Project Glas: Permanent TSB has set a deadline of 19thJuly for final bids on the €2.2bn portfolio of non-performing loans known as Project Glas. The portfolio, which consists of c. 11,200 assets in total is sub-divided into Project Nepal, mainly buy-to-let mortgages, and Project Tibet, comprising private dwelling homes deep in arrears. Lone Star and Cerberus are understood to be among the front runners for the loan book, which makes up 11% of PTSB’s non-performing loans. The Irish Times, 7th June
The Sharp Building, Dublin 2: Leading global healthcare supplier Perrigo, has agreed to rent a new 45,000 sq. ft. office development at Hogan Place, Dublin 2, to be known as the Sharp Building. Perrigo will pay an annual rent of €2.475m (€55 psf) on a 12-year lease with five-year rent reviews and the option to extend for an additional 10 years. The building was developed by the McGarrell Reilly Group. The Irish Times, 6th June
Three Park Place, Dublin 2: IDA Ireland is set to become the third and final tenant at the newly developed Three Park Place on Hatch Street, Dublin 2. The State body will be joined by Science Foundation Ireland and the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland in the new nine-storey 170,000 sq. ft. office building developed by the Clancourt Group. The IDA is set to rent six of the floors at €60 psf and €4,000 per car space. The Irish Times, 6th June
Central Plaza, Dublin: Planning permission has been granted for the redevelopment of the former Central Bank HQ on Dame Street in Dublin city centre. When complete, the Central Plaza will consist of 33,000 sq. ft. of retail, restaurant and cafes at street and basement level, and 73,000 sq. ft. of office space across eight overhead floors. BNP Paribas have been engaged as letting agents of the retail and hospitality offering for Central Plaza while Knight Frank are the office agents for the project. The Irish Independent, 5th June
Citywest Business Park: Agent JLL has brought a multi-let office investment at Citywest Business Park to the market guiding €5.4m (€224 psf). The eight office units with a combined size of 24,085 sq. ft. produces an annual rent of €410,342 (€17 psf), reflecting a net initial yield of 7%, which will rise to 7.8% if the one vacant unit is let. The Irish Times, 5th June
Mixed-Use Enniskerry Site: Agent Cushman & Wakefield has brought a 55 acre site with superb views of the Wicklow coastline, Bray Head and the Sugar Loaf Mountain, to the market guiding €23m (€418k per acre). The site in Enniskerry Co. Wicklow comprises of 20 acres zoned for housing, 2.5 acres for enterprise purposes, 3 acres for a school with the remaining 26 acres are un-zoned. It is expected the residential site could accommodate a minimum of 185 homes and NAMA are offering the sale by way of license agreement, which will allow the successful developer to pay a deposit on house sites and stagger the remaining payments until the dwellings have been completed and sold. The Irish Times, 6th June
Cherrywood Town Centre: Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council’s subsidiary DLR Properties (DLRP) is reported to be looking for developers to take on a 13-acre site at Cherrywood, Co Dublin adjacent to the site where Hines is leading the development of the town centre. DLRP’s site offers an opportunity to get fast-track planning permission for c. 800k sq. ft. of offices, 360 apartments and c. 140k sq. ft. of retail and community services accommodation. The Sunday Business Post, 10th June
Fairview Cinema: Agent Lisney has brought a five-storey cinema and car park with redevelopment potential on a 0.5 acre site in Fairview to the market with a guide price of €2.75m. The property is zoned Z4 “to provide for and improve mixed-services facilities” and planning permission was previously granted for 23 apartments and two retail units in a four-storey over-basement car park. The former cinema and car park could accommodate a larger mixed-use scheme, subject to planning permission. The Irish Times, 6th June
Rosemount Business Park, Dublin 11: Agent CBRE has brought a prime logistics facility extending to 25,000 sq. ft. on a 1.26 acre site at Rosemount Business Park in Ballycoolin, Dublin 11, to the market guiding €2.25m (€90 psf).The facility is let to Hytech Logistics Ltd at a rent of €160,000 (€6.40 psf) until February 2019, equating to an initial yield of 7.7%. The Irish Independent, 11th June
Gardiner Street, Dublin 1: Agent CBRE has brought four adjoining properties with hotel redevelopment potential on Gardiner Street Lower, Dublin 1, to the market for €4m (€362 psf). The properties which extend to 11,030 sq. ft. are currently in office use producing an annual rent of €190,000 (€17 psf), and subject to planning permission could accommodate a 31-bedroom hotel/aparthotel. The Irish Times, 6th June
Athlone Springs Hotel: Supermac’s founder and owner, Pat McDonagh, has completed the purchase of the four-star 68-bedroom Athlone Springs Hotel for c. €4m (€59k per key). Selling agent CBRE, stated the hotel was trading profitably and includes a leisure centre and swimming pool, as well as conference and function rooms. The hotel becomes the fifth hotel in Mr. McDonagh’s hotel portfolio, having previously purchased the Castletroy Park Hotel in Limerick, the Loughrea Hotel and Spa in Galway, the Killeshin in Portloaise and Charleville Park in Cork. The Sunday Times, 10th June
Portobello Hotel: Dublin city council has granted planning permission for the €40m development of a 149-bedroom hotel next to the Grand Canal at Portobello in Dublin. An appeal to An Bord Pleanala is likely as there was significant opposition to the proposal on grounds the hotel would encroach on the public plaza and have negative impacts on traffic and noise in the surrounding area. The joint developers, MKN Property Group and Tifco Hotel Group, had sought permission for a six-storey building, but council planners made it a condition of approval that its height would be reduced to five storeys. The Times, Irish Edition, 5th June
Dublin Crane Count: There were 72 construction cranes visible over the centre of Dublin on June 1st, a drop of 6 on the previous months total and 8 less than the 80 recorded on December 1st2017, the highest amount registered to date. This month’s total is significantly more than the 31 recorded on February 1st2016, when The Irish Times began their survey. There were 50 cranes visible on the Southside, a drop of 8 from May, with 22 on the Northside, an increase of 2 on the previous month. The Irish Times, 11th June
Student Accommodation Market: Research from commercial property firm Cushman & Wakefield has shown that there are 6,180 student beds currently under construction in Dublin with c. 2,850 beds expected to open this year. In total there are currently 11,340 purpose built student bed spaces in Dublin, with 4,440 having received planning permission and another 3,385 in the pre-planning stage. While development activity is primarily concentrated in Dublin, there are 603 beds being built in Cork and 429 bed spaces are under construction in Galway. Across Cork, Galway, Limerick and Kildare, there are c. 2,900 bed spaces with planning permission, and another 1,950 in the preplanning stage. The Irish Times, 7th June
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New Ireland Assurance Building:The Press Up Hospitality Group has outbid several developers to purchase the HQ of New Ireland Assurance on Dublin’s Dawson Street for €38m. The building comprises of two interlinking five and six-storey office blocks, and it is believed the Group plans to convert the ground floor into restaurant and other retail uses and to add an additional office floor to bring the overall office space to c. 70,000 sq. ft. The Irish Times, 2nd June
Vista Building, Dublin: Joint agents CBRE and Colliers have brought the 92,000 sq. ft. eight storey over basement Vista Building at Elmpark Green in Dublin to the market, guiding €39m (€424 psf). The entire building is let to Novartis Ireland, one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies, on a 10-year lease at €1.683m p.a. (€18 psf), equating to an initial yield of 4%. The current rent is highly reversionary, with Market Rent in the region of €39 psf. The Irish Times, 30th May
Cork Office Market Q1 2018: Cushman & Wakefield’s Cork Office Market Q1 2018 report identifies a strong start to 2018 for the market. A total of 78,500 sq. ft. of space was taken up to March, compared to 15,600 sq. ft. year on year. Q1 take up was boosted by three deals over 10,000 sq. ft. in size. Supply levels in Cork declined by 4.6% in the first quarter to c. 700,000 sq. ft. with the vacancy rate in Cork falling to 11.4% from 11.9% as at year end 2017. There is currently 235,000 sq. ft. of development schemes under construction. Cushman & Wakefield Website, 5th June
46 James Place East, Dublin: Savills has brought a 0.18 acre site to the rear of Upper Mount Street on James Place East with lapsed permission for an office block to the market for €4m. There is an existing building of 7,222 sq. ft. on the site and a feasibility study indicates that a new four-storey office building of c. 18,000 sq. ft. could be developed on the site. The Irish Times, 29th May
Cherrywood Twon Centre: International developer Hines has received planning permission to build a 2.1m sq. ft. town centre at Cherrywood, including apartments, office and retail space. As part of the €1bn mixed use development, Hines will build 1,269 apartments to rent and 585,000 sq. ft. of retail and office space, as well as leisure space. It is expected Cherrywood town centre will provide housing for more than 3,200 people, office accommodation for 2,300 and employment for an additional 2,500 retail and leisure workers. The Irish Independent, 1st June
Waterfront Apartment Scheme, Howth: Savills is seeking offers in excess of €25m (€3.7m per acre) for a 6.61 acre site with potential for a luxury waterfront apartment scheme in Howth, Co. Dublin. The former Techcrete and Teeling Motors sites have planning for two alternative developments, one for 229 apartments and 32,246 sq. ft. of retail space, restaurants, a crèche and leisure centre. The other option is for 127 apartments, 51 houses together with 29,663 sq. ft. of retail and commercial facilities. The first planning permission was recently extended to 2021 while the second permission is valid until 2023. The Irish Times, 30th May
Ford Site, Cork:Glenveagh Properties, is understood to be the preferred bidder for the former Ford motors site in Cork’s docklands. It is understood that Glenveagh bid close to €15m (€1.3m per acre) for the 11.3 acre site which was guiding €8.5m. It has planning permission for 564 residential units, 344,000 sq. ft. of offices, a 205 bedroom hotel and a 5,000 seater event centre. The Irish Times, 3rd May
Belgrave Collection Sale: CBRE has brought thirty period homes split into 265 apartments in Dublin 6 to the market in a single lot sale for €60m (€226k per apartment). The houses, producing a total gross rental income of €4.2m p.a. (€1,320 per apartment per month) are located in Ranelagh, Rathmines, Rathgar, Portobello and Ballsbridge. A sale at guide price will result in an initial yield of 6.4%. The Irish Times, 30th May
Kilmainham Site: Turley Property Advisors has brought a 0.35 acre site with planning permission for seven residential units in Kilmainham to the market for €1.3m (€185k per site). The site has permission for five three-bed houses, a three-bed duplex and a two-bed apartment and is located in Kilmainham close to Heuston Station. The Irish Times, 29th May
7-9 Henry Street, Dublin: UK fashion chain Next plans to open a new flagship store on Dublin’s Henry Street, with fit-out on the new premises due to start in the Autumn and the store to be open for the run-up to Christmas. Next has agreed rent of €1.8m (€50 psf) for the 35,500 sq. ft. four-storey high-profile store with 25m frontage on to Henry Street. The new arrangement will result in Next vacating its double unit in the nearby Jervis Shopping Centre, where it has been trading from for more than 20 years. The Irish Times, 30th May
Appian Burlington Property Fund: Irish real estate fund Appian Burlington Property Fund has purchased a modern 29,500 sq. ft. office building in Clonskeagh and a shopping centre in Swords for c. €18m. The office building has 84 car-parking spaces and will yield a net initial return of 5.75%. Boroimhe Shopping Centre in Swords has a floor area of 33,349 sq. ft., with 10 retail tenants, including SuperValu as anchor tenant, with an initial yield of 7.5% The Irish Times, 30th May
Irish Mortgages Vulnerability: A new study conducted by the Central Bank has shown that 3.9% of Irish mortgages taken out before the crash could potentially default in the event of a financial shock. The research, assessed the vulnerability of mortgaged households here to a hypothetical shock, involving a 4% decline in property prices; a 1.1% increase in interest rates; and a 3.3% rise in unemployment over a three-year period. The study, which used data relating to 533,589 owner-occupier mortgages, found that some 8,000 loans (3.9%) taken out between 2004 and 2009, which are currently not in arrears, could default in such circumstances. In contrast just 2% of mortgages that originated after the crash, were likely to be put at risk of defaulting under the same scenario. The Irish Times, 30th May
April Mortgage Approvals: New figures from Banking & Payments Federation Ireland show the number of mortgage approvals rose more than 14% in the year to the end of April. The value of mortgages was up almost 20% in the year. The figures showed the total value of mortgages approved in the month was about €842m, with €400m attributed to first-time buyers and €281m to movers. Re-mortgaging and switchers were worth €116m, while top-up approvals of €21m represented a rise of 60.4% year-on-year. Buy to lets totalled €25m. The Irish Times, 30th May
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I Care Housing: The Sunday Business Post reports that David Hall is close to signing up to a c. €100m financing deal with British lenders, as part of his plan to purchase thousands of troubled mortgages in Ireland. He will deploy the funds for phase one of I Care Housing, a mortgage-to-rent scheme which he hopes to have fully operational by October. It is proposed that I Care Housing will purchase the properties of borrowers who qualify for social housing and then allow them to remain as tenants with rents subsidised by their local authority. Subject to certain conditions, the tenants would also be allowed to buy back their houses. Mr Hall, who has long been an advocate for distressed borrowers through the Irish Mortgage Holders Organisation, is also seeking funding of c. €250m for the second phase of the project, which will also involve buying distressed mortgages. He is in early stage negotiations with two unnamed British lenders for this phase, and is also in advanced negotiations with three financial institutions (reportedly including AIB) who are expected to sell of thousands of non-performing mortgages. The Sunday Business Post, 25th June
KBC Impaired Mortgages: KBC Bank Ireland’s chief executive Wim Verbraeken has indicated that the bank may sell some impaired mortgages in the future as it comes to the end of restructuring loans, and as banks face increasing regulatory pressure. Mr Verbraeken advised that the bank may sell non-performing loans (NPLs) if it concludes that there is no additional value to be extracted from restructuring NPLs. KBC has the highest level of impaired loans in Ireland among retail banks, with over 40% of KBC Bank Ireland’s c. €12.4bn primarily mortgage-dominated loan book classified as impaired. However, Mr Verbraeken advised that the high portion of impaired loans is a consequence of the bank applying the strictest classification towards NPLs in the country. Although the ECB has pressed domestic Irish banks to formulate plans to reduce NPLs in recent months, the chief executive expects that the ECB won’t engage with KBC until H2 2017, as the overall level of troubled loans in the wider KBC Group is below the Eurozone average. The Irish Times, 21st June
Department of Justice and Equality HQ: Savills are guiding €20m for 94 St Stephen’s Green, which currently houses the headquarters of the Department of Justice and Equality. The premises is being sold by the investment group SW3 Capital, and consists of a series of relatively modern buildings which were developed behind the former façade of the Centenary Church of Ireland. The property, which extends to 22,249 sq. ft., is let to the Office of Public Works (OPW) under two co-terminus leases which generate a combined rent of c. €1.02m p.a. (c. €46 psf). The Irish Times reports that investors planning to pitch for the property will be well aware of the redevelopment and extension opportunities which exist after the current leases run out in June 2018. The €20m asking price reflects an initial yield of just under 5%, and a capital value of €899 psf. The Irish Times, 21st June
Baggot Street: Esprit Investments, a private Irish investment company, has paid c. €7.1m for three modern office buildings at 117 – 119 Lower Baggot Street in Dublin 2. Based on the purchase price and the current rent roll of c. €380k p.a. (c. €26 psf), the property will provide an initial yield of c. 5.4%. The four-storey over-lower ground floor property extends to 13,296 sq. ft. and includes 10 car spaces. Tenants include Hooke & MacDonald, CBRE, Brompton Recruitment and the Irish Mortgage Corporation. The Irish Times, 21st June
Maynooth Business Campus: Savills, acting on the instructions of the receiver Grant Thornton, are guiding €4.65m for a partially occupied office building at the front of Maynooth Business Campus in Co. Kildare. Block C is producing net rental income of c. €388k p.a., however there is scope to increase this to over €600k p.a. once the remaining space on the ground floor has been fitted out and rented. Based on the current rental income, the net initial yield will be c. 8%, however this should increase to c. 10% once the block is fully let. Capita Asset Services occupy c. 70% of the property under two separate leases, with the company’s lease on the second floor running for 10 years from 2010 (including a five-year break option which was not exercised), while their lease on the first floor runs for 10 years from 2016, with a five-year break option. This gives a weighted average unexpired lease term of c. 3.8 years, based on the earliest termination, and c. 6.3 years based on lease expirations. Block C was built in the early 2000s and extends to 58,000 sq. ft. with 150 parking spaces. The Irish times, 21st June
The Exchange: The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) is set to become the first tenant to occupy The Exchange, a new c. €80m office building currently under construction in Dublin’s IFSC. The FSAI will occupy 19,041 sq. ft. on the first floor of the six-storey over-basement building, which will have an overall capacity of 105,000 sq. ft. As the first tenant, the FSAI will pay a rent of c. €50 psf under a long-term lease, with a break option in the 15th year. The FSAI is currently located at the Abbey Court in the Irish Life Centre, where its lease is due to end shortly. Joint agents Savills and JLL are continuing to market the remaining space in The Exchange at a rate of €52.50 psf. The Irish Times, 21st June
Charlemont Place: The technology company ViaSat has agreed to lease the entire of a recently developed office block by Rohan Holdings at Charlemont Place in Dublin 2. ViaSat has agreed a 12-year lease for the 37,000 sq. ft. property, for a rent of c. €55 psf. However since ViaSat initially only requires c. 15,000 – 20,000 sq. ft. of space, it will sublet the remainder of the property. Rohan Holdings previously paid c. €6.5m to acquire the site, which was the former HQ of McConnells Advertising. The Irish Times, 21st June
Premier Inn Expansion: The Sunday Times reports that Premier Inn, the UK’s largest hotel chain, is planning to expand its presence in Dublin with up to 1,500 bedrooms. The three-star brand is reportedly in negotiations with owners of sites in Dublin 1 and Dublin 2, where the company wants to secure five or six properties through 25-year lease agreements. Sites with and without planning permission are being considered, and developers and investors have been invited to a launch event in Dublin on the 5th of July, when details of the company’s expansion plans in the city will be announced. The Sunday Times, 25th June
JD Wetherspoon Hotel: Pub group JD Wetherspoon is set to spend c. €15m on the development of a 98-bedroom hotel and ‘superpub’ on Camden Street in Dublin city centre. Construction is set to begin on the site of the proposed development in February 2018, with the new property expected to open in early 2019. The pub will be set over two levels and will have a beer garden, while all hotel rooms will be equipped with disabled access. The Irish Times, 26th June
Cork City Hotel: Cork City Councillors have voted to sell 1 – 2 Deane Street and 7 – 9 Parnell Place to Tetrarch Capital Ltd, who has plans to redevelop the properties into a budget boutique hotel and a separate designer hostel. The properties, which the council previously acquired in 2015 and 2016, were home to Mahers Sports and Flor Griffin’s Electrical in recent years. The Irish Examiner, 26th June
Ormond Quay Aparthotel: Targeted Investment Opportunities ICAV have applied to Dublin City Council to construct a 100,000 sq. ft., 165-bedroom “aparthotel” on a 0.5-acre site on Ormond Quay in Dublin city centre. Under the proposal, the existing buildings, which include the old Bondi Beach Club, will be demolished to make way for the aparthotel. NAMA Wine Lake, 25th June
RIU Plaza The Gresham Hotel: RIU Group, the new owner of the former Gresham Hotel (now known as RIU Plaza The Gresham Hotel) has sought planning permission to convert part of the office facilities in the hotel into 18 further bedrooms. The hotel currently has 323 bedrooms and planning permission to build a further 140 rooms. The Irish Times, 20th June
Iveagh Trust Social Housing: The Iveagh Trust, the Dublin housing fund founded by the Guinness family, has secured funding for an additional two social housing projects. The trust, which launched the Annamore Court social housing scheme last week, plans to build 84 homes in Clongriffin and an additional 26 homes at Miller’s Glen in Swords. Both builds will be Part V affordable homes and will be on sites belonging to Gerry Gannon. The trust has been building social housing in Dublin for over 125 years, and plans to add 650 homes to the existing 1,350 it owns or manages by 2020. The Sunday Business Post, 25th June
Galway Student Accommodation and Retail Investment: A private investor has paid €3.35m for a student accommodation and retail investment in Galway, which was put on the market with a guide price of €3.2m last September. The current rent roll is c. €272k p.a., offering a net initial yield of c. 7.8%. The complex consists of 20 student apartments in four blocks (12 three-beds and eight two-beds) and four commercial units. The student accommodation has achieved c. 90% occupancy in recent years, and additional lettings are made to tourists in the summer after the academic year is over. Three of the four retail units are rented to Domino’s Pizza, Subway and the Irish Nurses Organisation, with one ready-to-rent office unit suite currently vacant. The complex is c. 2km from Galway city centre, and within walking distance of NUI Galway and University College Hospital Galway. The Irish Times, 21st June
Greystones Site: Agar is inviting offers of €2.2m for Carraig Eden, a landmark property with vacant possession in Greystones, Co. Wicklow. The 0.83-acre site is located close to the sea and the local DART station, and is zoned town centre in the local development plan, which permits a range of uses including institutional, boutique hotel, B&B, offices, residential and educational. Included in the sale is a large detached, unlisted period property with 21 bedrooms, five apartments, caretaker accommodation and catering facilities. There is also a related L-shaped bungalow and sports pavilion structure. The Irish Times, 20th June
Planning Permission Statistics: The latest figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show that c. 4,650 planning permissions were granted for dwelling units in Q1 2017, an increase of 50.4% on the corresponding period last year. One-off houses accounted for c. 27% of all new dwelling units granted. Dublin had the most planning permissions granted, with 1,403 permissions, while the midland region had the least, with 391 applications approved. Across the country 1,523 permissions were granted for new dwellings, while 1,767 were granted for extensions. The Irish Times, 23rd June
Donabate Development: Bernard McNamara’s Roxtip Ltd has received planning permission from Fingal County Council for 31 homes on a site in Beaverbrook, Donabate in north Co. Dublin. Mr McNamara had initially sought approval for 36 homes, however following concerns by local authorities and opposition from locals, he reduced the number to 31. The Irish Independent, 27th June
South Dublin Development: Dalkey could be set for another residential development as it has emerged that Twinlite, which is owned by Eugene Larkin and his family, is seeking planning permission for 50 apartments on a three-acre site on Castlepark Road in Dalkey, south Dublin. The Sunday Business Post, 25th June
Malahide Apartment Complex: Developer Padraig Drayne has agreed to remove one storey from a proposed luxury apartment development in the Dublin suburb of Malahide. Mr Drayne had planned to build a five-storey over-basement building containing 17 two-bedroom apartments and six one-bedroom apartments at Gas Yard Lane. However, Fingal County Council’s planning department raised concerns regarding the proposed development, stating that it would cause overshadowing and have an overbearing impact. As a result, new designs for the building have been submitted, which include the omission of the fifth storey of the building. The Irish Independent, 26th June
Northwest Business Park: William Harvey is guiding €3.25m for a modern detached warehouse and office facility in Northwest Business Park in Dublin 15. The 18,094 sq. ft. property contains 16 banana-ripening rooms which can either be used for refrigerated storage, or removed entirely by the new owners. The plant can also be let on flexible terms for c. €160k p.a. The Irish Times, 20th June
Porsche Showroom: Car dealer Joe Duffy is looking to invest c. €20m in a major new Porsche and Volkswagen showroom in Finglas, north Dublin. The new showroom, which is subject to planning permission, will be located on a 5.7-acre site next to the M50. The Irish Independent reports that the new showroom will capitalise on the small but growing appetite for Porsche cars in Ireland. The Irish Independent, 26th June
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NAMA Transactions: NAMA will proceed with high-profile assets sales worth more than €300m in the coming weeks as the pace of its asset disposals increases. Included in the planned sales is the Gibson Hotel in Dublin’s Docklands, which sources believe could attract a price tag of c. €80m. The Gibson Hotel is currently being operated by Dalata, and it is speculated that the company will be among those preparing bids when the hotel comes to market. Other assets planned for disposal include NAMA’s interest in The Grange apartment complex in South Dublin, where the 54 apartments and penthouses were developed with the help of funding from NAMA. The Sunday Business Post also reports that NAMA is understood to be closing in on a deal to ‘forward fund’ the construction of the XO building in Dublin’s Docklands. This will involve the purchaser paying an upfront fee for the building, with ownership to transfer on completion. Sources say that these proposed asset sales are part of a broader intensification of NAMA-related activity, which may also see another loan book sale before the end of the year, potentially consisting primarily of residential development land and income-producing assets. The Sunday Business Post, 18th June
Pullamore Business Park: A three property portfolio at Pullamore Business Park in Cavan has been put on the market through joint agents CBRE and Crotty Auctioneers. Two of the properties are investment opportunities, while one comes with vacant possession. The portfolio is available in one or more lots. The first lot is a McDonald’s outlet extending to 2,840 sq. ft., which produces a rent roll of c. €90k p.a. on a 25-year lease running from 2000 with five-yearly upwards-only rent reviews. It is currently let to McDonald’s Restaurants of Ireland and is being marketed with a €1.1m guide price, offering a net initial yield of 7.86%. The second lot is a modern industrial premises extending to 2,707 sq. ft., which is used as an NCT centre and commands a rent of €29k p.a. on a 30-year lease from 2000, with a break option in 2020. It has a guide price of €300k, offering a net initial yield of 9.15%. Finally, Units 20A and 20B comprise two adjoining industrial units extending to 3,626 sq. ft. each, and the agents are guiding €100k for both. The Irish Times, 13th June
Letterkenny Warehouse: Commercial agents Bannon are quoting €3.7m for a retail warehouse investment opportunity in Letterkenny, Co. Donegal. The 30,203 sq. ft. warehouse is occupied by Currys, PC World and Crown Paints, who pay a combined rent of €428k p.a. with a weighted average unexpired lease term of 6.4 years to break. The Currys lease (worth €338k p.a.) has a fixed rental uplift in 2019, which will see the rent increase by 15.9%. The net income yield will be 11% before this rental uplift, rising to 12.6% when the rent from Currys increases in 2019. The Irish Times, 14th June
77 Sir John Rogerson’s Quay: Agents Savills are guiding €28m for 77 Sir John Rogerson’s Quay, a medium sized office block in the south Dublin docklands. Block C, a six-storey building with an over-basement car park extends to 34,413 sq. ft. and has been used as serviced offices by Fitzwilliam Properties since 2006. The block is expected to be of interest to companies already based in the south docks, and others with ambitions to move there, especially given the building’s flexible floor plates and 20 car-parking spaces. The sale comes at a time when the vacancy rate for office accommodation in south docklands is just 1.8% (0.38% for Grade A stock) – an all-time low for the area. The Irish Times, 14th June
Tallaght Office / Warehouse Building: Lisney are inviting offers of €4.8m for a high-income producing office and warehouse building in Tallaght Village in Dublin 24. The building, which extends to 27,506 sq. ft., is divided into three separate buildings, each with direct access, and includes a car park with 69 spaces. The development produces rental income of €453k p.a., with a weighted average unexpired lease term of more than 8.1 years. The recently refurbished building is fully let to tenants including office supplies group Brian S Ryan (€273k p.a.), the HSE (€84k p.a.) and Dún Laoghaire Education and Training Board (€97k p.a.). The Irish Times, 14th June
AIB Bankcentre Move: The Sunday Times reports that AIB is planning to move its head office operations from Bankcentre in Ballsbridge to a newly developed office block on 10 Molesworth Street. The bank is expected to pay about €60 psf to rent the c. 115,000 sq. ft. building, equating to a rent bill of c. €6.9m p.a. The new office block will have room for around 1,000 staff, and is owned by the Irish property investment group IPUT. AIB also recently agreed a deal to move 500 support staff to Central Park in Leopardstown, south Dublin. The Sunday Times, 18th June
IDA Headquarters: The Sunday Business Post reports that the IDA is looking for a new HQ in Dublin city centre as the lease on its existing shared office ends in 2019. IDA Ireland shares its current office in Wilton Terrace with a number of government bodies, who will also seek to relocate with the IDA. Agents GVA Donal O Buachalla have been hired to source a building of up to 120,000 sq. ft., capable of accommodating roughly 500 people. The new premises must be ready by September 2019, and it is expected the IDA will remain in Dublin’s central business district given the nature of its work. The Sunday Business Post, 18th June
Central Hotel: Emco Hotels Ltd has applied to Dublin City Council to renovate the three-star Central Hotel in Dublin city centre. Under the plans, a significant part of the existing building, located on Exchequer Street, would be demolished to make way for a newly constructed five-storey over basement hotel extending to c. 70,000 sq. ft.. The new building would contain 116 hotel bedrooms, adding an additional 46 bedrooms to the hotel. NAMA Wine Lake, 18th June
Marker Hotel Extension: GCS Hotel Property Ltd has applied to Dublin City Council to extend the Marker Hotel in Dublin’s south docklands by adding a 7th storey to the premises. The 30,000 sq. ft. extension will in part involve adding an unspecified additional number of bedrooms to the hotel. NAMA Wine Lake, 19th June
RTE Montrose Site: RTE has accepted a bid of c. €107.5m from Irish listed property group Cairn Homes for 8.64 acres of land (c. €12.4m per acre) at its Montrose complex in Donnybrook, in a deal which is expected to close next month. Cairn Homes plans to seek permission to build 500 apartments and nine houses on the site, which is in a prime location. The purchase price is significantly in excess of the €75m guide price provided by Savills, and it is understood that Cairn Homes substantially outbid other interested parties including Chartered Land and Bartra Capital. The company is currently one of the most active housebuilders in Ireland, and has a land bank consisting of over 12,000 sites. The Irish Times, 13th June
Blackrock Land Bank: WK Nowlan Real Estate Advisers are guiding offers in excess of €25m for a 9.7-acre land bank (c. €2.6m per acre) in the south Dublin suburb of Blackrock which is suitable for a large-scale residential development. The site includes a large period house and disused school buildings owned by the Daughters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul religious order, and is one of the last major undeveloped sites located in close proximity to Blackrock Village. The centrepiece of the complex is the listed St Teresa’s House, a Victorian mansion which is likely to be converted into a number of distinctive apartments. In addition, it is expected that the new owner will demolish a range of vacant school buildings on the site. A feasibility study by O’Mahony Pike Architects suggests potential for an overall development of almost 2.5m sq. ft., including 252 apartments and houses and the conversion of St Theresa’s House. The Irish Times, 14th June
Tallaght Development Site: Marlet Property Group has acquired a major 16-acre site in Tallaght which has potential for large-scale residential development. The transaction sees the merging of three separate sites into one, located near the centre of Tallaght and the Luas line. It is believed Marlet Property Group paid c. €16m to acquire the site (c. €1m per acre), which market sources believe could accommodate as many as 1,500 apartments. The site, which contains a number of vacant industrial buildings, is zoned for regeneration by South Dublin County Council, meaning the council would need to approve any plans to make the site entirely residential. The Irish Independent, 18th June
Foxrock Residential Site: A 1.65-acre site with planning permission for a residential development in Foxrock, Dublin 18, has gone on the market through agents CBRE with a guide price in excess of €5m (over €3m per acre). CBRE are to set up a tender arrangement for the site, located on the Stillorgan Road, which has permission for 16 one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments (ranging in size from 785 sq. ft. to 1,453 sq. ft.) and seven four-bedroom houses (ranging in size from 1,980 to 2,098 sq. ft.). The Irish Times, 14th June
Earls Court Apartments: Seventeen apartments in the Earls Court development in Cork Street in Dublin 8 are being offered for sale through agents Hooke & McDonald, with a guide price of €3m. This equates to a price of c. €176k per unit, and the return on the purchase will be c. 7.1%. The 12-storey over-basement development contains 70 apartments in total and fronts onto both Reuben Street and Cork Street, just off the South Circular Road. Twelve of the apartments are two-bedroom units, while the remaining five are one-bedroom units. Hooke and McDonald advise that the portfolio has a current rent roll of c. €305k p.a., with rents in the area averaging €1,600 p.m. for a two-bedroom apartment and €1,250 p.m. for a one-bedroom apartment unit. The Irish Times, 13th June
Killester Redevelopment Opportunity: WK Nowlan Real Estate Advisers are inviting offers of more than €3m for a Dublin convent on a 2.2-acre site which could accommodate a residential development. St Mary’s Convent and grounds in Killester, Dublin 5 is being sold by private treaty on behalf of the Holy Faith Order. A feasibility study by DMOD Architects found that the 2.2-acre site on St Brigid’s Road could accommodate up to 70 apartments, not including the potential to convert the convent into further residential units. The Irish Times, 14th June
Help-to-Buy (HTB) Grant: The Sunday Business Post reports that the Government is considering the closure of the HTB grant this year, as the number of applicants for the grant continues to rise. Figures cited in the paper show that the number of applicants for the grant has risen from 4,400 in March 2017 to 7,275 now. Of these applicants, c. 2,500 have submitted the full documentation to get the grant, with 1,679 applicants receiving the payment, giving an approval rate of c. 75%. Based on the current rate of approvals, the cost of the scheme could be c. €80m this year, well above the c. €50m budgeted for it. The average grant to date is c. €14.5k, and the cost of the scheme so far is c. €24.5m. The Sunday Business Post, 18th June
Avestus Capital Partners: Avestus Capital Partners is set to supply the greater Dublin area residential market with multiple developments after acquiring a number of well-located sites. The company has joined forces with the US investment manager Magnetar Capital to acquire sites which will then be developed by an in-house team. The first development under the Richmond Homes brand will be Dawson Place, a 25 two- and three-bedroom unit scheme at Arbour Hill in Dublin 7. Other sites acquired by the company include the 1.13-acre former Ashfield College site (with planning permission for 16 family homes), the 1.5-acre Kilmacud House site in Stillorgan (with planning permission for an apartment scheme) and a two-acre infill site on Clontarf’s Dollymount Avenue, where the company has already started the development of 25 large family homes. The Irish Times, 14th June
Gardiner Street Student Accommodation: Carrowmore Property Ltd has applied to Dublin City Council to build an extension to a student accommodation complex currently under construction at the junction of Gardiner Street and Summerhill in Dublin city centre. The proposal will involve the construction of a 45,000 sq. ft., six-to-seven storey extension with 117 bed spaces in 81 units. NAMA Wine Lake, 19th June
Sligo Biotech Vaccine Facility: CBRE is to launch an international campaign to find a buyer for a world-class biotech vaccine manufacturing complex in Sligo. The facility was operated since 2010 by the Eli Lilly subsidiary Elanco Animal Health, which announced in early 2016 that it was to close the plant. The complex consists of three separate facilities – a 39,407 sq. ft. manufacturing plant which has been carefully decommissioned in a manner that will allow for rapid ramp-up for future operators, a 5,479 sq. ft. quality control building in the nearby Finisklin Business Park and the adjacent Fort Gary-leased facilities which contain a three-storey office block and a packaging area extending to 51,104 sq. ft. A guide price has not been provided by the agents, who have highlighted the limited opportunity to acquire top tier vaccine manufacturing plans of this capability and capacity. The Irish Times, 14th June
Carrigtwohill Manufacturing Facility: A detached manufacturing facility in the Carrigtwohill IDA Business Park in Cork is being offered for sale by agents CBRE with a guide price of €2.6m. The unit, which extends to 54,680 sq. ft., is let to TRS Global Services Ireland Ltd on a 20-year fully repairing and insuring lease from 2007, leaving c. 10 years left on the current lease. Unusually, rent is payable in USD at a rate of $413k p.a., which equates to c. €367k p.a. as of 7th June. The property benefits from five-year upwards-only rent reviews, and the guide price would offer a net initial yield of 13.5%. The Irish Examiner, 15th June
SME Property-Related Loans: The Central Bank has advised that property-related loans accounted for c. 30% of new lending to non-financial sector SMEs in 2016. Lending to this cohort jumped by over €1bn (or almost one third) in 2016 when compared to the same period in 2015. According to the Central Bank, the main driver of the increase in new lending has been loans for real estate activities, where lending increased from €650m in 2015 to €1.2bn last year. The Irish Independent, 15th June
Allsop Online Auction: Allsop’s is holding their largest ever online auction on the 5th and 6th of July, where over 270 lots with combined guide prices of over €51m will go on sale. Included in the sale will be the most valuable lot ever offered through its online auctions – a 1.85-acre prime south Dublin development site on Deansgrange Road, which is guiding €4.75m – €5.25m (c. €2.6m – €2.8m per acre). Other lots for sale include a portfolio of 15 apartments on Middle Gardiner Street in Dublin 1, a mixed-use property with development potential in Harold’s Cross in Dublin 6w and a portfolio of 11 apartments in Limerick City. The Irish Independent, 15th June
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AIB Loan Sale: The Sunday Business Post reports that AIB is considering a loan sale which would consist of its 35 largest borrowers whose facilities are in arrears. The paper reports that the loans are secured by property development, SME and operating assets. The reporting of this potential loan sale comes at a time when the bank is exploring its options for reducing the size of its non-performing loan book of c. €8.6bn. The Sunday Business Post, 11th June
Blackpool Shopping Centre: Bids in excess of €117m are being sought by joint agents JLL and HWBC for Blackpool Shopping Centre in Cork, along with the adjoining retail complex and self-contained offices. The complex produces a net operating income of c. €7.38m p.a., offering the new owners an initial yield of more than 6%. Extending to 300,000 sq. ft. of retail and retail park space, c. 109,000 sq. ft. of offices and c. 1,800 car parking spaces, the Blackpool complex also contains a number of community services including a council library, post office and health board, and has a catchment area of over 400,000 people. The occupiers include a variety of high profile retailers including Dunnes Stores, Aldi, Next, Carphone Warehouse and Boyle Sports. The retail centre is currently owned by Varde Partners, who purchased the centre as part of the c. €170m Project Acorn portfolio nearly three years ago. The Irish Times, 7th June
Florentine Centre Site: A public sale process has commenced to find a developer to build a new €25m retail hub on a site formerly owned by Ballymore Properties in Bray, Co. Wicklow. Wicklow County Council has launched a pre-qualification process for bidders who are seeking to purchase the proposed Florentine Centre site, which has been in a derelict condition for a decade. The sale offer has strict conditions regarding what must be developed on the site, including two anchor stores, eight retail units, a five-screen multiplex cinema, three restaurants, business units, 250 car-parking spaces and 320 cycle spaces. The Council will shortlist three bidders after the initial pre-qualification process, while the second stage of the competition will assess the financial offer and how quickly the development can be completed and open for business. It is hoped that the retail centre will be open within the next two years. The Irish Independent, 11th June
Polonez Food Stores Building: An unnamed investor has paid slightly less than €2.9m to purchase the Polonez Food Stores Building at 49/50 Mary Street in Dublin 1. The three-storey, over-basement mixed-use building extends to 10,000 sq. ft., with 4,100 sq. ft. of the ground floor let to Polonez. The freehold building produces a rental income of c. €82k p.a., and has a number of outstanding rent reviews. The Irish Times, 6th June
Adelaide Chambers: Colliers International is guiding €8m for the Adelaide Chambers office scheme on Peter Street in Dublin city centre. The complex comprises a landmark four-storey over-basement period office building, with a modern, four-storey extension. With a net internal area of 17,670 sq. ft. and 31 car parking spaces, the scheme’s configuration allows for a corporate HQ, while the suites could be used for start-up companies seeking a city centre location. The building currently produces a rent roll of €293k p.a. from tenants including the HSE and SEBELA pharmaceuticals. This equates to €17.31 psf, which the agents advise is substantially lower than average market rents in the area. The Irish Independent, 9th June
Georgian Office Market: The Sunday Times reports on the continued recovery in the Georgian office market in Dublin city centre. According to Mark McCormack of GVA Donal O’Buachalla, prime rents for office space on the main southside squares can now command between €40 and €45 psf. Approximately 18 months ago, the market rent was c. €30 to €35 psf. Brian Gaffney of Murphy Mulhall also reports on the sales market for Georgian assets, mentioning that prime Georgian properties in Fitzwilliam Square and Merrion Square can sell for up to €502 psf. The Sunday Times, 11th June
St George’s Church: Joint agents Arthur Ryan Property Consultants and Cushman & Wakefield are inviting offers of €2.9m for the newly restored St George’s Church on Temple Street in Dublin’s north inner city. The former church has been significantly refurbished and converted into a high-class office facility, and is currently rented by the adjoining Temple Street Children’s University Hospital on a 10-year lease from 2015 at a rent of €225k p.a. Additional income comes from two licence arrangements and €35k in annual fees from Vodafone and Meteor, who both have communications equipment located on the roof of the building. The premises extends to 22,000 sq. ft. and the guide price will offer the new owner an initial yield of c. 8.6%. The Irish Times, 7th June
Metropole Hotel: Planning permission is to be sought within days by Trigon Hotels for a c. €50m extension and refurbishment of The Metropole, one of the oldest hotels in Cork. The plans, which will likely take three to five years to complete, will involve the extension and refurbishment of the existing 112-bedroom hotel, the construction of a new adjoining hotel, to be named the ‘M’, and the provision of a retail arcade. Trigon Hotels is associated with Philip Hotel Holdings Ltd, who bought the Metropole Hotel in 2015 for €5m, and subsequently purchased a 0.36 acre site across Harley Street for c. €1.35m. The plans propose the development of what will be Cork’s largest hotel complex in two associated buildings, offering 400 rooms and connected by a glass bridge link above Harley Street. The Irish Examiner, 8th June
Chancery Street Hotel Application: Melonmount Ltd has sought planning permission from Dublin City Council to construct a new 249-bedroom hotel on Chancery Street, near the Four Courts in Dublin city centre. The application seeks permission to demolish the existing six-storey building on the site, and replace it with an eight-story hotel extending to 100,000 sq. ft. Melonmount is controlled by Mawash, Sonia and Jalaluddin Kajani. NAMA Wine Lake, 11th June 2016
Amiens Street Hotel Application: Railtours Ireland First Class Ltd has applied for permission to demolish an existing two-storey property on Amiens Street in Dublin city centre and replace it with a new four-storey over basement hotel with 11 bedrooms. Railtours is controlled by James Deegan and Fiona Ballance. NAMA Wine Lake, 11th June
Dublin Living Development: Marlet Property Group, owned by property developer Pat Crean and M&G Investments, is to seek in excess of €425m to forward fund the development of 1,170 apartments in four separate locations in the Dublin suburbs. The four schemes are located at Mount Argus and St Clare’s in Harold’s Cross, Dublin 6w, Carriglea in Bluebell, Dublin 12, and Cabra Road in Dublin 7. Savills estimates that based on current rental values in similar schemes in the Dublin suburbs, the equivalent net rental income from the ‘Dublin Living’ developments would be c. €20.5m p.a., allowing for running costs. However, it is believed that the estimated rental figure will increase significantly during the construction period because of the undersupply of private rented accommodation in Dublin. The four high quality schemes are scheduled to be completed between H2 2018 and the early part of 2020, and will consist predominantly of two-bed units (750 in all) along with 255 one-beds and 165 three-beds. The Irish Times, 7th June
RTE Donnybrook Site: The Irish Times reports that the bidding for RTE’s 8.64-acre Montrose site in Donnybrook, Dublin 4 is approaching €90m, with Cairn Homes believed to be the front runner. Michael O’Flynn, Bartra Capital, Chartered Land and Bridgedale are also believed to have lodged bids for the site. The site has been on the market through Savills, who had given the site a guide price of €75m. It is believed that the successful bidder will be chosen this week, possibly after a RTE board meeting on Thursday. The Irish Times, 13th June
Foxrock Residential Site: CBRE is guiding over €5m for a 1.1-acre residential development site on the Stillorgan Road in Foxrock in Dublin 18. The site comes with full planning permission for the demolition of the existing dwelling and the construction of 24 new properties. The proposed scheme contains a mixture of apartments ranging in size from 785 sq. ft. to 1,540 sq. ft., and houses ranging in size from 1,981 sq. ft. to 2,099 sq. ft. The Irish Independent, 12th June
Dublin City Apartments: A private investor has paid c. €4.6m (c. €600k over guide) to purchase a block of 25 apartments located between Christchurch Cathedral and the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin city centre. The complex consists of 10 two-bedroom apartments and 15 one-bedroom units in Hanbury Mews at Hanbury Lane, which when fully let produce a combined rent roll of c. €345k p.a. The apartments were developed by Liam Carroll in 2008. The Irish Times, 6th June
Parkhouse: QRE has completed the sale of seven two-bed apartments in the Parkhouse development on Benson Street, Dublin 2 for c. €2.24m, c. €140k over the guide price. The sale was completed using the BIDX1 online property transaction platform. The Irish Times, 6th June
Bank of Ireland (BoI) Mortgage Rates: BoI has announced rate cuts of up to 0.35% on their fixed rate mortgage products. The rate cuts, which ranged from 0.10% to 0.35%, commenced on June 6th. The best rate the bank offers for a two or three year fixed rate mortgage is now 3%, however the borrower must have an LTV of 80% or less. The Irish Times, 13th June
Bluebell Apartments Application: Arcourt Ltd has applied to Dublin City Council to build three three-to-six storey residential blocks on a one-acre site on the Old Naas Road in Bluebell, south west Dublin. The buildings will contain a total of 85 new apartments, split between 18 one-beds, 55 two-beds and 12 three-beds. The new application supersedes a 2014 application to build a 44-unit aparthotel on the site. Arcourt is controlled by Jackie Cosgrave. NAMA Wine Lake, 12th June
Cork Street Application: Como Properties Ltd has applied to Dublin City Council for permission to replace the Hanlon Food Services factory on Cork Street in Dublin city centre with a mixed-use development consisting of residential and retail space. The development will accommodate 39 apartments, split between eight one-beds, 25 two-beds and six three-beds, alongside 2,500 sq. ft. of ground floor retail and office space. The application supersedes a 2015 application for a similar development with 42 apartments. Como is controlled by Eamonn and Marie McCann. NAMA Wine Lake, 11th June
Residential Property Prices: According to the latest property price index from the Central Statistics Office (CSO), residential property prices increased by 10.5% nationally and by 8.2% in Dublin for the year ending April 2017. Excluding Dublin, residential property prices rose by 13.4% in the same period. For the month of April 2017, national prices rose by 1.1%, while Dublin prices rose by 0.2%. Overall, national prices remain 30.7% below their 2007 peak, while Dublin prices are 31.3% below their February 2007 peak. CSO Residential Property Price Index April 2017
Stadium Business Park: JLL is inviting offers above €8m for a modern logistics building in the Stadium Business Park in Ballycoolin, Dublin 11. The c. 79,000 sq. ft. building is let to Viking Direct on a 20-year lease from 2007, with a break option in 2020. The company pays a rent of €744k p.a., offering the new owners a return in excess of 8.8%. The Irish Times, 6th June
15 Barrow Street: Property developer Chris Jones has purchased 15 Barrow Street in Dublin’s south docklands through Jones Investments. The property is a low-rise industrial warehouse near Google’s international HQ that was on the market for c. €2m in 2016. Jones plans to demolish the building and replace it with an enterprise centre with ‘collaborative workspace’, a café, landscaped courtyard and a roof terrace. The new four-storey building will include a double basement and will extend to over 40,000 sq. ft., more than double the size of the existing building on the site. The Sunday Times, 11th June
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AIB Loan Sales: The Sunday Business Post reports that AIB is planning at least two major loan sales following its upcoming IPO. The sales will include a c. €1bn portfolio known as Project Redwood, and the paper reports that investors, who have asked not to be named, have said they have been told to expect an increase in repossessions as AIB tackles the remaining non-performing loans on its books. The bank is also believed to be in talks with a number of anti-repossession advocates in relation to the disposal of c. 5,000 home loans through a combination of mortgage-to-rent and debt sales, however AIB will need to ensure that any disposal is in line with the EU’s accounting standards. The majority of the organisations seeking to acquire the home loans intend on doing so as an Approved Housing Body (AHB), and the AHB structure will need to be in line with the views of Eurostat, the EU’s statistics agency. Sunday Business Post, 4th June
Supervalu Bray: Musgrave, the food retailer and wholesaler, has outbid several Irish and European funds to purchase the store rented by its subsidiary company Supervalu in Bray, Co. Wicklow. The purchase price in excess of €9m will offer a net initial yield of c. 6.9%, and is above the €8.4m guide price sought by Savills. The 27,000 sq. ft. store, which had been owned by Friends First for the past 10 years, is let to Supervalu at c. €650k p.a. on a lease that has another c. 13.5 years left to run. The Irish Times, 30th May
Capel Street Portfolio: Turley Property Advisers is guiding €2.95m for two shops and 11 overhead apartments at 37 and 38 Capel Street in Dublin 1, which are being sold on the instructions of a receiver. The portfolio is producing rental income of c. €250k p.a. although it is believed that there is scope to increase this figure to over €300k p.a. The mixed-use development is located midway along Capel Street, with one of the two ground floor and basement shops currently vacant in shell condition, and the other let to Moldovan Supermarket at €50k p.a. The 11 apartments consist of three extra-large two-bedroom units, six two-bedroom units and two one-bedroom penthouses. The Irish Times, 30th May
Navan Retail Units: Offers above €2.3m are being sought by Cushman and Wakefield for six retail units and overhead offices located beside the main entrance to Navan Shopping Centre in Co. Meath. The shops trade exceptionally well and have a weighted average unexpired lease term (WAULT) of over six years. The current rent roll from the complex, which has an overall area of 10,509 sq. ft., is c. €218k p.a. The retail tenants include O’Briens Wines, the Big Apple Fruit Company and Enable Ireland, while the overhead offices are rented by chartered accountants Farrell & Scully. The investment will offer a net initial yield of c. 9% after accounting for standard purchasing costs of 4.46%. The Irish Times, 31st May
Irish Retail Parks: According to two national surveys by Retail Excellence Ireland, both retail parks and shopping centres nationwide have generally seen an improvement in performance over the last two years. The research covers over 650 shopping centre stores and 80 retail park tenants with over 240 retail park stores, and although there was a general improvement, some retailers continue to struggle, with 13 retail parks deemed ‘unprofitable’. According to the Retail Park Review 2017, Castlebar Retail Park is the least profitable in the country, while the best overall retail park was Mahon Point in Cork. The research on shopping centres showed Dundrum Town Centre to be the strongest performing shopping centre in Ireland, with Liffey Valley also performing admirably. The Laurence Centre in Drogheda was rated the least healthy when scores on a number of measures were combined. The Irish Independent, 4th June
Seagrave House: A property fund run by Irish Life has sought planning permission to demolish Seagrave House, a five-storey building on Earlsfort Terrace and Davitt House, an adjoining building on Adelaide Road in Dublin city centre. Replacing the two properties will be a new office building with a gross floor area of c. 140,000 sq. ft. and a further c. 21,500 sq. ft. of space in a double basement. The Sunday Times reports that the new seven-storey building could accommodate up to 1,300 workers, and will contain a ground floor courtyard, outdoor terraces on the sixth and seventh floors and a basement car park with 33 parking spaces and 157 bicycle spaces. It is anticipated that the new building would command a premium rent due to its close proximity to Dublin’s central business district and St Stephen’s Green. The Sunday Times, 4th June
Dublin Airport Central: The Sunday Business Post reports that joint agents BNP Paribas and Bannon are seeking rents of c. €34.50 psf for the new Dublin Airport Central (DAC) office complex which the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) is constructing at the Dublin Airport campus. Although this is roughly half the rents being charged for new prime office space in Dublin’s central business district, it is amongst the highest rents for Dublin’s suburbs, and well ahead of rents being achieved in Sandyford, Dublin 18. The rents not only reflect the quality and scale of the floor plates of the new buildings, but also the recent rents achieved when DAA rented the former Aer Lingus HQ building to the ESB for c. €31 psf. Dublin Airport Central will contain over 450,000 sq. ft. of new office space across four blocks, alongside a 742-space multi-storey carpark. It is believed that DAC is one of two locations that the Department of Health is seeking to attract the European Medicines Agency to Ireland when it relocates from the UK after Brexit. The Sunday Business Post, 4th June
Jacobs Inn Hostel: CBRE is guiding €13.5m for Jacobs Inn Hostel, which is located at 21-28 Talbot Street in Dublin city centre. The purpose-built hostel, which is one of the busiest in Dublin, contains 428 bed spaces which are heavily booked throughout the year, mainly by overseas visitors. The property is owned by the Tetrarch Hospitality Group, who also own more upmarket hotels such as The Marker and the Powerscourt. The company acquired and further upgraded the hostel in 2014, and CBRE has advised that it is being brought to the market in turn-key condition, with no substantial capital expenditure required. The Irish Times, 31st May
Scruffy Murphy’s Pub: An application has been lodged with Dublin City Council to demolish Scruffy Murphy’s pub near Merrion Square in Dublin city centre and construct a 36-bed aparthotel above a ground-floor restaurant, bar or café. The Irish Independent reports that a letter in the name of Tim O’Connor has been lodged with Dublin City Council outlining his vision for the site. Scruffy Murphy’s, which is currently closed, was offered for sale for €1m in 2016. The Irish Independent, 5th June
Clonea Strand Development: The Sunday Independent reports that Irish Property Investor Martin Birrane is seeking to build a c. €27m hotel and holiday development at Clonea Strand, near Dungarvan on the Waterford coast. Mr Birrane’s London-headquartered company Peer Group has stated that there is an opportunity for a 100-bedroom hotel alongside up to 80 holiday homes and townhouses for letting, as well as water sports facilities on the adjacent beach. A previous planning permission for the site was granted in 2008, and renewed in 2013. However, it is understood that a new planning application will be required, as there is not sufficient time to complete the development before the 2013 planning permission expires next year, and the requirements of the project have changed somewhat since the original application. The Irish Independent, 4th June
April Mortgage Approvals: The April 2017 report by the Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) on mortgage approvals shows that there were 3,340 mortgages approved in April 2017. The value of mortgages approved was c. €685m. Based on the value of mortgages approved, these figures represent an increase of c. 19.7% YoY (c. €572m April 2016) but a decrease of 12.5% MoM (c. €783m March 2017). Based on the value of mortgages approved, the first-time buyer segment grew by 25.8% YoY. BPFI Mortgage Approvals April 2017
Northwest Business Park: Knight Frank is guiding €9.75m for a 135,000 sq. ft. logistics facility located at Northwest Business Park in Ballycoolin, Dublin 15. The modern detached high-bay logistics facility is located on a 6.45 acre site, and contains 21 dock levellers, three standard grade doors and has a clear internal eaves height of 12m. Northwest is home to a range of well-known logistics companies and occupiers, including Dunnes Stores, Masterlink Logistics and DSV. The Irish Times, 1st June
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Liffey Valley: The Irish Times reports that Liffey Valley may be the next shopping centre to be placed on the market. Market sources believe that its existing owners may look to capitalise on favourable market conditions, after both Blanchardstown and Dundrum shopping centres received strong interest from investors. Given that Liffey Valley currently has a rent roll of c. €30m p.a., it may sell for over €500m. The majority shareholder in Liffey Valley is HSBC Alternative Investments, with Hines and Grosvenor Estates also having shareholdings in the shopping centre. The shopping centre is currently undergoing a €26m expansion which should increase the floor area to c. 614,612 sq. ft. The Irish Times, 22nd June
Ennis Road Retail Park: An unnamed investor has agreed to pay c. €15m for the Ennis Road Retail Park in Co. Limerick. The park sits on an 11.45-acre site and features nine retail units which have a total floor area of 114,015 sq. ft. The annual rental income is c. €1.476m however two units are currently vacant, therefore the income should increase to c. €1.63m upon full occupancy. Tenants include Woodie’s, Showtime Cinema, Petmania and Smyths Toys. Lisney handled the sale of the park, after being retained by the receiver Kieran Wallace of KPMG. The Irish Times, 22nd June
Percy Place: Irish Life has completed the acquisition of a mixed-use development at Percy Place in Dublin 2, for just under €8m. The 0.25-acre site features Angelina’s restaurant (3,540 sq. ft.) and an adjoining café on the ground floor, with three floors of office space overhead (4,595 sq. ft.). The total rental income of the development is c. €450k p.a., offering Irish Life an initial return of c. 5.5%. There are also 12 high quality apartments in the Percy Place development, however these were not featured in the sale. The Irish Times, 22nd June
Beechmount Shopping Centre: An unnamed Irish investor has paid c. €4.1m to acquire the Beechmount Shopping Centre complex in Navan, Co. Meath. The complex comprises a 3.9-acre development site, a SuperValu supermarket, eight retail units and two office suites. With a rental income of c. €420k p.a., the complex will offer an immediate return of c. 10%. The Irish Times, 22nd June
Phibsboro Shopping Centre: MM Capital has completed the purchase of Phibsboro Shopping Centre in north Dublin. The key individuals in MM Capital are Derek Poppinga and Peter Leonard. MM Capital is now expected to begin negotiations with the tenants of the shopping centre and Tesco, who owns its unit, in a bid to allow them to redevelop the shopping centre. The Sunday Business Post, 26th June
Debenhams Examinership: After entering examinership earlier this year, Debenhams Retail Holdings (Ireland) Limited (DRHL) has applied to the High Court to have at least three of its leases repudiated. DRHL has identified its €36m annual payroll costs and €25m annual rental payments as the key reasons why the company is no longer sustainable. DRHL believes that its leases, many of which have c. 15 years to run and include upward-only rent reviews, “substantially exceed” current market rates. The leases of DRHL are guaranteed by their UK parent company. While the High Court can repudiate the leases, the guarantees by the UK parent cannot be repudiated. It is possible however, that the guarantor can enter into new leases at either an increased, decreased or unchanged rent. The Irish Independent, 26th June
London & Regional (L&R) Exit: Market sources believe that L&R looks set to dispose of its remaining Irish assets in the coming months, which would result in the fund becoming the first international institution to exit the Irish market. The first asset which L&R may seek to dispose of is the former Irish Nationwide HQ in Dublin’s Grand Canal. The office property is currently let to Amazon and is expected to have a price tag of c. €30m. L&R also own three office properties on Lower Mount Street and Clanwilliam Place in Dublin 2, with the three offices understood to have a combined price tag of c. €56m. The Sunday Business Post, 26th June
33 Lower Leeson Street: CBRE is inviting offers of €2m for a Georgian office property at 33 Lower Leeson Street in Dublin 2. The four storey, over-basement property has a floor area of 4,342 sq. ft. and comes with 12 car spaces. The Irish Times, 22nd June
Avoca River Business Park: Savills is guiding c. €10m for a 200-acre land bank near Arklow, Co. Wicklow. The partially completed Avoca River Business Park is most suited to users and investors in sectors such as energy, recycling and IT / data centres, as it features a natural gas supply line and a high voltage electricity supply. On the 200-acre site, there is 279,858 sq. ft. of office and warehouse space across c. 69 acres, there is also planning permission to develop a gas turbine power station on c. 10.5 acres (valid until 2019), while a further 102 acres are zoned for development. The Irish Times, 22nd June
Former MBNA Facility: The Digital Office Centre Group (DOCG) has completed the purchase of the former MBNA facility in Carrick Business Campus in Carrick-On-Shannon, Co. Leitrim. The property consists of c. 120,000 sq. ft. of office space, the majority of which is now available to rent at €12 psf. DOCG acquired the property from Apollo. The Irish Times, 22nd June
One Spencer Dock: A group of Middle Eastern investors have signed legal contracts which will allow them to acquire One Spencer Dock in Dublin’s North Wall Quay for c. €242m. AGC Equity Partners advised the investors on the transaction, for which contracts were signed on the day of the Brexit referendum. The property is the HQ of the professional services firm, PWC. PWC is understood to be paying an annual rent of over €11m (c. €50 psf), with c. 15 years remaining on their leases. The nine-storey property has a floor area of 226,624 sq. ft. and was developed in 2007. The Irish Times, 25th June
Leixlip Manor Hotel: The 29-bed boutique hotel Leixlip Manor and Gardens Hotel is for sale through CBRE, for which offers above €2.3m are being sought. The hotel is operated by the Towey Group and is open for 10 months of the year, from March to December. Weddings are a strong source of revenue for the hotel, with nearly 100 wedding receptions booked for 2016. The hotel is situated on a c. 27-acre site, of which c. 4-acres are formal gardens. The Irish Times, 22nd June
Mars Capital (MC): The latest accounts filed by the mortgage purchaser MC shows that the firm was able to acquire thousands of residential mortgages at steep discounts to their par value. MC acquired 1,462 mortgages from IBRC’s Sand portfolio for €154.7m, a 58% discount on the €363m par value. MC also acquired 1,866 mortgages from IBRC’s Project Pearl for 76% of the €329.7m par value. MC also acquired a third mortgage book from Springboard, a Permanent TSB subsidiary. MC paid 67% of the €463.7m par value on the 2,213 mortgages. The Sunday Times, 27th June
Mortgage Lending Figures: The latest report by the Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) on mortgage approvals shows that for the three months ending May 2016, the number of mortgages approved, based on moving averages was 2,675 (value of c. €523m). The figures represent an 8.7% increase on the number of mortgages in May 2015 and a 16% increase on the April 2016 figure. BPFI Mortgage Approvals May 2016
EBS Mortgage Offer: EBS has joined Bank of Ireland and Permanent TSB in offering home purchasers 2% cash back on new mortgages. The offer will apply to both first time buyers and those moving homes. One of the attractions of the EBS offer is that there is no lock-in period, meaning that customers will not be required to stay with EBS for a minimum number of years to avail of the offer. The Irish Independent, 23rd June
Sandyford Site: A Dublin-based development company has paid c. €10m for a 4.265-acre development site (c. €2.34m an acre) at the entrance to Sandyford Industrial Estate in south Dublin. Lalco was the previous owner of the site, having paid c. €110m to purchase c. 5-acres in 2006 (c. €22m an acre). Over half an acre of the original site was sold for c. €16.5m in recent years to the Railway Procurement Agency to facilitate the Green Luas line. The purchaser of the 4.265-acre site is now likely to seek planning permission to develop a seven or eight-storey office development which could have a floor area of c. 300,000 sq. ft. The Irish Times, 22nd June
Greystones Development: The management team of Ronan Group Real Estate (RGRE), which is led by Johnny Ronan, has met with Wicklow County Council to discuss developing a village centre on lands owned by the council in Greystones, Co. Wicklow. RGRE is seeking to develop three residential complexes, a cinema, shops and restaurants on the site. Rather than acquire the site, RGRE is proposing to obtain a ground lease to allow them to proceed with the development. The Sunday Times, 26th June
Dublin Suburban Sites: Kelly Walsh is guiding over €7m for four Dublin suburban sites. The sites are located in Stillorgan, Crumlin, Clontarf and Dalkey. The Stillorgan site is located on Upper Kilmacud Road and is a 1.5-acre site. There is an expired planning permission on the site for 38 residential units. The Crumlin site is on Balfe Road and has planning permission for 16 terraced houses, the majority of which are three beds. The site in Clontarf includes Newcourt House on Strandville Avenue and extends to 0.21-acres. Newcourt House is currently let as office space with annual rental income of c. €19k. The Dalkey site is on Ardagh Road, within 500m of the DART station and extends to 0.3-acres. The Irish Times, 22nd June
Donnybrook Development: Purleigh Holdings Limited has sought planning permission to develop 71 apartments in Donnybrook, Dublin 4. The apartments are to be developed in five four-storey blocks on a three-acre site which is near Greenfield Park. NAMA Wine Lake, 26th June
Brexit: Following the result of Britain’s referendum on EU membership, Dublin is among a number of European cities which stand to benefit should banks decide to relocate their operations from the UK. Lawyers advising banks such as Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America and Nomura International say that they may need a new legal base, with Frankfurt, Paris and Dublin among the likely destinations. The Irish Times, 27th June
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Project Pluto: Deutsche Bank and Cerberus are both believed to be interested in acquiring Danske Bank’s Project Pluto loan portfolio. The portfolio has a par value of c. €900m and consists of unsecured personal loans and a mix of buy-to-let and owner-occupier mortgages. The unsecured loans represent c. 33% of the portfolio. Some of the residential loans are believed to be non-performing, while the unsecured loans reportedly include mortgage shortfall loans which remain outstanding following the disposal of properties in negative equity. The Sunday Times, 19th June
Project River: An unnamed Irish individual has acquired the Project River loan portfolio from Tetrarch Capital for c. €21.5m. The loans are secured by assets which were previously owned by the developer Liam Carroll. The majority of the assets are retail and office units located in Dublin 1, 2, 8 and 20. The assets are segregated into eight lots and have 31 tenants in situ, including Lidl and BWG. The total annual rental income is c. €1.83m, offering the investor a net initial yield of c. 8%. The Sunday Business Post, 19th June
Blanchardstown Shopping Centre: Blackstone has announced that it has purchased Blanchardstown Shopping Centre from Green Property. Market sources estimate that the fund has paid c. €930m for the shopping centre, which has an annual rental income of c. €50m. The shopping centre is c. 97% occupied and will offer an initial yield of c. 5.4%. NAMA Wine Lake, 19th June
Dealz Expansion: The discount retailer Dealz is to open up to 20 new stores in Ireland over the next 12 months. As of March 2016, the retailer had 53 stores in Ireland, for which they have c. 300k customers every week. Dealz’s revenue for their UK and Ireland stores for the year ending March 2016 was c. £1.21bn, an increase of 9.3% over the previous year. Dealz is owned by Poundland. The Irish Times, 16th June
Nassau Street: Meyer Bergman and BCP International Property Fund are set to acquire five retail units in Dublin 2 from Ardstone Capital for over €13.5m. Ardstone Capital purchased the properties over two years ago for c. €10m. The retail units have a floor area of 11,500 sq. ft. and are located at 1 Dawson Street and 27 – 32 Nassau Street. The current annual rental income of c. €700k is expected to increase in the future from a top-up agreement. Current tenants include Costa Coffee, KC Peaches (Ireland) Ltd and Trinity Sweaters. Upon completing the deal, the consortium will own 14 shops and 80,000 sq. ft. of office space on Nassau Street and Dawson Street. Last September the consortium paid c. €93m for Nassau House. The consortium is reportedly interested in redeveloping their portfolio of assets into a number of large scale retail units similar to those on Grafton Street. The Irish Times, 15th June
Shannon Retail Park: Bannon has been retained by receiver PWC to secure a buyer for the Shannon Retail Park and an adjoining 16-acre site near Athlone, Co. Westmeath. The cumulative guide price is €2.2m, with the retail park valued at €1.95m and the site valued at €250k (c. €15.5k per acre). The retail park has five units, however Unit B1 is excluded from the sale. The retail floor area of the units included in the sale is 42,529 sq. ft. The annual rental income will reach c. €211k in April 2017 upon expiry of a stepped rent. Tenants include Smyths Toys and Heavins Hardware. The 16-acre site is zoned for “Enterprise and Employment” and had previously been granted planning permission for a commercial mixed-use scheme, however this has since expired. The Irish Times, 15th June
Sandyford Hall: Bannon is inviting offers of €3.7m for the Sandyford Hall commercial centre in Dublin 18. The property is fully let and tenants include Centra, Costa Coffee and McCabes Pharmacy. The annual rental income is c. €321k, representing an initial yield of c. 8.1%. The total floor area is 15,313 sq. ft., spread across 11 units. The Irish Times, 15th June
Allianz Elm Park: Starwood has agreed to sell the Allianz Plc building in Elm Park, south Dublin to Standard Life for c. €58m. The deal comes less than four months after Starwood completed the purchase of the Elm Park complex and it should provide Starwood with a profit of c. €5m on the office block. Allianz occupy the eight-storey block under a 50-year lease signed in January 2008. Two break options exist in the lease in 2023 and 2033. Allianz occupy 83,272 sq. ft. of the 86,272 sq. ft. property, for which there are also 75 underground car spaces. The annual rent paid by Allianz is c. €4m, which equates to c. €45.45 psf for the office space and c. €2k for each car space. The Irish Times, 15th June
Harcourt Square: Hibernia has received planning permission for Phase Two of its proposed redevelopment of the Garda Communications Centre on Harcourt Square in Dublin 2. Hibernia received planning permission for Phase One in 2015 and now has permission to develop a total of 276,500 sq. ft. of new office space and ancillary accommodation on the 1.9 acre site. Hibernia purchased the site for c. €70m in 2015. There is currently a legal dispute between Hibernia and the OPW as Hibernia is seeking vacant possession of the site. The Irish Times, 21st June
Gresham Hotel: The preferred bidder for the 4-star, 323-bed Gresham Hotel is expected to be announced shortly after final bids were submitted last week. The two highest bidders are understood to be Tifco and the Spanish hotel operator RIU, who have reportedly submitted offers of c. €88m and c. €91m respectively. Joint agents CBRE and Christie & Co had been guiding €80m for the hotel. The Gresham Hotel is owned by Precinct Investments Ltd. Accounts for Precinct for 2014 show that the hotel had turnover of c. €18m and an operating profit of c. €3.4m. NAMA Wine Lake, 19th June
Clifton Court Hotel: Goldman Sachs has appointed Tom Kavanagh of Deloitte as receiver over the assets of Sinann Inns (SI), which include the 30-bed Clifton Court hotel in Dublin. Goldman Sachs acquired the loans of SI in an IBRC loan sale through an investment vehicle named Ennis Property Finance. At the end of June 2015, SI valued its assets at c. €7.5m, however the company had debts outstanding of c. €8.5m. The Sunday Times, 19th June
Dean Street Hotel: The Hodson Bay hotel group has been given planning permission to develop a 4-star, 257-bed hotel on Dean Street in Dublin 8. The hotel is expected to cost c. €40m to develop and will employ c. 200 staff once operational. The group have a strong relationship with Starwood Hotels & Resorts so the hotel is most likely to be operated as a Sheraton Hotel, should the group elect to operate it under a franchise licence. The Irish Independent, 20th June
Point Village: DTZ Sherry Fitzgerald is inviting offers of €18m for a 2.38 acre site (€7.56m per acre) which is alongside the Point Village in the north Dublin docklands. The site has planning permission for 935 student bed spaces which are to be constructed across two seven-storey blocks. One of the blocks will provide 589 bed spaces whilst the other will provide 346 bed spaces and 9,322 sq. ft. of commercial retail space. PWC are managing the sale as receivers on behalf of Wintertide Ltd and two adjoining land owners, NAMA and CIE. The Irish Times, 15th June
Arklow Harbour: Gains Europe Ltd has paid slightly over €3m to acquire a 12.92-acre site in Arklow Harbour, Co. Wicklow. The site was previously owned by Brattice Properties, who paid c. €31m in 2007. Brattice Properties had reportedly hoped to develop a significant commercial and residential scheme on the site, however this never came to fruition. NAMA then appointed a receiver to dispose of the site. Gains Europe Ltd is already in situ, as they were previously renting a manufacturing property on the site. The Irish Times, 15th June
Coca-Cola Drogheda: The 29-acre site of the former Coca-Cola manufacturing facility in Drogheda, Co. Louth has sold for marginally under €3m, far below the €4.35m asking price sought by agents GVA Donal O’Buachalla. There are no longer any properties on the site, as Coca-Cola demolished all the properties before it was listed for sale. The fact that the site is designated as an “Employment Generating Zone” is believed to have negatively impacted the demand for the site. The Irish Times, 15th June
Leinster Residential Portfolio: DTZ Sherry Fitzgerald is seeking bids of €39m for a residential portfolio in Leinster. The key asset is a 24.7-acre site on Stocking Avenue in Rathfarnham, Dublin 16, which has planning permission for 253 homes. In addition to the site, there are also 60 apartments and eight houses for sale, with the assets spread across 11 residential schemes. These locations include the Iveagh Exchange in Parnell Street, Dublin 1 and The Orchard in Lucan, Co. Dublin. The Irish Times, 15th June
Housing Completions: The number of new residential units completed nationally in April 2016, based on new ESB connections, was 1,149 (296 in Dublin). Under the assumption that Ireland needs 2,087 new units a month (866 in Dublin), the housing crisis worsened by 938 units nationally in April (570 in Dublin). New figures for commencement notices also reveal that just 784 notices were filed in April 2016 (242 in Dublin) and 1,223 in May 2016 (412 in Dublin). Under the assumption that it takes c. 6 months between commencement and completion, it is estimated that just 8,514 units will be completed nationally in the first 11 months of 2016 (3,193 in Dublin). NAMA Wine Lake, 19th June
Airways Industrial Estate: Joint agents DTZ Sherry Fitzgerald and TWM are guiding €3.2m for Units 7 and 8, Airways Industrial Estate, in Santry, Dublin 9. The two units are let to Essentra Packaging Ireland on 15-year leases. The lease for Unit 7 was signed in July 2015 while the Unit 8 lease was signed in February 2016. The leases have break options in year ten. The combined rent is €300k p.a. in years one to four, however this increases to €320k p.a. in year five. There are also rent reviews every five years. The Irish Times, 15th June
Google Data Centre: Google opened its new c. €150m data centre in west Dublin on Thursday, June 16th. The data centre took approximately one year to build and is Google’s second in Ireland. The data centre employs 30 people and created 400 jobs during its construction phase. The Irish Times, June 16th
Pub Market: The Sunday Times reports that there has been a recovery in the Dublin suburban pub market, as evidenced by a number of recent transactions. Recent sales included Kennedy’s in Drumcondra for €1.7m (guiding €900k), Smyths in Fairview for €700k and Rathfarnham’s Castle Inn, which sold for €660k. McDonagh’s in Dalkey has also gone sale agreed in the past few weeks. The pub had an asking price of €1m. The Sunday Times, 19th June
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Projects Emerald and Ruby: The Irish Times reports that Oaktree has been chosen as the preferred bidder for NAMA’s Projects Emerald and Ruby. The loan portfolios have a combined par value of €4.7bn and consist of 31 borrower connections. The amount which Oaktree bid for the portfolios has not been revealed, however it is understood to be substantially below the par value. Cerberus and Lone Star had also bid for the portfolios. The Irish Times, 10th June
McGowans Churchtown: A site which was previously home to McGowans pub in Churchtown, Co. Dublin is to be redeveloped into five retail units. The first two units have already been let. Rents of €100k p.a., €55k p.a. and €20k p.a. are being sought for the remaining three units, which have floor areas of 2,895 sq. ft., 1,356 sq. ft. and 312 sq. ft. respectively. Work has already commenced on the site (owned by MM Capital) and the completion date targeted is May 2017. McGowans sold for €16m in 2007. The Irish Times, 8th June
Bridgewater Shopping Centre: The Irish Times has reported that Goldman Sachs has acquired Bridgewater Shopping Centre in Arklow, Co. Wicklow from Cerberus in an off-market deal for €33.25m subject to the approval of the Competition Authority. The centre is anchored by Dunnes Stores and Omniplex Cinema (who each own their stores), and has a rental income of €2.9m equating to a net initial yield of 8.35%. The Irish Times, 11th June
SV4 Collection: The Sunday Independent reports that German Investment fund Patrizia is believed to have agreed a sale with the consortium of Starwood Capital, Key Capital Real Estate and Catalyst Capital for Lucan Shopping Centre (anchored by SuperValu) for in excess of the €40m asking price marketed by Savills. The Shopping Centre is one of the four assets in the SV4 Collection. Two other SuperValu stores at Ranelagh and Rathgar which are part of the SV4 Collection are also understood to be sale agreed to Patrizia for more than €12m each. The Sunday Independent notes that Industry sources believe that the three properties sale agreed are likely to sell at a yield of less than 5% indicating a sales price of close to €70m. The remaining Shopping Centre asset in the SV4 Collection in Waterford is yet to sell. The consortium of investment firms originally acquired the four assets from NAMA as part of the Project Aspen portfolio. The Sunday Independent, 12thJune
Portview House: Lisney is inviting offers of €2m for a portion of the first floor and three underground car spaces in Portview House, which is located on Thorncastle Street in Ringsend, Dublin 4. The floor space extends to 3,875 sq. ft. and is let to Stratgem and Cybercom, who occupy the unit under a 21 year lease from 2004. There are no break clauses in the lease and the next rent review is in 2022. With the current rental income for the investment at €150k p.a., the purchaser will achieve a net initial yield of 7.2%. The Irish Times, 8th June
Dublin City Centre Office: Tetrarch Capital has completed the sale of its Harp portfolio comprising of four Dublin City Centre offices in Dublin 1 and 7. The Sunday Business Post reports that a private Irish investor is believed to have paid c. €27m for the office buildings originally acquired by Tetrarch Capital in Q4 2013 as part of the Bank of Scotland (Ireland) Ulysses portfolio. The guide price set by joint agents JLL and CBRE was in excess of €28.5m. The Harp portfolio has a WAULT of c. 8 years and produces annual income of €2.37m (98% of rental income is from government tenants) equating to a net initial yield of 8.4%, and a capital value of c. €310 psf. The Sunday Business Post, 12th June
Farnham Golf and Spa Resort: Savills is guiding over €26m for the Radisson Farnham Golf & Spa Resort in Co. Cavan. The sale price represents a significant discount on the c. €80m spent purchasing and developing the hotel over the last 15 years. The 158-bed hotel sits on a 1,200 acre estate and is generating a profit of c. €2m p.a. The hotel is being sold under the instruction of the receiver Crowe Horwath, who was appointed by NAMA. While the Radisson Group currently operate the hotel, it is possible to acquire the hotel with no management company in situ.The Irish Times, 8th June
Q1 2016 Review: DTZ Sherry Fitzgerald’s review of the hotel market in Q1 2016 shows that €65.9m was spent across 17 hotel transactions in the quarter. Interestingly, only two of the transactions were completed in Dublin. The most expensive hotels purchased were the Tara Towers Hotel (€13.1m) and the Clarion Hotel Sligo (€13.1m). Dalata was the acquirer of both of these hotels. The outlook for the remainder of 2016 is strong with the sale agreed for €61m worth of hotel assets. The development pipeline also boasts a favourable outlook, with c. 7,600 rooms speculated for development within the next three years. 6,100 of these rooms are in Dublin. DTZ Irish Hotel Market, Q1 2016
Canon Hall: Joint agents Lisney and Hooke & MacDonald have set an asking price of €9.5m for Canon Hall, an apartment block in the north Dublin docklands. The complex was developed in 2008 and consists of 36 apartments, one retail unit and 34 car spaces. The 36 apartments are made up of 9 one-beds, 25 two-beds and 2 two-bed penthouses. While the current rental income of the complex is c. €523k p.a., the selling agents project the market rent at c. €655k p.a. The Irish Times, 8thJune
Alexander Court: Savills is guiding in excess of €8m for Alexander Court, which is located at 25 Upper Pembroke Street in Dublin 2. The five-storey over basement property is currently being used as student accommodation with 23 apartments, however planning permission was granted in 2015 to convert the property into an aparthotel or serviced apartments. The property has a floor area of 20,850 sq. ft., however this can be extended to 23,280 sq. ft. (46 units) under the approved application. Rear access to the property is available from Stable Lane. The Irish Times, 8th June
Dublin Rents: The Q1 2016 Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) report on residential rents shows that renting a house in Dublin is now more expensive than it was at the peak of the market. In Q1 2016 the average monthly rent for a house was €1,454, which was 0.2% higher than the cost of renting a house in Q4 2007. Rents for houses and apartments in Dublin increased by 0.6% and 0.4% in Q1 2016, and are now 8.4% and 8.1% higher than they were in Q1 2015. On a national basis, residential rents rose by 8.6% in the past 12 months. The Irish Times, 9th June
First Time Buyers (FTBs): A new survey from the Real Estate Alliance (REA) shows that the average age of FTBs has increased by 5 years in the past decade. The average age of FTBs is now 34, up from 29 in 2006. The increase comes despite the fact that property prices are now c. 33% cheaper than they were in 2006. REA cited the introduction of the Central Bank’s mortgage lending rules and higher rents as factors preventing people from getting on the property ladder. The Irish Independent, 7th June
Arrears & Repossessions Figures: The Central Bank has released its Q1 2016 report on mortgage arrears and repossessions. The total number of mortgage accounts in arrears for principal dwelling houses (PDH) at the end of Q1 2016 was 85,989, a c. 2.6% decrease on the Q4 2015 figure. The number of buy-to-let (BTL) accounts in arrears was 27,891, a c. 3% decrease on Q4 2015. At the end of Q1 2016, there was a total of 743,700 PDH loans outstanding (€100.9bn debt value). The total number of BTL mortgages outstanding was 136,295 (c. €25.6bn). A total of 421 PDH and 302 BTL properties were taken into possession by lenders during Q1 2016. Central Bank Residential Mortgage Arrears and Repossessions Statistics: Q1 2016
Government Housing Strategy: The Irish Independent has issued details of some of the proposals which Housing Minister Simon Coveney is considering including in his housing strategy, which is to be published next month. To reduce the time involved in the planning application process for large scale projects, Minister Coveney is considering bypassing local councils and allowing these applications to go straight to An Bord Pleanála. Minister Coveney may also set up a Special Delivery Unit, where project managers will oversee projects from start to finish. Minister Coveney has pledged to deliver 25,000 homes each year while in government. The Irish Independent, 10th June
Naas Road: CBRE is guiding over €4m for the former HQ of Electrolux on the Naas Road in Dublin 12. The 92,130 sq. ft. property sits on a c. 4.7-acre site and consists of a warehouse and two-storey offices. The Irish Times, 8th June
Cork Data Centres: JCD Group has unveiled its plans to develop a number of data centres in Little Island, outside Cork City. Over €200m is to be spent developing more than 275,000 sq. ft. of space on a 32-acre site. Planning permission is expected to be granted within a few weeks. Cork is viewed as an attractive site after Hibernia Network placed a transatlantic cable there in 2015. With this cable now in place, Cork now offers the lowest latency in the EU to the east coast of the US. The Irish Times, 10th June
Grianán Estate: The Donegal Investment Group plc (formerly Donegal Creameries) has retained Savills to secure a buyer for Grianán Estate in Co. Donegal. The 2,400-acre property is one of the most substantial organic farms in Europe and has been generating an income of between €400k and €500k p.a. in recent years. Approximately 400 acres are let to a milk producer on a 25 year lease from 2008. The milk producer also has exclusivity over another 400 acres of the property on a rotation basis. The Irish Times, 8th June
Dublin Mountains Land Bank: 4,900 acres (1,983 hectares) of mostly moorland and mountain land in the Dublin Mountains is being offered for sale by CBRE on behalf of NAMA with a guide price of €2.5m. The land bank is mainly on the Dublin-Wicklow border within 15km of Dublin City Centre and 3km south of Tallaght. The Irish Times states that CBRE acknowledges that the development potential of the land bank is “very limited” and confined to 39.5 acres in the low lying lands. It also suggests that 178 acres in the upper lands have some development potential but are of limited use and subject to strict planning guidelines. The Irish Times, 8th June
Construction Output: Economic consultants DKM expects Irish construction output to increase by 14.4% to over €14bn in 2016, and by 16% in 2017 and 7.4% in 2018. DKM noted that an estimated 10,133 homes were built in 2015 with about 11,000 expected to be made available in 2016 and 20,000 by 2018. The Sunday Independent, 12th June
NAMA Annual Report 2015: NAMA released its 2015 Annual Report on 8th June. It reported a net profit after tax of €1.8bn with €1.6bn profit derived from disposals of loans and property assets. €85m of the profit came from writebacks of loan impairment provisioning. NAMA Annual Report and Financial Statements 2015
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Projects Emerald and Ruby: The Irish Times reports that NAMA has received final bids for the loan portfolio Projects Emerald and Ruby, which have a par value of €4.7bn. The bidders reportedly include Oaktree, Cerberus and Lone Star. €750m of the par value of the loan portfolios is secured by 950 residential properties, c. 300 of which are currently vacant. The Irish Times, 3rd June
Project Abbey: NAMA is expected to select a preferred bidder for the €650m par value Project Abbey loan portfolio in the near future. The current bidders are believed to include Apollo, Oaktree Capital and a joint bid from Deutsche Bank and Davidson Kempner. The portfolio reportedly includes loans secured by the Park West retail, office and leisure complex in west Dublin. According to market sources, the portfolio is expected to sell for less than half of its par value. The Irish Times, 3rd June
DFS Limerick: Colliers International has set an asking price of c. €3m for a retail unit let to the furniture retailer DFS on Ballysimon Road in Co. Limerick. DFS is paying an annual rent of €225k on a lease which has c. 14.4 years remaining. The three-storey unit has a floor area of 22,118 sq. ft. and sits on a 1.4-acre site. The Irish Times, 1st June
Blocks JK: Offers in excess of €21m are being sought by Weir Conway Chartered Surveyors for two office blocks in Eastpoint Business Park in the Dublin docklands. Blocks JK were developed in 2001, have a combined floor area of 63,272 sq. ft. spread over three floors and also provide 110 car spaces. The blocks have been let to Arvato Finance Services on a 15 year FRI lease from April 2016 at an annual rent of €1.4m. The rent equates to c. €20 psf for the office space and €1k per car space. Arvato has been in situ as sub-tenants since 2008 and has already spent over €5m refurbishing the blocks. A recent feasibility study also concluded that Blocks JK could provide additional floor space of 20,000 – 35,000 sq. ft. through adding an additional storey and extensions to the rear. The Irish Times, 1st June
Sharp Building: HWBC and Knight Frank have been retained by the developers McGarrell Reilly Group to source tenants for the Sharp Building on Hogan Place in Dublin 2. The property is set to undergo a €20m renovation which will see the majority of the existing structure demolished and replaced with a new six-storey block. The average floor plates of the new block will be c. 8,600 sq. ft. and it will have an A3 energy rating. The Irish Times, 1st June
Setanta Centre: Larry Goodman is understood to have agreed the sale of the Setanta Centre on Nassau Street in Dublin 2 to a group of Middle Eastern Investors for over €100m. While the property was never officially on the market, it was believed to be the subject of numerous offers, primarily due to its development potential. With a large surface level car park in the centre of the property, a substantial portion of the property was never built on. The Irish independent, 1st June
Fitzwilton House: IPUT has been granted planning permission by Dublin City Council to redevelop Fitzwilton House in Dublin’s Grand Canal. The application proposes that the existing 1960s property is demolished and replaced with a new c. 187,000 sq. ft. eight storey block in a €45m redevelopment. The development will also provide 44 car spaces and 178 bicycle spaces. IPUT hope to commence work on the site in 2017 and complete by mid-2019, however these dates could change if their application is appealed to An Bord Pleanála. The Irish Times, 7th June
Dublin 2 Development: The OPW and receivers acting on behalf of NAMA have sought planning permission from Dublin City Council to develop 400,000 sq. ft. of office space on Tara Street in Dublin 2. The application proposes that the existing buildings on the site, which include Apollo House and Hawkins House, are to be demolished to facilitate the development. According to The Irish Times, the cost of the development is projected at €50m. NAMA Wine Lake, 5th June
Office Market Transactions: A new report from Savills has revealed that c. 27% (c. 10.7m sq. ft.) of the total office space in the Dublin market has been transacted since the start of 2013. The substantial volume of transactions was partly driven by the disposal of properties associated with non-performing loans, while the growth in services employment has also led to strong demand for space from owner-occupiers. The Irish Independent, 7th June
Maldron Hotel: DTZ is guiding €6m for the Maldron Hotel located in Cork City. The three-star, 101-bed hotel is currently undergoing a €2m refurbishment by its operator, Dalata, who are in situ until 2030. The rent Dalata pay is based on a combination of a flat fee (€400k p.a.) and a percentage of turnover. In 2015 the total rent paid by Dalata amounted to c. €535k. The hotel was developed by Tom Coyle and is being sold under the instruction of the receiver, Aiden Murphy of Crowe Horwath. The Irish Times, 1st June
Fitzpatrick Hotel Portfolio: The Irish Independent reports that CBRE has made three Dublin hotels operated by Fitzpatrick Lifestyle Hotels available for sale. The hotels are the Spencer Hotel in the IFSC, the Morgan Hotel in Temple Bar and the Beacon Hotel in Sandyford. While the hotels are not yet officially on the market, their combined price tag is projected at €130m. The Spencer Hotel was purchased by Patron Capital in late 2013 for c. €33m, with Fitzpatrick Lifestyle Hotels also understood to have provided equity to complete the deal. The Pyramid Hotel group acquired the Morgan Hotel for c. €30m two years ago. The Irish Independent, 2nd June
Cahernane House Hotel: The Prem Group has been chosen as the preferred bidder for the four-star, 38-bed Cahernane House Hotel in Killarney, Co. Kerry. The group is expected to pay c. €3m to acquire the hotel, which sits on a 6.5-acre site and is c. 2km from Killarney town centre. The current owner of the hotel is the Browne family. The Irish Independent, 2nd June
Dalata Transactions: Dalata has announced that they have agreed to acquire the freehold interest in the Clarion Hotel Limerick for €8.5m. Dalata already own the leasehold interest in the four-star, 158-bed hotel and intend on rebranding the hotel as a Clayton hotel by the end of 2016. Dalata has also confirmed that they have completed two transactions which has seen them acquire hotel sites at Beasley Street in Cork (€10.2m) and Kevin Street in Dublin (€8.1m). The Irish Times, 7th June
Amaris Hospitality: The hotel group Amaris Hospitality has unveiled a c. £23.7m capital investment plan which will see 237 rooms added to the group’s portfolio. The c. £23.7m is to be apportioned over three hotels. Approximately £10m is to be spent adding 85 rooms to the Hilton Garden Inn Custom House hotel (formerly Jurys Inn) in Dublin’s IFSC. A further c. £8m is to be spent adding 80 rooms to Jurys Inn Belfast while the third hotel to be extended is Jurys Inn in Oxford, where c. £5.7m will be spent adding 72 rooms. Amaris Hospitality is owned by Lone Star and the group already has over 13,500 rooms in its portfolio. The Irish Independent, 7th June
Oakmount Hotels: Last week Oakmount was granted planning permission to develop two new hotels in Dublin. An Bord Pleanála approved their application to develop a five storey hotel at 117-119 Ranelagh Road. Oakmount also received approval from Dublin City Council to convert a warehouse in North Wall Quay into a seven-storey, 93-bedroom hotel. The key individuals behind Oakmount are Paddy McKillen Junior and Matt Ryan. Sunday Business Post, 5th June
Dublin 4 Student Accommodation: Ziggurat Student Living has retained Savills to manage the sale of the former Montrose hotel near UCD in Dublin 4 for c. €40m. The former hotel now operates as a 192-bed student accommodation complex where rooms are priced between €245 and €300 per week. Ziggurat acquired the former hotel in 2012 and spent c. €22.5m converting the property into student accommodation. The Sunday Times, 5th June
Dublin Apartments: Receiver Peter Stapleton of Lisney has retained agents Hooke & MacDonald to sell 98 apartments spread across four developments in Dublin City. The most valuable block is The New Maltings in Dublin 8, where 47 apartments are for sale for €7m (c. €149k each). The second set of apartments for sale is 16 of the 18 apartments at 46 – 47 Cork Street in Dublin 8, which are guiding €2.9m (c. €181k each). The third set of apartments for sale is 15 apartments at 31-35 Middle Gardiner Street, Dublin 1, which are guiding €2.7m (c. €180k each). The final block is 20 of the 41 apartments from The Ice Rink development in Dolphin’s Barn in Dublin 8, which have an asking price of €2.5m (c. €125k each). When compared to market rents, all four blocks are under-rented. The Irish Times, 1st June
Mortgage Approvals: Figures from the latest Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) report show that the number of mortgages approved for the three months ending April 2016, based on moving averages, was 2,307. This figure was 1.9% below the 2,352 approved for the period ending April 2015, however it was 18.7% above the three month moving average for March 2016 (1,944). The value of mortgages approved for the period ending April 2016 was €443m, compared to €442m for April 2015 and €370m for March 2016. The BPFI report also suggests that an increasing number of mortgagees are switching lenders, as the number of switchers in the period ending April 2016 was 76.6% above the April 2015 figure. Banking & Payments Federation Ireland Mortgage Approvals, February 2016
Apartment Heights: Dublin City councillors have elected to increase the maximum height of apartment blocks in the ‘low-rise’ areas of Dublin City from 19m to 24m. Developments of 24m will allow for eight storey blocks to be built in most areas of Dublin city, an increase of two storeys from the previous maximum height. While the majority of Dublin city is designated as ‘low-rise’, nine areas allow for ‘mid-rise’ developments (up to 50m) and four areas allow for ‘high-rise’ developments (over 50m). The four ‘high-rise’ areas are the Docklands, George’s Quay, Connolly and Heuston. The Irish Times, 1st June
Monard Cork: An Bord Pleanála has approval a proposal from Cork County Council to develop a new town in Monard, north Cork, which will have a population of up to 13,000. The scheme will involve the development of four villages and a town centre over 966 acres, the majority of which is greenfield agricultural land. Monard is located c. 4km northwest of Blackpool and c. 4km northeast of Blarney village. To facilitate the development, a new railway station will be developed along the Cork-Mallow rail line. An Bord Pleanála’s approval means that no appeals can be lodged against planning applications submitted by developers for Monard, provided that the application is in line with the council’s proposal. The Irish Times, 2nd June
Ashurst Service Station: JLL is guiding €10m for a service station let to an Applegreen subsidiary in Mount Merrion, Co. Dublin. The property is let to Petrogas Group Ltd under a lease which has a mutual break option in 2025, thereby offering investors c. 9 years of secure income. Based on the €10m guide price and the current rental income of €700k p.a., the investment offers an initial return of c. 6.7% once purchaser’s costs are deducted. Under the terms of the lease, the annual rental income rises to €840k in July 2019, €1,008k in July 2024 and €1,210k in July 2029. The size of the site is 0.64-acres. The Irish Times, 1st June
Airside Motor Park: Savills is quoting €2.5m for a motor showroom at Airside Motor Park in Swords, Co. Dublin. The property includes a 21,409 sq. ft. building and a forecourt which can accommodate approximately 150 cars. The property is let to Citroen Motors Ireland Ltd under a 10-year lease from September 2011, at an annual rent of €165k. The Irish Times, 1st June
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