleanála ruled against its appeal of Dublin City Council’s rejection of its plan. Ventaway is seeking to develop a 24-storey structure on the site. The proposed scheme would be office-led with 243,124 sq. ft of office space over 23 of its floors. The Irish Times, 10th May
Dublin Workday is searching for a new EMEA headquarters in Dublin. The buildings under review include Coopers Cross development, where Building Two is a 288,000 sq. ft grade A office block. Meta’s Fibonacci Square, the 375,000 sq. ft office space in Ballsbridge, is another option under review. Workday is also appraising College Square, a 540,000 sq. ft office development by Marlet Group. 325,000 sq. ft of office space is currently being marketed at the Tara Street project. React News, 8th May
IFSC, Dublin 1 A significant area of the 2 Custom House Plaza is now being offered to let by joint agents TWM and Cushman & Wakefield with full planning permission in place for a change of use to medical. Approx. 18,500 sq. ft of the 29,000 sq. ft property is now available for immediate occupation. The quoting rent is €42 per sq. ft and €3.5k per car-parking space. The Irish Times, 8th May
Grafton Street, Dublin 2 JLL has brought No. 6 Grafton Street to the market guiding in excess of €3m. There is a prime retail unit on the ground floor at street level with additional ancillary accommodation above. The mid-terraced building extends to an overall NIA of approx. 2,604 sq. ft (€1,152 per sq. ft). The ground and basement levels are let to Greggs Ltd trading as Bus Stop Newsagents and the upper floors are fully let as a tanning salon and internet café to Reetont Limited. Combined, the two tenants generate rent of €140k pa (approx. 4.67% yield). The Business Post, 11th May
Deloitte Report Approx. 1,650 new hotel rooms opened in 2023 with another 2,850 under construction, according to Deloitte’s latest annual Crane Survey. Over 550 of the rooms came onto the market in the first quarter of 2024, with another 1,080 due for completion by the end of the year. The completions will bring Ruby Hotels, Hoxton and Citizen M into the Irish market. According to the Deloitte report, the ADR charged by hotels in Dublin was €204 last year, the highest since records began. The RevPAR was €164 in Dublin, also a record. The Irish Independent, 13th May
Swords, Co Dublin A large logistics facility in Swords, just off Balheary Road, which is let in its entirety to the OPW, is guiding €21m through joint agents Finnegan Menton and Cushman & Wakefield. The property is occupied by the State on a 20-year lease from September 2010 at a passing rent of €1.3m (NIY approx. 5.8%) pa increasing to €1.35m pa in September 2024 with rent reviews every 5 years. The property extends to 211,034 sq. ft (€6.24 per sq. ft rent) and is situated on a site of 8.56 acres. The Irish Times, 8th May
Swords, Co Dublin A major €50m day-care hospital and primary care centre project in north Dublin is in doubt after a developer told the HSE the project is not viable at the agreed price. The eight-storey development at Airside in Swords, which has full planning permission, is at a standstill due to a standoff over construction costs. Developer Vanguard International originally won the HSE tender for the long-promised new primary care centre. The Irish Independent, 12th May
Naas Road, Southwest Dublin Michael O’Flynn, the Cork housebuilder, is in talks with the LDA about forward-funding part of his planned €625m development on Naas Road. The Sunday Times understands the LDA could forward-fund the construction of approx. 500 homes on the old Nissan site, which was granted planning permission in 2021 to build more than 1,100 apartments and a 15-storey hotel. The Sunday Times, 12th May
Hollystown, Dublin 15 The LDA has launched 57 new A-rated homes in Hollystown. The homes are part of the Wilkinsons Brook development and are being delivered through the agency’s Project Tosaigh initiative. The homes were developed by Glenveagh Properties and include 13 two-bedroom houses, 39 three-beds and five four-bed homes. The Business Post, 10th May
Claregalway, Co Galway BV Real Estate has brought to market a development land in Claregalway Corporate Park. The total area of the site is approx. 4.4 acres. Purchasers have the option to acquire either the entire site or Plot’s A & B respectively (approx. 2.2 acres each) with a guide price of €1.5m each. The Business Post, 11th May
Housing Target Ireland will need to build as many as 80,000 homes a year between now and 2050 in the most extreme scenario, the Housing Commission has warned the government in a report. The heavyweight commission, set up by the government to produce a report on long-term housing policy, submitted its findings to Darragh O’Brien, the housing minister. The Business Post, 12th May
Social Housing The state has agreed approx. 9,000 long-term social housing leases with a combined price tag of more than €3.24bn over their 25-year lifetime. Department of Housing data shows that >70 deals are costing more than €2.5k each month. The rent set for each property leased by the state on a long-term basis is subject to upward-only reviews every three years, with the increases linked to inflation. The Business Post, 12th May
Ires Reit saw total revenue decline by 3.9% in the first quarter of 2024 compared to 2023. Ahead of its AGM, the company said that the fall reflected the impact of “strategic asset disposals” completed in the second half of 2023. Ires Reit reported 99.5% occupancy across its portfolio, compared to 99.4% for the same period last year, as well as 99% rent collection in the first months of the year. Ires Reit’s LTV ratio at the end of March was 44.7%, compared to 44.3% at the end of December. The Business Post, 10th May
Cairn Homes is now building out more than €1bn worth of housing projects in Ireland. In a trading update ahead of its AGM, Michael Stanley, chief executive of Cairn Homes, said the company is on track to increase its annual output by approx. 30% to 2,200 homes this year. The company is now developing 2,750 homes across a range of large projects. The trading update said the company has maintained its operating profit forecast at approx. €145m for the year. The Business Post, 10th May
Construction Activity Activity in the Irish construction sector grew by the fastest rate in more than two years, the latest industry index has shown. The index, carried out by BNP Paribas Real Estate Ireland, shows that headline construction activity rose to 53.6 in April this year. This is also the first consecutive increase in the index for approx. two years, rising from 51.6 in March. These figures are above the 50 no-change mark, indicating expansion. April saw much stronger growth in commercial development (54.6) than housing (53.4). The Business Post, 13th May
Tallaght and Sandyford, South Dublin Lisney Commercial Real Estate is guiding prices of €4.75m and €2.75m respectively for two development sites in Tallaght and Sandyford. The sales are being conducted on the instruction of receivers over certain assets of Ravensbrook Ltd. The Tallaght site is 2.2 acres and comes for sale with a planning history involving a SHD application for a build-to-rent scheme of 310 apartments, retail, creche and associated works. The second site is occupied by an industrial building of 7,718 sq. ft. The Irish Times, 8th May
Dennehy’s Cross, Cork Permission has been granted for the development of a multi-storey residential accommodation and artisan food market at the long-vacant site of the former Dennehy’s Cross Garage in Cork city. The plans were lodged by Galway firm, Dennehys Cross Construction Ltd. The company was also given the green light for the construction of a four-storey residential development comprising 30 apartments. Permission for the development was lodged in May last year after the firm revised the size of its plan following concerns raised in pre-planning meetings with Cork City Council. The Irish Examiner, 7th May
Leopardstown, Dublin 18 An application for permission to build 463 homes at St Joseph’s House, near Brewery Road in Leopardstown will be considered afresh by An Bord Pleanála following successful High Court challenges to the original approval. Sliverpines Limited, a subsidiary of Homeland Group, had secured fast-track permission for its project under the SHD scheme. The proposal is for six apartment blocks of up to 10 storeys and would be a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom homes. The Irish Times, 13th May
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Stillorgan, South Dublin Gresham House Real Estate has instructed CBRE to find a buyer for The Grange office building at Stillorgan. The property is being offered to the market at a guide price of €8m (approx. €177 per sq. ft). The subject property comprises a five-story, over-basement office extending to a gross internal area of 45,142 sq. ft, along with 82 basement car-parking spaces. The building is producing an income of €552.7k pa and is occupied by Samsung and Bayer, with the remaining accommodation available to lease through letting agents CBRE. The Irish Times, 1st May
Grangegorman, Dublin 7 Dublin City Council is set to miss out on €8m in planning contributions arising from Workday’s decision not to proceed with a new headquarters at Grangegorman. The US financial management software company has secured planning permission for the EMEA headquarters on Dublin’s northside – approx. two weeks after announcing it was not going to proceed with the ambitious project. The fate of the site now rests with its owner, the HSE, and with the Grangegorman Development Agency. The Irish Independent, 6th May
Office Supply A report by BNP Paribas Real Estate Ireland showed approx. 904,170 sq. ft of office space development was completed in Dublin from January to April this year while tenants leased just 175,550 sq. ft of purpose-built offices – the lowest amount in three years. In February it emerged three-fifths of the office space under construction in Dublin had no future tenant lined up. BNP Paribas reported the combination of strong supply and weak demand propelled office vacancy in Dublin from 13.1% in December to 14.5% in March this year and that vacancy rates will peak at 16.5% to 17% by the end of 2025. The Irish Times, 7th May
Morrison’s Island, Cork Nos. 11, 12 and 13 Morrison’s Island are up for sale with individual price tags of €1.5m, €1.55m and €1.7m, according to size. The buildings formed the original Moore’s Hotel and have been remodelled into own-door office blocks. The collective price tag is €4.75m. There is also an option to lease, with quoting rent of €26.50 per sq. ft. The Irish Examiner, 1st May
George’s Quay, Limerick Barrington’s hospital is being offered for sale through Bannon at a guide price of €12.5m. The original structure and one modern extension fronting on to the Shannon river extend to approx. 40,000 sq. ft while a third element of the complex, a connecting 15,000 sq. ft leasehold building, sits to the rear of the property. Having operated under the ownership of Bon Secours Health System since 2017, the hospital is being offered for sale with the benefit of vacant possession. The Irish Times, 1st May
Rush, Co Dublin Joint agents DNG Commercial and Sherry FitzGerald Cumisky Kelly are guiding €6m for a mixed-use investment portfolio on Main Street in Rush. No. 46-52 Main Street comprises a neighbourhood centre incorporating a mix of retail, grocery, residential apartments and offices. The centre, which extends to 30,764 sq. ft along with a large 40-space surface-level car park, is almost fully occupied by a strong tenant line-up. The total rental income is €526.1k pa (gross yield approx. 8.75%). The centre’s current occupiers are: Cedarglade Ltd Supervalu Rush, Bright Beginners Creche, BoyleSports and Boylan Butchers. The Irish Times, 1st May
Baggot Street, Dublin 2 No. 21 Upper Baggot Street (home of Weirs Home, Gift and DIY store) is being put up for sale with the benefit of vacant possession by TWM at a guide price of €2.5m. It comprises a four-storey over-basement mid-terrace Georgian building that extends to 6,133 sq. ft and is currently in retail use on the ground floor with offices located on the floors above. The ground floor retail space extends to 2,346 sq. ft. There is a large basement which extends to 2,206 sq. ft. The Irish Times, 1st May
South Main Street, Cork BAM is selling a new retail investment property let to Tesco Ireland Ltd in Cork city centre. Joint agents CBRE and Behan Irwin & Gosling are guiding €1.73m (NIY 7.5%) for it. Located on the ground floor of Lee Point, the Tesco unit extends to 5,708 sq. ft and is let on a 20-year lease from 2023 at an annual rent of €142.7k (€25 per sq. ft) with CPI-based rent reviews every five years. The Irish Independent, 2nd May
Tallaght, Dublin 24 Harvey is guiding prices of €1.7m and €1.5m respectively for units 1C and 1D at Broomhill Business Complex in Tallaght. The properties, which are currently interlinked via an internal opening, are being offered for sale separately or as one, and come with 48 designated car-parking spaces in total. Unit 1C is a mid-terrace unit comprising 11,833 sq. ft. Unit 1D is a corner-of-block unit comprising 10,891 sq. ft. The Irish Times, 1st May
Stephen Street Upper, Dublin 8 Hines is set to buy a student accommodation building close to St Stephen’s Green. It has agreed to pay close to the asking price of €80m for the scheme, which has 298 bed spaces. The vendor, Scape, put its only Irish scheme on the market in February. It offers an income of more than €5.8m (gross yield 7.25%) after the Royal College of Surgeons Ireland agreed to rent the beds on a 51-week basis for 2024-25. The retailer Lidl is also a tenant. The Sunday Times, 5th May
Fassaroe, Co Wicklow CRH subsidiary Belgard Estates Ltd is selling a zoned landbank next to the M11 motorway on the Wicklow-Dublin border. The holding extends to 161 acres, with 90 acres of this zoned residential. The remaining 71 acres is zoned as open and active space. Market experts expect to see offers of approx. €25.5m, with the residential and open-space portions of the site commanding approx. €250k and €40k per acre respectively. The Irish Times, 1st May
Ballycullen, Dublin 16 Lagan Homes has purchased a large residential land holding in Ballycullen for more than €16m. The 25.72-acre site at Woodtown will give the Belfast-headquartered housebuilder the capacity to deliver over 500 units (approx. €32k per unit). The Irish Times, 1st May
Kells, Co Meath A 33-acre site with development potential has been brought to the market in Kells. Joint agents Savills Ireland and Hugh Morris Alliance Auctioneers are guiding €7m for the “substantial landmark site in Kells town centre”, which is zoned for residential and mixed-use development under the Meath County Development Plan 2021-2027. The Irish Times, 1st May
Kilcock, Co Kildare Avison Young is seeking offers of more than €3.25m for a residential investment opportunity on Church Street in Kilcock. The property comprises a range of residential buildings including a former 39-bed nursing home, four interconnecting townhouses (11 beds) and two semidetached houses (six beds) on a 2.64-acre site. The Irish Times, 1st May
Dundrum, Dublin 14 The LDA has said it will continue to fight a legal challenge to planning permission for 852 homes in Dundrum, despite An Bord Pleanála conceding the case. The LDA said it had been engaging with the council regarding the preparation of a revised planning application for the site, “with the intention of re-submitting in Q3, 2024”. The Business Post, 2nd May
Glenveagh sold more than 300 homes over the past two months, with the developer now expected to deliver up to 1,440 units for homeowners in 2024. The increase in its order book now means Glenveagh has now forecast it will deliver more than 2,700 homes this year. The firm has been granted permission for more than 1,000 units so far in 2024 and plans to apply for permission to build more than 2,000 units this year. The Business Post, 2nd May
Banking and Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) Report The average mortgage on a second-hand home has now reached its highest level in almost two decades, new data from the BPFI has shown. First-time buyers who purchased a second-hand property drew down on average €274.5k between January and March of this year, while the rate recorded for mover purchasers was €327k. The Business Post, 3rd May
Delgany, Co Wicklow An Bord Pleanála has refused planning permission to a Johnny Ronan firm to construct 141 residential units in Delgany. In two separate decisions, the planning board issued refusals to J&R Stylebawn Ltd for the mix of apartments and houses on the grounds of Stylebawn House. One application consisted of 20 one-bed apartments and 20 two-bed apartments in a five-storey block. The second application comprised 99 residential units composed of eight one-bed apartments, 18 two-bed apartments, 14 three-bed houses and 59 four-bed houses. The Irish Times, 2nd May
Limerick Planning has been approved for the construction of approx. 167 new apartments in five buildings in Limerick. Tribeca Asset Management Limited has been granted permission by Limerick City & County Council for a large-scale residential development at Ardhu House on Ennis Road, Roses Avenue and North Circular Road in Limerick. The plan includes the development of 167 apartments in five new residential buildings, ranging from three to five storeys. The Irish Examiner, 1st May
Cashel, Tipperary Plans for more than 100 new homes in Cashel have been approved. The town is to see 101 dwellings built after a large-scale residential development scheme was greenlit by local planners. Dulla Developments Ltd has been granted permission for the development at Hughes Lot East, Cashel. The Irish Examiner, 1st May
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Ballyconnell, Co Cavan The Slieve Russell Hotel Golf & Country Club has hit the market with a price tag of €35m. The sale is being conducted by CBRE on behalf of the liquidator of IBRC, Interpath Advisory. The asset comprises 224 bedrooms with an 18-hole PGA championship golf course and nine-hole academy course set on 300 acres on the outskirts of Ballyconnell. The hotel extends across a total area of 296,007 sq. ft and has undergone capital investment of €7.5m since 2019 alone. The Irish Times, 24th April
CBRE Report The value of Irish hotel properties changing hands reached a record quarterly level of more than €600m in the first quarter of the year, according to research from CBRE. Two major hotel deals accounted for most of the activity. The sale of a majority stake in eight hotels in the Dean Hotel Group had an enterprise value of approx. €350m. The sale of the Shelbourne Hotel to Archer Hotel Capital was reported at €250m. Spend in the first three months of the year exceeded total annual volumes for 2023. The Irish Independent, 25th April
Glasthule, South Dublin The Greedy Eagle pub in Glasthule village has been sold by the Loyola Group in an off-market deal for €4m. The pub has been acquired by Paddy Doherty. The Irish Times understands the Loyola Group invested approx. €700k in the venue. The Irish Times, 25th April
Howth, Co Dublin Fingal County Council has refused planning permission for a 35-bedroom hotel in Howth which had been proposed by G Boppers Ltd, owned by Conor McGregor. G Boppers Ltd was seeking planning to demolish the bar and build a terraced hotel, rising to five storeys in part. The Irish Times, 29th April
Maynooth, Co Kildare The Elite restaurant and bakery premises, extending to approx. 3,767 sq. ft, in Maynooth is guiding €1.25m and comes with full vacant possession. The sale is being handled by joint agents Sherry FitzGerald Brady O’Flaherty and Liam Reilly Auctioneers. The Business Post, 27th April
Grangegorman, Dublin 7 Plans for a US company’s 550,000 sq. ft office complex in Dublin has been abandoned. Workday made the decision to scrap its proposals to create its own European headquarters in Grangegorman two years after announcing the move. Instead, it stated that it will seek existing office space in Dublin which would allow its staff to expand from 2,000 to 2,300 by 2025. React News, 26th April
South Frederick Street, Dublin 2 Core Capital is understood to be closing in on the purchase of No. 5-9 South Frederick Street in Dublin’s south city centre. The Irish Times understands negotiations are ongoing for approx. €10m. It would represent an approx.17% discount on the €12m CBRE had been seeking when it brought the property to the market on behalf of its owner and former occupier, New Ireland Assurance, last October. The Irish Times, 24th April
Ballsbridge, Dublin 4 Bannon is undertaking an off-market sales campaign for 2 Ballsbridge Park, a 57,500 sq. ft office owned by Intrust Properties, for €32.5m. The asset generates approx. €3m a year from corporate tenants Goodbody Stockbrokers, BlackRock and Coca Cola. From May 2025, there is a block expiry of all the leases in the building. The property is being sold with the benefit of full planning permission for an extension and refurbishment of the existing building, which would deliver an office 133,000 sq. ft in size. React News, 30th April
Fitzwilliam Square, Dublin 2 Agent McNally Handy is guiding a price of €3.8m for No. 66 Fitzwilliam Square. The property is being offered for sale on behalf of the owner of the Fitzwilliam Hotel, Michael Holland, with full vacant possession. No. 66 comprises a four-storey over garden-level building of 7,237 sq. ft made up of a main building of 6,115 sq. ft and a mews to the rear of 1,121 sq. ft with own-door access from Pembroke Lane. The Irish Times, 24th April
Kilkenny and Dublin Iroko Zen has paid €24.97m (NIY 8.18%) for Kilkenny Retail Park and €3.635m (NIY 8%) for No. 24 Suffolk Street. Kilkenny Retail Park generates rental income of €2.25m pa. It extends to 144,989 sq. ft and is anchored by Woodies with a strong mix of tenants along with parking for 650 cars. The WAULT to break is 5.35 years. 24 Suffolk Street extends to 6,793 sq. ft. The ground-floor retail unit is occupied by Zizzi which generates €200k pa with lease expiry in January 2042. €70k pa is paid by Cunnane Stratton Reynolds for the upper floors. The Irish Times, 24th April
Grange Castle, Dublin 22 Hyperscale data centre campus developer and operator Vantage Data Centers is set to debut in Ireland with a multiphase data centre campus called DUB1. The US based company said it will invest more than €1bn to construct and deliver the new project. The 405,000 sq. ft campus will be located at Profile Park, Grange Castle, on 22 acres. Bisnow, 29th April
PBSA Investment The Government has committed to investing €100m in developments that will deliver 1,000 student accommodation beds. Taoiseach Simon Harris said it would allow 493 new beds to be developed in UCD, the progression of 405 new beds in DCU through tender stage and would help finance 116 new beds in Maynooth University to the construction stage. He confirmed that the State funding would be in return for 30% of the beds being made available for students who are eligible for SUSI grants or belong to priority categories at a discounted rent. The Irish Times, 25th April
Dunshaughlin, Co Meath A 30.12-acre landbank, of which approx. 24.52 acres is general employment zoned with the balance of approx. 5.60 acre currently unzoned, in Dunshaughlin is guiding €5m (approx. €166k per acre) through joint agents Sherry FitzGerald Commercial and Sherry FitzGerald Sherry. Sherry FitzGerald Press Release, 25th April
Dundrum, South Dublin An Bord Pleanála has conceded a legal challenge taken by a developer to the building of 852 homes on the former Central Mental Hospital site in Dundrum, the High Court has heard. Mark Leonard, who is behind a company called Centurion Homes, had called for a stay on the development of the project, known as Dundrum Central. The development plans were being progressed by the LDA. The Business Post, 29th April
Carrickmines, South Dublin The LDA and Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) have agreed preliminary terms on a deal to exchange lands at Leopardstown Racecourse, Carrickmines paving the way for the development of 1,000 affordable homes. As part of the deal, the LDA has conceded to halving its housing target from 2,000 to approx. 1,000 homes, and HRI will keep rights to approx. 40% of the 56.8-acre site for its development plans. The Sunday Times, 28th April
Vacant Site Levy Dublin Port Company (DPC) has been told to pay more than €1.1m worth of backdated levies over vacant land it owns. In 2018, a site owned by DPC on East Wall Road in Dublin 3 was placed on DCC’s vacant site register. Last October, DCC issued notices to Dublin Port requesting four separate payments of €280k in relation to vacant site levies for the years between 2019 and 2022. DPC appealed the demand for the payment to ABP, but the planning authority’s board has upheld the decision. The Business Post, 24th April
Housing Construction The government’s target to build 50,000 homes pa can only be met through increased private capital from investment funds, Michael McGrath has been warned by his own officials. The government needs a “new housing model” that can attract “private capital at significant scale” if it’s to reach its ambitious target of building 50,000 homes a year, according to the Department of Finance’s economics unit. The Business Post, 28th April
Claregalway, Co Galway BV Real Estate has brought a 4.4-acre plot of land for sale at the Claregalway Corporate Park, located in Claregalway. The site is suitable for a number of commercial uses. The total area of the site is approx. 4.4 acres, and it is guiding €2.4m (€545k per acre). The Business Post, 26th April
Ratoath, Co Meath The commercial arm of Coonan Property has brought a 139 acres farm to the market which is for sale by public auction and is guiding in excess of €3m (€21.58k per acre). The property at Ballymore in Ratoath is laid out in two large divisions. The Business Post, 26th April
Housing Completions The number of apartments completed in the first three months of the year dropped by a third compared with the same period in 2023, according to new CSO figures. The CSO report said that 5,841 homes were completed in the first quarter of the year, made up of 1,603 apartments, 1,200 one-off units and 3,038 delivered as part of housing schemes. Overall, this was a drop of 12.6% on the 6,647 homes completed in the same period last year. The Business Post, 25th April
Development Contribution Waiver The government has extended a scheme for developers that waives the need to pay contributions towards councils’ infrastructure budgets and water connection charges. The announcement was made as part of the latest quarterly update on Housing for All. A clause in the scheme requires developers to complete the commenced housing projects by December 31, 2025, to qualify for the waiver. The Business Post, 24th April
Fairview, Dublin 3 A Dublin city river-front site with planning permission for 16 one-bedroom apartments has come to the market with a €1.2m guide price. The site is located at 12A Poplar Row, Fairview and is exempt from Part V social and affordable housing due to the site size being limited to only 0.07 acres. The Irish Independent, 25th April
Horgan’s Quay, Cork Work is underway at Cork City docklands’ first major residential development, set to deliver more than 300 apartments within two years. The Horgan’s Quay development by Clarendon Properties/BAM should see the delivery of approx. 200 cost-rental apartments. The remaining units will be earmarked for sale to owner-occupiers under the Croí Cónaithe subsidised building scheme. The build will consist of a single stepped block, up to 11 storeys in height on the six-acre CIE-owned campus. The Irish Examiner, 24th April
Mullingar, Co Westmeath A 15.7-acre holding at Rathgowan in Mullingar is guiding €4.5m. The site has full planning permission for 207 new homes (€21.74k per unit) and is being offered to the market by Savills on behalf of Davy Select Properties Ltd. Planning for the Rathgowan SHD was granted on September 15th, 2023. The Irish Times, 24th April
Athenry, Co Galway The Redemptorist Order has retained Bannon to find a buyer for its monastery at Esker near Athenry and the wider 173-acre estate. The former religious complex is being offered to the market in one or more lots at a guide price of €3.75m. The existing buildings within the complex extend to a GIA of approx. 49,072 sq. ft. The accommodation is occupied under a short-term licence agreement for providing temporary housing for refugees which is due to expire in July. The Irish Times, 24th April
Ballyvolane, Cork Dunnes Stores has lodged a planning application seeking permission to create an urban farm in Cork. An application has been lodged under the name of Dunnes’ company Better Value Unlimited Company for the development, which will be located on lands immediately south of the Ballyvolane Shopping Centre. Bordered by the Ballyhooly Road and the North Ring Road, the 3.51-acre site would be repurposed as an urban farm focused on market gardening, agroforestry, and educational activities. The Irish Examiner, 24th April
Forestry Land Sale More than 1,000 acres of forestry land in Ireland has been launched for sale, React News can reveal. Lisney has been mandated to sell the portfolio, with offers in excess of €7.5m sought for the entire platform. The sale comprises 11 plots with three in Wicklow, two in Kildare, one each in Louth, Westmeath, Donegal, Galway, Cork and Waterford. React News, 30th April
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East Wall, Dublin 3 Receivers appointed to the Beckett Building, formerly leased to Meta, are preparing to bring the property to market at a price of €40m. KB Financial Group, a Korean fund, sought €80m for the property last year, when bids reportedly topped out at €50m. Landesbank Hessen-Thuringen, the group’s German banker, then appointed receivers in September in an attempt to recoup its €60.6m loan. KB Financial bought the block for €101m in 2018. The Sunday Times, 21st April
Dun Laoghaire, South Co Dublin The Cosgrave Group is selling its West Pier Business Campus building at the Monkstown end of Dun Laoghaire for €19m (10.89% NIY). The three interconnected five-storey office buildings extend to 108,575 sq. ft. The asset is currently 85% occupied by eight tenants, generating an annual rent of €2.27m with a WAULT of 1.7 years. The Business Post, 19th April
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North Wall Quay, Dublin 1 Dublin City Council has rejected Ronan Group Real Estate’s (RGRE) proposals for 1 North Wall Quay. In February, RGRE submitted plans to demolish Citigroup’s existing six-storey European headquarters and replace it with four buildings ranging in height from nine to 17-storeys. RGRE firm NWQ Devco was seeking a 10-year planning permission. RGRE said they will appeal against the refusal to An Bord Pleanála. React News, 19th April
Adelaide Road, Dublin 2 Irish Life Assurance has won planning permission to go ahead with its redevelopment of the former AIB premises on 1 Adelaide Road. The company had submitted a planning application in February last year to create a new development totalling 220,865 sq. ft. The proposals were for a building ranging in height from four storeys to a nine and 10-storey setback. It will have a total office floorspace of approx. 150,000 sq. ft. The insurance firm had agreed a prelet with Deloitte for the entire development. React News, 22nd April
Planning Activity, Cork City Gate Plaza Developments Limited has lodged an application with Cork City Council relating to its plans for the former Ma/Comm site in Mahon, Cork. Currently, it has permission to build two office blocks, one four-storeys and one three-storeys. It has applied to change the four-storey office block for two four-storey blocks instead, giving a total of three blocks on the site. The Irish Examiner, 17th April
Dublin Industrial and Logistics (I&L) take-up totalled just over 450k sq. ft in Q1. This was the lowest quarter of deals since Q2 2018 and was approx. 50% below the long-term quarterly average for the Dublin market. The vacancy rate across standing stock at the top I&L parks in Dublin is now 1.7%. Approx. 1.3m sq. ft of new Dublin I&L stock is under construction across 14 buildings, with just one of these units located in South Dublin. Prime rents were unchanged at €13 per sq. ft. Q1 investment was €8.75m. CBRE Report, 23rd April
Santry, North Dublin M7 Real Estate has signed a new tenant at its B2 Airport Business Park in Santry. Germany-headquartered Sixt Car Rentals has agreed a 15-year lease for approx. 17,000 sq. ft of space. Cushman & Wakefield and CBRE were quoting €16.00 per sq. ft (€268k pa). React News, 18th April
Dublin and Galway Cushman & Wakefield has brought to market Project Swuite, two fully-let stabilised PBSA assets comprising 218 beds located in Dublin and Galway. Swuite Dublin (128 beds; rent range €222-€592 per week) is located adjacent to TUD Grangegorman Campus and was completed in 2017. Swuite Galway (90 beds; rent range €233-€283 per week) is located near University of Galway and was completed in 2018. Price on Application. Cushman & Wakefield Press Release, 22nd April
Winthrop Street and St Patrick Street, Cork Ulster Bank has agreed to the sale in Cork city centre of two of its former bank branches for approx. €1m per branch at Winthrop St (2,688 sq. ft) and St Patrick St (2,573 sq. ft). As part of the withdrawal of the bank from the Republic of Ireland last year, Ulster Bank put 39 branches up for sale in three tranches in 2023. The Irish Examiner, 18th April
Dunshaughlin, Co Meath Lisney is handling the sale of the County Club in Dunshaughlin which is for sale with a price guide in excess of €1.5m and is set on 3.8 acres. The business ceased trade at the onset of Covid-19 and has remained closed since. The Business Post, 19th April
Thomastown, Co Kilkenny Tetrarch Capital is putting up the Mount Juliet estate in Kilkenny for sale at a guide price of €45m, having paid €15m to secure ownership of the five-star hotel and golf resort in 2014. The company operating the estate, MJBE Investments 1 Ltd, generated revenue of €17.6m in 2022 and recorded an operating profit of €699.5k. The Irish Times, 19th April
Sandyford, Dublin 18 JLL is handling the sale of a 0.97-acre site in Sandyford with a guide price of €2.75m, currently owned by Oakmount. The site is currently occupied by the former Lamb Doyle’s licensed premises and adjoining car park, which will be provided with vacant possession. Planning permission is pending for a new residential development which includes 14 houses. The Business Post, 20th April
Sycamore Street, Dublin 2 The Wild Duck theatre bar and entertainment venue in Temple Bar in Dublin, along with eight overhead apartments, is being offered for sale and joint selling agents BDM Property and JLL are quoting €8m for it. It is located at 17-20 Sycamore Street and extends to a total floor area of 14,588 sq. ft. 7,768 sq. ft is devoted to the business on the ground floor bar, entertainment venue and catering kitchen with a first-floor lounge/private party area. Seven of the apartments are currently occupied and generating €216k in annual rent. The Irish Independent, 18th April
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Arthur’s Quay, Limerick Tiernan Properties Group has abandoned the sale of the city’s Arthur’s Quay shopping centre and is instead planning a €200m redevelopment of the site with 300 private, social, affordable and cost-rental apartments as its centrepiece. In March 2023, Tiernan Properties announced it was putting Arthur’s Quay up for sale, with a guide price of €15m. The new scheme would triple the amount of existing retail space at Arthur’s Quay. The Irish Independent, 22nd April
Dublin The sale on behalf of receivers Grant Thornton of 11 Dublin investment properties owned by RGRE has been formally launched guiding €150m. The portfolio includes Connaught House (rent €7m pa; WAULT 4.46 years), Bewley’s Cafe (€1.46m pa), Kingram House (€827.5k pa; 8.71 years), 6/7 Harcourt Terrace (€357.6k pa), 70 Grafton Street (€647.3k pa; 14.5 years), 116 Grafton Street (€285k pa), Apt B 116 Grafton Street (€29.9k pa), Apt 7 Lafayette Building (€42.1k pa), Percy Exchange (24.09% ownership), Kilmore House (60% ownership) and St James Place (50% ownership). The Irish Times, 17th April
Greater Dublin Area Two properties owned by Ronan Group Real Estate have been brought to the market by receivers PWC. These are a development site in Dublin city (0.23 acres) and another in the Bray-Enniskerry area of Wicklow (12.4 acres). CBRE is guiding €2.75m for each site. One is located on the corner of Appian Way and Leeson St and the other overlooks the M11 with access from Enniskerry Road, near Bray. These properties are part of a different receivership process involving Fortress Investments Group, a junior lender to the Ronan Group on a portfolio of high-value assets. The Irish Independent, 18th April
Clondalkin, Co Dublin Carysfort Capital has prepared a prime Dublin residential block for a €50m sale (NIY 5%). CBRE has been instructed to sell Kilcarbery Square, a 115-unit build-to-rent development in west Dublin. React News, 22nd April
Killarney, Co Kerry Meitheal Architects has received the green light for approx. 250 homes near the centre of Killarney Town on a site spanning 19.5 acres. The homes are planned for a brownfield site called Cronin’s Wood near Killarney town centre and the scheme is the largest LRD to be granted planning permission by Kerry County Council since the scheme’s inception in 2021. The Business Post, 20th April
Kilkenny City Quinn Agnew is seeking offers in excess of €2.75m for a development opportunity located approx. 3.5km from Kilkenny city, subject to planning permission. A former industrial school on Kells Road on the edge of Kilkenny city, the campus is known as St Patrick’s Centre and is spread over approx. 18.3 acres. The Business Post, 20th April
Swords, Co Dublin New details published on the Property Price Register have shown that Ryanair spent more than €12.4m to acquire the 25 homes in Fosterstown Place from MKN Property Group. The most expensive property in the estate cost the company €544k, while the cheapest home was acquired for €471k. Each unit cost Ryanair €497k on average. The Business Post, 17th April
Swords, Co Dublin The family who owned the former Lord Mayor’s pub in Swords are selling it with planning permission for 134 apartments and Knight Frank is quoting more than €5.5m (€41k per unit) for the ready-to-go site. The former pub site is situated in a prominent location in Swords town centre at the junction of Ward River Valley Park and Main Street. The lands now for sale extend to approx. 3.4 acres. The Irish Independent, 18th April
Blessington, Co Wicklow Cairn Homes has secured planning permission for 329 homes for Blessington. As part of the grant of permission Cairn Homes must pay €2.79m to the council towards the upgrading of public infrastructure. The Irish Times, 17th April
Goatstown, South Dublin Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council has given the go-ahead to plans for 109 residential “assisted living” units on lands owned by the Society of the Sacred Heart order of nuns in Goatstown. The council has granted planning permission to Tetrarch Residential Ltd for the LRD scheme after the applicants removed five units from the original 114-unit scheme proposed on a 2.9-acre site known as the Old Farm. The Irish Times, 16th April
Marina Quarter, Cork Work is beginning on one of the largest apartment developments in Cork which will see more than 1,000 dockland apartments built in the city’s Marina Quarter, located on a 12.35-acre parcel of land. The proposal by Marina Quarter Ltd and backed by Glenveagh Properties involves the construction of 12 apartment blocks, some up to 14 storeys in height, targeted at the build-to-rent sector. The development site was bought in 2018 by Glenveagh Properties for approx. €15m. The Irish Examiner, 18th April
Planning Delays The bulk of planning applications will be processed within the 18 week deadline by the second half of this year, the chair of An Bord Pleanála has said. The backlog of cases faced by An Bord Pleanála has come about due to the planning authority’s board not being at full compliment for large periods between 2020 and 2022. Last year, Darragh O’Brien, the housing minister, increased the number of members on the board from ten to 15, with all those positions now filled since early May 2023. The Business Post, 18th April
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Hatch Street Lower, Dublin 2 Savills, on behalf of a fund managed by Davy Real Estate, is seeking out buyers for 20 On Hatch with a guide price of €26.5m (NIY 8.07%). The 44,735 sq. ft multi-let property comprises six storeys and a basement level. MetLife is the scheme’s majority occupier, having taken five floors. In 2018, the company extended its existing lease term for 10 years, at an agreed rent in excess of €50 per sq. ft. Medtronic occupies the remaining floor of the building. React News, 11th April
Blackrock, South Dublin Receiver Kroll Advisory (Ireland) Ltd has appointed QRE Real Estate Advisers to sell Block 2 within the Blackrock Business Park in South Dublin for which it is guiding €10.25m (NIY 8.16%). Block 2 comprises a standalone three-storey modern office building extending to approx. 27,674 sq. ft together with 71 car parking spaces. Tenant line up includes Identigen and Becton Dickinson, providing a WAULT of approx. 4.24 years to break and 10.45 years to lease expiry with total contracted rent of €920k pa. The Business Post, 12th April
Citywest Business Campus, Dublin 24 Lisney is guiding a price of €6.2m (NIY 8.04%) for 3016-3018 Lake Drive at Dublin’s Citywest Business Campus. The asset is a two-storey office block of 22,965 sq. ft with 74 car-parking spaces comes to the market fully let to tenants including Pure Telecom, Schneider, and Aspen Pharma. It is generating a passing rent of €547.8k and has a WAULT of 5.85 years to break and 10.55 years to lease expiry. The Irish Times, 10th April
Ballsbridge, Dublin 4 Gresham House is to start construction at the Carrisbrook House site in Ballsbridge. The site was acquired with vacant possession through a fund sponsored by Orion Capital Managers in 2021. The Carrisbrook House redevelopment will replace an existing 30,000 sq. ft structure with a 10-storey, 100,000 sq. ft office building with a capacity of approx. 650 people. The building will be renamed One Pembroke, according to Gresham House. Bisnow, 11th April
O’Connell Street, Dublin 1 The developer of Clerys Quarter is seeking to refinance external debt on the landmark project. Accounts for OCES Property Holdings say that “a process is ongoing to consider the best course of action in regard to the refinance”. Lender Greenoak, due to be repaid last September, is owed €34.6m. The accounts state that the company agreed two six-month extensions with Greenoak and is now looking to refinance by September. The Sunday Times, 14th April
Dean Hotel Group The sale of the Dean Hotel Group to British property group Lifestyle Hospitality Capital (LHC) and Elliott Investment Management has been completed. The deal values the hotels at approx. €355m and gives LHC and Elliott a stake of more than 70%. The deal comprises eight hotels and the businesses of a further two under development as opposed to the five venues that were included in the initial offering. The hotels include the Dean Dublin, the Mayson, the Devlin, the Dean Cork, the Dean Galway, Clarence Hotel on Wellington Quay, the Leinster Hotel on Lower Mount Street and the Glasson Lakehouse near Athlone in Co Westmeath. The Irish Times, 10th April
Ormond Quay Lower, Dublin 1 BDM Property is seeking proposals from food and beverage operators to provide food, beverage and coffee services under a long-term licence/management agreement with the hotel operator of the recently established Zanzibar Locke Aparthotel in Dublin city centre. Located at 34-37 Ormond Quay Lower, the food and beverage area occupies part of the ground floor and first floor of the original building and extends to 3,830 sq. ft. The Irish Times, 10th April
Restaurant Chain Closure The businessmen Colum and Ciarán Butler have moved to put Mao, their Asian restaurant chain, into liquidation. Creditors meetings for Orbit Wave and Maotham, two companies that operated Mao, have been called for 22nd April. Latest accounts for Orbit Wave for 2022 show it had debts of just under €1.82m falling due within one year. Maotham had debts of €1.86m. The Sunday Times, 14th April
Restaurant Closures Over 200 restaurants, cafés and other food-led business shut in Ireland in the first quarter, costing the state €288m, according to a report from the Restaurants Association of Ireland (RAI). 101 businesses in the hospitality sector closed in January, followed by 71 in February and 40 in March, according to Vision Net and sole trader figures compiled by the RAI. Aside from the VAT increase, restaurants have been hit badly by inflation. The Business Post, 16th April
Dublin Hotel Prices The expense of Dublin hotel rooms during big events is not unusual with cities across the world typically exhibiting similar pricing patterns, a report examining the potential for so-called price gouging in the sector has found. Commissioned by Fáilte Ireland, the study was undertaken by Crowe on the instruction of Minister for Tourism last year. During 2023′s high season, Dublin experienced a higher volume of “compression nights” than all the other comparative destinations. The report said any introduction of price controls could have unintended consequences such as market distortion, a reduction in the supply of rooms and disincentivising investment in hotel stock. The Irish Times, 16th April
Airways Industrial Estate, Dublin 9 Arrow Capital Partners has acquired an 88,000 sq. ft logistics asset in Dublin for €7.5m. The acquisition was made for Arrow’s €3bn Strategic Industrial Real Estate (SIRE) joint venture with Cerberus. The asset comprises two interconnecting units of 41,348 sq. ft and 46,621 sq. ft. Both units are let on a long-term lease to MM Fiber Packaging Ireland Limited. The asset is positioned within Airways Industrial Estate. The Irish Independent, 11th April
Prussia Street, Dublin 7 Plans have been lodged for a €33m student accommodation development at the former IDA Centre on Prussia Street. The development for Lyonshall will see the demolition of four existing warehouse structures to make way for a 373-bedroom PBSA development. It is expected to have a planning decision made in Q4 2024. The Business Post CIS Round-up, 12th April
Williamstown, Co Waterford Planning permission has been sought by Noel Frisby Construction for a €15.2m apartment development in Deerpark, Williamstown. The project incorporates building 78 apartments in a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom units and an external store associated with a crèche. The Business Post CIS Round-up, 12th April
Clane, Co Kildare Kildare County Council has granted planning permission to Debussy Properties for a €41m large residential development application in Clane, which will see the construction of 191 residential units in a mix of apartments and houses. Works are expected to commence on site in spring/summer 2024. The Business Post CIS Round-up, 12th April
Bray, Co Wicklow Plans have been approved by Wicklow County Council at a site at Vevay Road and Boghall Road (the former Dell site) in Bray. The project will see the construction of 178 apartments. Works are expected to commence on site in Q2/Q3 2024. The Business Post CIS Round-up, 12th April
Glanmire, Co Cork Works have begun on O’Flynn Construction’s €27m LRD in Ballinglanna in Glanmire, where approx. 130 residential units in a mix of houses and apartments will be built by late 2027/early 2028. The Business Post CIS Round-up, 12th April
Naas, Co Kildare Westar Investments will begin works on its €23m residential scheme in Finlay Park, Naas. The 134-apartment unit scheme includes a commercial/health/medical unit and public open space. Works are expected to complete on site late 2027/early 2028. The Business Post CIS Round-up, 12th April
Southgreen, Kildare A ready-to-go site with planning for 168 housing units at Southgreen is being offered for sale by Tender by Coonan Property. The development opportunity comprises approx. 12.35 acres with full planning permission for 168 units. The tender date is May 15th. The lands were granted planning permission from An Bord Pleanála in February 2024 for the residential development of 168 units in a mixture of houses, duplex units and apartments. The Business Post, 12th April
BNP Paribas Report Activity in the construction sector returned to growth in March, the first time since June 2023. The real estate giant’s March PMI showed seasonally adjusted total activity was 51.6, surpassing the 50.0 no change mark to signify expansion and up from 47.4 in February. Activity increased in both housing and commercial activity, with residential projects increasing the fastest since May 2022 at 54.3 and commercial activity turning around to 53.9 after four-months of decline. BNP Paribas Real Estate Ireland Report, 15th April
Caragh, Co Kildare Kildare Co Council has granted planning permission to O’Flynn Construction (Dublin) Ltd to proceed with the construction of 36 residential homes and two office/retail units on lands to the north of Caragh village. The Council decision reverses a planning refusal it issued in April of last year to the firm for a housing development at the site. The Irish Examiner, 12th April
First Home Scheme More than 4,000 buyers have availed of the Government’s First Home Scheme, designed to aid first-time purchasers. There has been an increase of 118% in homes bought under the scheme in the first quarter of the year. The €400m scheme has provided more than €100m in supports for the completed purchase thus far of over 1,500 homes since it was set up. The average purchase price for houses under the scheme is €379k, with approx. €67k, or 17%, expected to be provided by the scheme, on average. The Irish Times, 10th April
Drumcondra, Dublin 9 A developer’s bid to save its planning permission for 1,593 rental apartments in north Dublin’s inner suburbs has been rejected by the Supreme Court. A partner fund of developer Hines received fast-track approval in November 2021 for the €602m scheme of 12 blocks, including one of 18 storeys, on the site of the former Holy Cross seminary on Clonliffe Road in Drumcondra. The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the High Court’s decision to strike down the approval. The Irish Times, 11th April
LDA Many private landowners are sitting on “overpriced” sites with “unimplementable” planning permissions, the head of property at the LDA has said. Phelim O’Neill said the body got good value for money at approx. €20k per plot for the 32.6-acre site in Clongriffin as the land had capacity for approx. 2,300 homes. O’Neill said the price the LDA is willing to pay for sites is informed by location, scale and cost. The Business Post, 14th April
Ashford, Co Wicklow Declan de Lacy of Azets has been appointed as liquidator to the company behind a proposed assisted living facility in Ashford backed by Chinese investors. Clonmannon House Retirement Village Ltd is insolvent with debts of approx. €2m. The firm’s main asset is an interest in the period property Clonmannon House in Ashford and 44 bungalow units on the lands. The liquidator was appointed over concerns that the company’s interest in Clonmannon Village could be forfeited due to its failure to complete a €2.15m contract for sale from March 2019. The Currency, 15th April
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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
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
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
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
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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St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2 Archer Hotel Capital has bought the Shelbourne Hotel in Dublin city centre for an estimated €260m. The Dutch investment firm, which owns the Conrad Hotel, had been reported as the purchaser of the property from US group Kennedy Wilson. Now filings show that Archer Hotel Capital joint managing directors Guy Pasley-Taylor and Dominic Seyrling have been named directors of KW Shelbourne Ops, the company behind the hotel. Archer Hotel Capital is jointly owned by affiliates of Netherlands-based APG Asset Management, one of the world’s largest pension investors, and Singapore’s sovereign GIC wealth fund. Last year, Kennedy Wilson hiked its valuation of the Shelbourne by almost a quarter to approx. €236m as the property benefited from a recovery in business following the pandemic. The trophy property had been bought in 2004 for €140m by a consortium. The group spent approx. €125m refurbishing the hotel. The Irish Independent, 29th March
Trinity Street, Dublin 2 Having secured planning permission recently for the development of a 30-bedroom hostel with 198 bed spaces at 13 Trinity Street in Dublin City Centre, US-headquartered real estate investor and private lending firm Grand Coast Capital is seeking a buyer for the property. No. 13 is available for sale through Cushman & Wakefield at a guide price of €4m. Located at the junction of Andrew’s Lane and Trinity Street, the property comprises a part-two-storey, part-four-storey building extending to 8,353 sq. ft over basement level. While Trespass currently occupies part of the ground floor under the terms of a licence agreement generating €36k pa plus 10% of annual turnover, vacant possession is available at short notice. Planning permission was granted by Dublin City Council last November. The Irish Times, 27th March
Planning Permission Airbnb hosts across Ireland must apply for planning permission to rent their premises as the government enforces stringent new EU rules on the sector. The Department of Housing confirmed that hosts in both urban and rural areas would have to apply for permission to provide tourist accommodation. The decision on whether to grant the licence will lie with the local authority. It had been suggested that only hosts in rent pressure zones would have to apply for planning permission but this is no longer the case. Failte Ireland says there are approx. 34,000 short-term tourist lettings advertised online. A spokesman for the Department of Housing said that owners “homesharing” their principal place of residence for short-term letting purposes would be exempt under the new rules. The Sunday Times, 31st March
EY Ireland has narrowed the search for its new Dublin headquarters down to two locations, one of which is situated just across the street from its existing offices at the Harcourt Centre on Harcourt Street. The Big Four accounting and consulting firm set out last May to find approx. 200,000 sq. ft of space with a view to accommodating the growth of its Dublin-based workforce. The company currently occupies approx. 100,000 sq. ft in a cluster of offices at the Harcourt Centre, which it leases from the Clancourt Group. In the first instance, it is looking at the possibility of relocating to Harcourt Place, a new office scheme to be built by its current landlord, the Clancourt Group, on a 1.33-acre site the developer has assembled at the intersection of Charlemont Street, Harcourt Road and South Richmond Street. The scheme is set to comprise 320,377 sq. ft of offices. EY’s other option, The Irish Times understands, is to move from its longstanding home on Harcourt Street altogether, and to relocate to Wilton Park, the 580,000 sq. ft office campus developed by Irish property company, Iput, at Wilton Place. The Irish Times, 27th March
Ballsbridge, Dublin 4 After lying dormant for several years now, the redevelopment of Carrisbrook House in Ballsbridge is set to get under way in the coming weeks. The former location of the Israeli embassy is to be demolished and replaced with a new building to be known as “One Pembroke”. Carrisbrook House currently comprises 30,000 sq. ft of office space distributed over eight floors. Upon completion, its replacement, One Pembroke, will have 100,000 sq. ft of LEED-Platinum rated space with capacity for 650 workers across 10 storeys. The ground floor will incorporate a cafe facing on to Pembroke Road. Gresham House Real Estate (formerly Burlington Real Estate) is development manager for the project. Gresham House acquired Carrisbrook House from Colony Capital and U+I in partnership with Orion Capital Managers for approx. €29m in 2021. The Irish Times, 27th March
Irish Life Investment Managers (ILIM) expects to spend approx. €300m redeveloping Irish commercial real estate as it upgrades its outlook on property investments. ILIM expects investment returns in Irish property to grow by 4.5% a year on average over the next 10 years, as per a recently published yearly update to clients and investors, up from 4% last year. It also upgraded its outlook for European property to 5.5%, up from 4.5%. The upgrade on Irish and European property comes despite warnings about the outlook for the sector. ILIM said it had invested approx. €300m over the last five years in redeveloping Irish commercial real estate. It expects to spend a similar amount in the coming five years. The Irish Independent, 31st March
College Green, Dublin 2 French investor Altixia REIM has entered the Irish commercial property market, paying €4.6m for the College Green Collection, a portfolio of two prime retail properties let to US-headquartered coffee chain Starbucks and Canadian convenience store giant Circle K. The price paid represents a 23% discount on the €6m HWBC had been guiding when it offered the portfolio to the market on behalf of UK investor Henderson Park Capital last May. Altixia REIM has acquired the investment on behalf of its SCPI Altixia Cadence XII fund. The Starbucks premises at 1-2 College Green (lot 1) occupies the corner position at the junction with Foster Place. The property comprises the ground floor and basement only and extends to 2,478 sq. ft. The passing rent from Starbucks is €185k pa, with approx. six years remaining to lease expiry. The Irish Times understands Altixia completed its purchase of nos. 1 and 2 College Green last week, while its €2.1m deal for Circle K’s premises took place last December. Nos. 4-5 College Green (lot 2) occupies the corner position at the junction with Anglesea Street leading to Temple Bar. The property comprises the ground floor and basement only and extends to 3,070 sq. ft. The passing rent from Circle K is €167k annually with a guarantee from Circle K Ireland Holding. The lease is for a term of approx. 25 years from 2004 with approx. five years to lease expiry. The Irish Times, 27th March
Kilnamanagh, Dublin 24 Dunnes Stores has succeeded in having its planning contributions relating to a planned expansion of a South Dublin shopping centre almost halved to €230.7k. An Bord Pleanála upheld an appeal by the retailer against a South Dublin City Council condition demanding it pay €448.1k in planning contributions. It relates to plans to expand the Kilnamanagh Shopping Centre. The application by Dunnes Stores firm Better Value Unlimited sought an upgrade that would include a two-storey extension at the shopping centre’s eastern elevation. The southern lobby to Dunnes Stores would also be demolished and replaced with a new glazed lobby entrance. In the appeal, consultants for Dunnes Stores, Tony Bamford Planning, stated the council had double-counted a first-floor extension in calculating the financial contributions. A letter from the local authority noted “the fee as stated in the appeal letter submitted by the applicant would be correct”. The Irish Times, 28th March
George’s Quay, Cork Nos. 13 and 14 George’s Quay have been brought to market by agent Casey & Kingston with a guide price of €3.5m. The assets generate a return of €190k pa. Both buildings have the same owner and both include a ground-floor commercial unit occupied in each case by Izz Cafe which expanded from No. 13 into No. 14 late last year. The upper floors in both buildings, which contain four apartments apiece, are fully let following conversion from offices to living quarters after they were sold last year. All eight apartments are leased to the local authority on a 25-year lease. The Irish Examiner, 28th March
House Price Inflation DNG has revised its property inflation forecasts for 2024, predicting house prices will now rise up to five-times faster in Dublin than previously expected. Keith Lowe, chief executive of DNG, said the agency previously forecast property prices would increase by approx. 1% higher in Dublin this year, and 4% outside the capital. “In terms of the properties for sale, there are fewer for sale today than there were during the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic, which is an unbelievable statistic”, Lowe said. He added that the number of homes for sale dropped significantly between the beginning of 2023 and 2024, down from 14,000 to 10,500. New data released by DNG has shown that on an annual basis, prices of resale residential property in Dublin increased by 4.3% in the 12-month period to the end of March, compared to 2% the previous year. The new data from DNG around property prices also showed costs of apartments in Dublin have increased 1.9% in the first three months of the year. The Business Post, 1st April
Knight Frank Report on the Living Sector Market estimates that up to 58,000 housing/living-sector units will be required annually until 2027, based on Ireland’s demographic profile. The number hits 61,700 when one factors in the requirement for up to 4,000 student-bed spaces. Of that total of 58,000 annually, 32,000 would be first-time buyer family homes; 9,000 homes for downsizers and mature family homes; 10,000 homes to meet the current and future senior-living requirements; the remaining category of mature family homes will require approx. 6,700 units. The Irish Times, 27th March
Tax Legislation The government is drawing up plans to discourage one-off housing developments including potential new taxes on developers building in rural areas, the Business Post can reveal. The proposals, contained in a new draft plan aimed at cutting car usage, would either lead to new taxes or levies being imposed on undeveloped, greenfield sites outside of urban areas, or tax reliefs being granted for building on previously developed brownfield sites within built up areas. The Business Post, 31st March
Newcastle, South-West Dublin Quinn Agnew has brought a site to the market for sale at lands in South-West Dublin. The asset comprises a partially completed development, which is being sold by public tender on Thursday May 16 and for which the agent has not supplied a guide price or estimated value. Lamberton Properties had secured planning in 2007 for a 225-room seven-star hotel at the site in Ballynakelly and Rathcreedan in Newcastle. The partially constructed hotel and lands, which extend to approx. 24.4 acres, together with adjoining lands, which contain the completed access roadway, have planning permission. Lamberton Properties subsequently applied for and were granted an extension of the duration of the planning permission by South Dublin County Council for the hotel portion of the development only. That permission will expire in March 2025. The Business Post, 30th March
Social Housing The Government failed to reach its social and affordable housing delivery targets in 2023, with a shortfall of approx. 2,700 homes. Approx. 11,939 new social homes were delivered last year, an increase of 16.33% on 2022 with 10,263 social homes. However, this year’s figure fell short of the Government’s target of 13,130 by 1,191 homes. Of the 11,939 new social homes accounted for by local authorities and Approved Housing Bodies last year, 8,110 were newbuild homes, 1,830 were acquisitions and 1,999 were through leasing programmes. Local authorities accounted for 2,429 newbuilds, with Dublin City Council delivering 323 followed by Cork City Council (263) and South Dublin County Council (190). Separately, approx. 4,011 affordable houses came on stream in 2023, despite a target of 5,500 for the year. The Irish Times, 31st March
Lower Abbey Street, Dublin 1 The Methodist Church in Ireland has engaged Lisney to sell its City Centre base, which is known as the Dublin Central Mission and which is located at 9 Lower Abbey Street. The period redbrick is located adjacent to the red Luas line stop and is being sold with the benefit of vacant possession. The property itself extends to approx. 10,742 sq. ft and retains original features. Lisney is guiding €2.75m for the property. The Business Post, 31st March
Dublin Airport Euro Car Parks is to table a bid for a car park near Dublin Airport which DAA was recently prevented from buying as competition for the sought-after site hots up. The car park business has confirmed its interest in buying the site with a third-party investor, making it the second firm to express an interest in the facility. The company was believed to have been involved in a bid for the car park in Santry, previously operated by ParkFly, when it initially went on the market in 2022 with a guide price of €70m. Another of the original bidders, Innovest, has also reportedly confirmed that it would be willing to bid for the car park should it come back on the market. The Business Post, 31st March
Quanta Capital, a Dublin-based investment fund, is making a play for prime assets in the ¬portfolio of Signa, the collapsed Austrian real estate group. The Sunday Times understands the fund is looking to buy up to €2bn worth of assets from Signa Prime, one of the main companies in the Signa empire. Quanta would buy the properties through its Goldstein ICAV wing. Signa is the co-owner of luxury retail stores such as Brown Thomas and Arnotts in Dublin. Quanta’s interest in Signa is restricted to its European assets, including the Park Hyatt. It is not interested in the retail element of the portfolio. The Sunday Times, 31st March
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Clonskeagh, Baggot Street and Lucan, Dublin Oakmount has instructed CBRE to find a buyer for three of their best-known Dublin pubs. The sale of Ashton’s in Clonskeagh, Thomas Rody Maher’s on Baggot Street and The Foxhunter in Lucan is expected to see strong interest from both publicans and investors. The portfolio is being offered to the market at an overall guide price of €13.5m. The venues are also being made available for sale individually at guide prices of €4.75m for Ashton’s, €3.5m for Thomas Rody Maher’s, and €5.25m for the Foxhunter (including an adjacent development site). Ashton’s was acquired by Oakmount from a group of private investors for €3m in 2022. It paid approx. €1.7m to secure ownership of the then Larry Murphy’s pub in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021, and set about transforming the Baggot Street landmark into Thomas Rody Maher’s. It acquired the Foxhunter and its adjoining site for €3m in 2019. The Irish Times, 20th March
Ashtown and Dame Street, Dublin Examiners of Mulligan & Haines Hospitality Ltd, the company behind the Lock Keeper gastropub in Ashtown, have succeeded in rescuing the business. The business was owned by Dublin-based Chinese businessman Colm Wu but, under the terms of the deal agreed, new investor ATM Hospitality Services Limited will invest fresh capital in the company and take it over. However, an agreement could not be reached to rescue a separate company called Castor Ventures Ltd, which is behind the city-centre Mulligan & Haines bar and restaurant on Dame Street in Dublin. A €1m investment proposal in this pub, which was also previously controlled by Wu, was sourced by the examiners but a restructuring of the property arrangements with the charge holder on the premises could not be agreed so this business has now gone into liquidation. ATM Hospitality Services will put up €150k to discharge an initial dividend to creditors in the Lock Keeper gastropub, form a new board and provide additional funds for working capital purposes. The Currency, 19th March
Parkgate Street, Dublin 8 14-16 Parkgate Street is being offered for sale fully let by Finnegan Menton at a guide price of €7.5m (NIY approx. 7.2%). Situated immediately next door to the Ashling Hotel, 14-16 Parkgate Street briefly comprises a four-storey office building of 16,253 sq. ft. Extended in 2017, the property is let in its entirety to First Ireland Risk Management. The building is occupied on a 25-year FRI lease from July 2022. This agreement is a renewal of previous leases with the tenant in occupation for approx. 20 years. The current passing rent is €599k pa and the lease is subject to five-yearly mutual-break options. The Irish Times, 20th March
Molesworth Street, Dublin 2 Deka Immobilien has agreed terms to buy a prime office Dublin building for approx. €40m (NIY approx. 5.25%). In a positive move at the core end of the market, the German fund manager is pushing on with a deal to buy 40 Molesworth Street, a 30,000 sq. ft office owned by the State Street-managed WindWise Property Fund. The office element is leased in its entirety to law firm DLA Piper, while Specsavers occupies the retail space. Offering a WAULT of approx. 12 years to expiry and 5.25 to break, 40 Molesworth Street generates a rent roll of €2.175m a year. React News, 19th March
St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2 With insurer Royal London Ireland having recently moved all of its employees over to its main offices at 47-49 St Stephen’s Green, the firm’s space at 4 Earlsfort Terrace has become available to let by way of assignment until August 2028. Located on the ground floor of the building, the accommodation, which extends to 2,097 sq. ft, is being offered to the market by Cushman & Wakefield at a rent of €62.50 per sq. ft. The offices are plug-and-play and fully fitted with seating for 26 people. The Irish Times, 20th March
Citywest Business Campus, Dublin Lisney is guiding a price of €4.5m for a standalone office building at Dublin’s Citywest Business Campus. 3008 Lake Drive comes to the market with the benefit of full vacant possession and an attractive capital value of €197 per sq. ft. The subject property comprises an L-shaped building of 22,862 sq. ft distributed over two floors. The Irish Times, 20th March
Mahon, Cork The first proper office space used by Voxpro, the call centre firm, is up for rent for €92k pa. The asset is up for rent via ERA Downey McCarthy. Accommodation at Unit 6 includes a 301 sq. ft ground floor, with a private lobby and lift access; a 5,608 sq. ft first floor; and 1,055 sq. ft second floor. The overall area of the building is 6,964 sq. ft. The Irish Examiner, 22nd March
Blanchardstown Centre Northwood Investors, a US real estate company, is believed to be making an aggressive bid to acquire Blanchardstown Centre, tabling a first-round offer in the region of €580m. The investment group M&G, the waste tycoon Eamon Waters and the US property investor Hines are still in the running for the mall despite pitching materially lower offers. Northwood is working on a bid that would deliver a modest return for the owner, Goldman Sachs, and this would require a bid over and above the €560m owed to the shopping centre’s syndicate of senior lenders led by Morgan Stanley. AIB sold €175m senior debt secured on the centre at 83c on the euro to Hayfin, a UK lender, last year. A return for Goldman Sachs, which acquired the property at a valuation of €750m in December 2020, would pave the way for a consensual sale. The centre spans 1,205,557 sq. ft and has 180 stores. The Sunday Times, 24th March
Clondalkin, Dublin 22 With more than 1,000 homes scheduled for completion and occupation by next year at Kilcarbery Grange in Clondalkin, the sale of the scheme’s new, purpose-built creche facility should prove attractive to both investors and childcare operators. The building, which is to be completed to shell-and-core condition, is being offered to the market by DNG’s new-homes division at a guide price of €1.5m. The creche at Kilcarbery Grange comprises 9,785 sq. ft of accommodation laid out over two floors. The facility also includes an external play space of 1,335 sq. ft with scope to increase. The Irish Times, 20th March
Little Island, Co Cork Deals on two of the largest Munster region industrial lettings in recent years, totalling over 250,000 sq. ft, have been scored by rival business parks in Cork’s Little Island. The lettings include one to Munters, which specialises in cooling equipment for data centres, while the other is to logistics and freight firm Crane Worldwide. Munters is set to move into the 129,077 sq. ft Unit 7A/7B, Anchor Business Park, Little Island. The major Munters deal brings the Anchor Business Park close to full occupation. The building being taken on by Munters, No. 7A/7B is expected to be handed over by the end of this year. It’s practically the same size as another just concluded 128,000 sq. ft letting, via Lisney, of Unit 1 at Harbour Gate Business Park,also in Little Island. On an 8.4-acre site, it was just taken over by logistics firm Crane Worldwide which closes out the entire 200,000 sq. ft Harbour Gate Business Park. The Irish Examiner, 21st March
Little Island, Co Cork Global transport and logistics company Kuehne+Nagel, which is headquartered in Switzerland, has leased Unit 4 at the Anchor Park, which extends to 75,600 sq. ft. Separately, there is a letting agreed on the 33,600 sq. ft Unit 6, which is currently under construction. The contracts are due to be exchanged in the coming weeks, with an expected completion date in early Q4 2024. The Irish Examiner, 21st March
Moran Group has secured a €70m loan from Värde Partners to refinance several commercial real estate assets in Dublin. The loan is backed by the newly developed Rockpoint apartment complex in South Dublin, as well as the Red Cow Moran hotel and adjacent Red Cow Inn pub in southwest Dublin. The Moran Group, run by the Moran family, has owned and operated the Red Cow complex for more than 30 years. Rockpoint was completed in January 2024. The Irish Times previously reported that the Rockpoint development had been offered for sale in its entirety to institutional investors back in February 2023, with a guide price of €59m. It was also reported that, despite receiving several offers of €54m, the owners decided to hang onto the assets. The 1.24 acre Rockpoint site was acquired from Marlet Property Group in 2020 for around €7.5m. React News, 21st March
An Bord Pleanála will stop dealing with planning cases in a chronological order, in a fresh bid to address the board’s backlog of cases. “There are different types of cases before the board for determination” and it “will be applying different prioritisation to those cases and will therefore not deal with cases in chronological order”, An Bord Pleanála said in a statement published on its website. An Bord Pleanála has faced heavy criticism in recent years for the apparent slow pace in making decisions on planning applications. Delays have been magnified by the housing shortage especially in Dublin. A spokeswoman said there were 2,258 cases on hand, a decrease of 11% from the beginning of 2024. She said this was down from 3,613 cases on hand in May 2023 which included approx. 600 Residential Zoned Land Tax cases. The spokeswoman said the cases on hand included 56 Strategic Housing Developments applications. The Irish Times, 22nd March
House Prices Property prices have accelerated again with a jump of over 5% recorded nationally for the 12 months to the end of January. The latest residential property price index, compiled by the CSO, showed prices rose by 5.4% on an annual basis in January. This was the fifth month in a row that headline inflation in the property market has increased. Prices in Dublin rose at an annual rate of 4.5% while prices outside the capital rose by 6.1%, the CSO said. The latest pickup in prices comes amid expectations that the ECB will begin a cycle of rate reductions this year. Prices have also been buoyed by the various Government affordability schemes which have fuelled activity with first-time buyers. The latest figures indicate that prices increased by 0.7% month-on-month in January. Buyers paid a median or middle price of €330k for a home in the 12 months to January, the latest figures show. The Irish Times, 20th March
Housing Fund AIB has partnered with Activate Capital, which is backed by KKR, to launch a €500m fund to deliver 1,000 homes per year. The Irish apartment development fund will provide debt capital for new developments in Dublin, Cork, Galway and Limerick. The fund, which will be managed by Activate, already has several new development projects under “active consideration”. AIB previously allocated €800m in funding to support social housing by the end of this year. The fund will focus on mixed-tenure development, including for owner-occupiers, private sector rental, cost rental and social housing. All developments will have an “A” Energy Rating. The Business Post, 24th March
Housing Construction Construction work began on more than 3,600 new homes in February, the third highest number in a month since 2014. New data released by the Department of Housing showed 3,699 new homes were commenced last month. The number of homes started during the month was up 85% on the number started in February 2023, when 1,997 units were commenced. In 2024, more than 7,000 new homes have been started in the first two months of the year, an increase of 72% on the same period last year. On a 12-month rolling basis, work has now started on 35,750 new homes. The data released by the Department of Housing, which is based on figures from the Building Control Management System, showed that of the 3,699 units commenced in February, 29% were apartments and 11% were one-off units. The remainder that were commenced were homes as part of housing estate projects. The Business Post, 21st March
Chapelizod, West Dublin A 5.3-acre site on the banks of the Liffey in Chapelizod is being offered for sale by Savills with a €2.75m guide price. Known as Willow Vale, it is just 3km from the Criminal Courts of Justice and 5.5km from O’Connell Bridge in Dublin city. In addition, the sale includes two houses: Willow Vale, a four-bedroom detached house located within the site, and 5 Hibernian Terrace, a three-bedroom semi-detached property located on Chapelizod Road. The Irish Independent, 21st March
Gorey, Co Wexford Joint agents Knight Frank and Sherry FitzGerald O’Leary Kinsella are guiding a price of €3m for a 38-acre land holding in Gorey, Co Wexford, with the outcome of a planning application pending for the development of 421 new homes. The subject holding has frontage to both the Gorey-Carnew Road and Kilnahue Road. The lands are zoned under the Gorey Town & Environs Local Area Plan 2017-2023. Approx. 31 acres of the holding are zoned residential while the remaining seven acres are zoned as open space and amenity. The Irish Times, 20th March
Ires Reit US investment giant Starwood Capital has topped up its stake in Ireland’s biggest private landlord, Ires Reit, after first buying into the firm last month. A regulatory filing yesterday confirms that Starwood has lifted its holding in Ires to 2.1%. It initially notified the market last month that it had accumulated a 1.5% share of the Irish property investment firm. That sparked speculation about Starwood’s intentions at Ires, as the Irish firm emerged bruised from a battle with Canadian activist shareholder Vision Capital. The Irish Independent, 21st March
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Kilkenny Retail Park, Kilkenny Iroko Zen is closing in on the purchase of Kilkenny Retail Park from Aviva’s Irish Commercial Property Fund. The deal, which is understood to carry a value of just over €23m, will represent the French-headquartered investor’s ninth acquisition in the Irish investment market. TWM had been seeking €22m for the scheme.
Aviva secured ownership of Kilkenny Retail Park in 2018 as part of its takeover of Irish insurer Friends First, who had purchased the park for €25m in 2016. Located in the Springhill area on the outskirts of Kilkenny City, Kilkenny Retail Park is fully occupied at present and generating overall rental income of approx. €2.2m pa from a strong tenant line-up led by DIY retail giant Woodie’s. Other occupiers at the scheme include EZ Living, DID Electrical, Harry Corry, Jysk, Costa Coffee, Petmania and KFC. The WAULT to expiry is seven years. The Irish Times, 13th March
O’Connell Street, Dublin 1 Swedish fashion retailer H&M is in the final stages of fitting out its new 30,000 sq. ft store at Clerys Quarter and began trading last Friday from the ground and first floors of the scheme following a formal ribbon-cutting ceremony. Decathlon meanwhile is expected to open for business at Clerys Quarter this July. The French-headquartered sports clothing and equipment specialist agreed a deal to occupy the other half of the development’s 60,000 sq. ft of retail space in January. The overall development will comprise 92,600 sq. ft of new grade-A office space across two buildings, 60,000 sq. ft of retail, a 18,000 sq. ft panoramic rooftop restaurant, bar and events venue, five new food-and-beverage units, including the newly refurbished tea rooms, Pret A Manger which is already trading, and a new 213-bedroom Premier Inn hotel. The Irish Times, 12th March
Ballyconnell, Co Cavan The Slieve Russell hotel in Co Cavan is to come to the market in the next fortnight. CBRE, the property agent, has been appointed by liquidators for the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation to sell the four-star Slieve Russell. Market sources say the hotel will have an asking price of approx. €30m. The Sunday Times, 17th March
Cork The Sunday Times has learnt that Attestor Capital, a private equity firm based in London, is in talks to invest in Reardens Group, one of the biggest pub chains in Cork. The deal is expected to value it at approx. €27m. Margaret Kenneally, the group’s current owner, will stay involved in the chain, which includes Reardens and Le Cabaret on Washington Street and the Secret Garden and Hidden Attic on Hanover Street. The Sunday Times, 17th March
Talbot Place, Dublin 1 Azora, a Spanish fund manager, has emerged as the buyer of Jacobs Inn, one of Dublin’s largest hostels, which was sold in an off-market deal. BlackRock, the American investment giant, which had owned the 412-bed hostel since 2020, is thought to have sold the Talbot Place business for more than €30m. It is the firm’s first transaction in the hotel sector in Ireland. The Sunday Times, 17th March
Dublin Hotel Transactions The sale of the Dean Hotel Group by Paddy McKillen Jr and Matt Ryan to Life¬style Hospitality Capital was completed over the past couple of weeks, while Kennedy Wilson’s sale of the five-star Shelbourne in Dublin to Archer Hotel Capital, revealed by The Sunday Times in January, is also nearing completion. It is understood that the Cosgrave family’s Radisson St Helens hotel in South Dublin is likely to sell for more than its €45m asking price after attracting interest from at least ten bidders. The Sunday Times, 17th March
Charlemont Square, Dublin 2 The Irish restaurant group Krewe have agreed a deal to occupy Charlemont Square’s flagship 4,000 sq. ft dining space. News of Krewe’s arrival follows the recent opening of Tesco’s new 7,500 sq. ft store at the scheme. Charlemont Square comprises 355,000 sq. ft of office accommodation across two buildings with 30,000 sq. ft of dining and retail space and 194 private rental apartments. The Irish Times, 13th March
iNua Trading Newly filed accounts for iNua Hospitality Plc, a holding company in the group that operates some eight of iNua’s 20 venues dotted across the Republic, show the five-star Muckross Park Hotel & Spa operator enjoyed a 60 per cent bounce in turnover across its portfolio in 2022. After plunging to €22 million in 2020 when the sector was effectively shuttered by the pandemic, revenues approached €68.3 million in 2022, above pre-Covid levels and up from close to €42.7 million in 2021.
However, the group – founded by Paul Fitzgerald and Sean O’Driscoll through a management buyout of iNua in early 2020 – lost some €3.9 million in 2022, down from €5.9 million in 2021, mostly due to a sharp rise in operating and administrative expenses in the year. In particular, iNua beefed up staffing in the year, adding more than 250 jobs to bring its headcount to 1,359 for the full year, leading to a 40 per cent jump in its wage bill to €23.4 million. The Irish Times, 19th March
Parkmore West Business & Technology Park, Galway Harvey is guiding a price of €7.2m (NIY 6.25%) for a prime industrial investment at Parkmore West Business & Technology Park. Building 4 comes for sale fully let to Medtronic and is producing rental income of approx. €495.2k pa (€9.14 per sq. ft). The subject property comprises a modern, purpose-built detached industrial and office facility on a high-profile 2.73-acre site in Parkmore West Business & Technology Park. Parkmore was developed by and is actively managed by the IDA. Building 4 extends to a total gross external floor area of 54,165 sq. ft constructed in 2003. An extension was added to the property in 2006. Medtronic occupy the building under two leases, which are co-terminus in September 2043. The leases are FRI, with tenant-break options in September 2033, offering 9.5 years term-certain to a strong tenant covenant. Rent reviews are five-yearly and on an upwards-only basis. The Irish Times, 13th March
Shannon, Co Clare The ongoing growth of the Shannon Campus business park continues apace with two newly developed industrial buildings comprising a total of 100,000 sq. ft being offered to the lettings market. The first of these, Block R, comprises a 40,000 sq. ft manufacturing facility, along with a 6,000 sq. ft two-storey office block, circulation and meeting spaces. The second building, Block S, comprises a 60,000 sq. ft high-grade and multi-use industrial space, with the option for division into three separate units of 20,000sq ft each. The Irish Times, 13th March
Earlsfort Terrace, Dublin 2 The owner of Core Capital, Derek McGrath, is seeking a buyer for The Victorians, a complete and historically intact terrace of four Victorian buildings on Earlsfort Terrace in the heart of Dublin’s central business district. Nos. 15-18 Earlsfort Terrace – flanked on either side by the headquarters of leading law firm Arthur Cox and the newly completed Cadenza Building – are being offered for sale by agent Bannon on an off-market basis at a guide price of €8.75m (NIY 5.5%) with a rental income of approx. €523.5k pa. The four buildings are occupied by the serviced-office operator Iconic Offices under three separate co-terminus leases. The Irish Times, 13th March
Charlemont Square, Dublin 2 US-headquartered SEI, a provider of technology and investment solutions to the global financial services sector, has agreed a deal to occupy 25,000 sq. ft of office space at One Charlemont Square in Dublin City Centre. The company has entered into a new 10-year lease, and is understood to be paying a rent of approx. €57 per sq. ft. SEI’s new offices will be capable of accommodating over 200 workers. The Irish Times, 13th March
Lower Leeson Street, Dublin 2 18 Lower Leeson Street in Dublin 2 has secured its first two high-profile tenants since its major revamp by landlord Aviva Life and Pensions Ireland. The first companies occupying space in the refurbished, Grade A period offices are Falko Regional Aircraft Limited and Lockton Ireland. 18 Lower Leeson Street (formerly Ossory House) comprises 24,455 sq. ft of office space. The property is now 40% occupied and the floor plates are approx. 4,790 sq. ft per floor. The Business Post, 16th March
Quintain Sale Lone Star is weighing up the sale of Quintain Ireland, its €300m residential development business. According to React News, the private equity firm has instructed investment bank Rothschild & Co and Savills to explore various exit options, although the preferred avenue is understood to be a recapitalisation of Quintain’s Irish business. The strategic review being carried out by the advisers could also scope out potential site and/or asset sales. Quintain’s land bank has scope for over 9,000 residential units, equating to a gross development value north of £3bn. The developer is currently onsite in Adamstown, Clonburris, Portmarnock and Cherrywood.
Accounts for Quintain Developments Ireland Ltd show turnover of €13.8m and profit of €1.2m for 2022. The housebuilder is currently pushing on to sell 1,300 new homes at Cherrywood Village by 2025, while it has already built over 1,000 homes at its Adamstown and Portmarnock sites. ReactNews, 18th March
Peter McVerry Trust The Department of Housing has been criticised for refusing to release details around the restructuring of the Peter McVerry Trust following an unprecedented €15m government bailout for the housing and homeless charity. The Oireachtas housing committee is seeking to compel both the department and the trust to provide details of the plan to reform the organisation, however it has so far refused to engage on the matter. The trust has so far claimed over €9m in emergency funding as part of a bailout package approved by cabinet in December. A final payment of €5.6m is expected to be paid to the charity this month, however this will be dependent on the homeless charity meeting a number of conditions set out by Darragh O’Brien, the housing minister. It was reported last year that the charity owed €8.3m to Revenue arising from the Covid-era debt warehousing scheme. It also emerged that the charity had understated how much it spent on the running costs of property it owned by €1.3m, while overvaluing its assets by more than €3m in 2022. The Business Post, 13th March
Coolock, North Dublin Dublin City Council has refused planning permission to OTR Development Company for 330 apartments, 60 assisted-living units and retail space at the site of the former Cadbury’s pitch-and-putt course on the Oscar Traynor Road in North Dublin. The proposed scheme includes five retail units totalling 3,303sq m, including a neighbourhood store of 2,538sq m. The Large Scale Residential Development comprises six blocks rising from two to nine storeys. Planning permission was refused across three headings including one relating to the light-bellied Brent goose. The council said the applicant had failed to demonstrate to its satisfaction that the integrity of North Bull Island, South Dublin Bay and Baldoyle Special Protection Areas (SPAs) will not be adversely affected, particularly when considering the combined effects of other projects. The Irish Times, 14th March
Goatstown, Dublin 14 Ireland’s High Court has overturned planning permission issued by An Bord Pleanála (“ABP”), citing the lack of public transport available. The planning board had approved developer Knockrabo Investments DAC’s proposals for 227 apartments but the decision was challenged via judicial review. Justice David Holland’s decision said that he was not convinced that ABP’s planners are entitled to take a “build and public transport will come” approach when assessing a proposed project that does not meet the local development plan criteria. The board had to ensure the site at Knockrabo on Mount Anville Road “is well served by public transport with high capacity, frequent service and good links to other modes of public transport,” said the judge.
The planning inspector had said that there were buses and a Luas stop which was 1.7km away, pointing to planning policies, including the Draft Greater Dublin Area Transport Strategy 2016-2035 which proposes upgrading passenger capacity on the existing Luas Green Line “as required to meet demand”.
However the existing line has also been said to be operating close to its maximum theoretical capacity at peak times, with the judge pointing out that the inadequacy had already been anticipated in 2016.
He said that the developer had failed to demonstrate that the site will be served by public transport as required while the board failed to consider and conclude per law the issue of current capacity. The judge has also dismissed all other grounds of challenge.
The Goatstown site spans 6.8 acres of land and is owned by Bain Capital. The site has extant planning permission for 81 homes and apartments although ABP had granted a Strategic Housing Development planning consent for 227 residential units in March 2022. ReactNews, 14th March
Ires Reit, the state’s biggest landlord, has announced that former Quintain boss Eddie Byrne will succeed Margaret Sweeney as chief executive of the company. Last year, the company announced that Sweeney would step down from her role next year after six years at the helm. In a stock market update, Ires Reit said that Byrne will join the company on April 8 before taking over as chief executive at the beginning of May. The Business Post, 13th March
Housing Commission Report Blockages to critical infrastructure like electricity and water now represent a serious long-term threat to the country’s housing targets, the government’s Housing Commission will warn. As part of a milestone report on the country’s future housing policy, the expert group is set to tell the government that delays to key services provided by Uisce Éireann and ESB are a major obstacle for developers. The commission, which includes industry, legal, and academic experts, is worried about the prospect of major water shortages in the greater Dublin area within six years. It is understood that developers have also told the commission the cost of getting water and electricity connections is a key issue when it comes to delivering housing, along with the length of time involved. The Housing Commission, a heavyweight group of 12 experts, is the latest in a long line of stakeholders to warn the Department of Housing that infrastructure blockages are a substantial risk. The Business Post, 17th March
Planning Permissions The number of planning permissions granted for new homes last year jumped by more than a fifth, with apartment units accounting for more than half the total. CSO figures show the number of dwelling units granted planning in 2023 rose by 21% to 41,225 units. The number of houses granted planning permission increased by 13% to 19,738 while apartment permissions rose by 28.5% to 21,487 units. Dublin accounted for 64% of all apartments approved in 2023, followed by Cork at 14% and Meath at 3%. In terms of house units granted planning permission in 2023, Dublin accounted for the largest number of houses with 24% followed by Cork with 14% and Meath with 7%. The Irish Times, 14th March
Planning System More than two-thirds of the 147,000 housing units applied for under the Government’s now-defunct Strategic Housing Development system remain undeveloped, according to figures sourced from the industry. It was scrapped last year after SHD projects resulted in 48 judicial review cases in the High Court. Industry figures show that of the 147,000 units applied for under the scheme between 2017 and 2023, 98,736 were granted planning while 29,690 were refused by An Bord Pleanála. A third of the units that were granted planning permission (31,474) were either quashed or remain stalled by legal action, the figures show. A further 19,192 units remain in the pipeline, on hold because of the decision-making logjam at An Bord Pleanála. The average period they have been pending is 95 weeks. Planning determinations were meant to take 16 weeks.
Of the 67,262 units that were granted permission and did not end up in legal action, the figures show 42,197 are either commenced, under construction or completed, while a further 25,065 units are available for commencement. The SHD system has now been replaced by the Large-Scale Residential Development system which restores the local authority as the primary planning decision maker. The Irish Times, 18th March
Kerry Tourism The State is to be the new owner of a Kerry river and lake fishery at the famed Connor Pass previously owned by a British peer, a Luxembourg-based steel industrialist, and several private Irish citizens. The approximately €1.5m acquisition of the ‘source to sea’ Owenmore Fishery on 480 acres, to include 180 acres of water in nine lakes, is very close to concluding, sources confirm.
It will be added to the 1,400 acres the State has also been negotiating on since 2023, widely expected to create a new National Park and visitor attraction starting at close to 2,000 wild acres and Special Area of Conservation at the Dingle Peninsula’s magnificent 1,500ft high Connor Pass.
Once both are secured, the adjacent tracts of land and lakes on the northern side of Dingle’s Connor Pass could enable Ireland’s eighth national park, and just the second of the 21st century after the Boyne Valley opened in 2023. The Examiner, 17th March
If you have an article which you would like to have considered for inclusion in our next weekly report, please contact us at info@origincapital.ie