Project Gem: More information is beginning to emerge on NAMA’s Project Gem, which the agency hopes to bring to the market in late 2016. According to industry sources, the portfolio will have a par value of c. €3.4bn and will be secured by commercial properties linked to c. 160 borrowers. There have been no estimates yet on the market value of the assets. NAMA Wine Lake, 31st July
Project Abbey: NAMA is believed to have chosen Apollo as the preferred bidder for the c. €700m Project Abbey portfolio. Apollo reportedly bid just over €300m for the portfolio, which contains loans linked to Pat Doherty. The loans in the portfolio are secured by five Irish shopping centres, two Irish hotels, the Park West development in Dublin City and development sites in Los Angeles and Antigua. The underbidders for the portfolio were Oaktree, Starwood and Davidson Kempner / Deutsche Bank. NAMA Wine Lake, 31st July
Project Beara: Final bids have been submitted for NAMA’s c. €250m Project Beara loan portfolio. According to industry sources, the final bidders are Goldman Sachs, Avenue Capital, Deutsche Bank and Marathon Asset Management. Project Beara includes loans advanced to the Shipton Group, which was the development vehicle of Cork’s Love family. Among the assets in the portfolio is Douglas Shopping Centre in Cork. The Sunday Business Post, 31st July
Clerys Redevelopment: OCS Properties, which is owned by D2 Private and Cheyne Capital, has sought planning permission from Dublin City Council to redevelop the former Clerys department store on Dublin’s O’Connell Street. The c. €150m project would see the former department store replaced with a new six-storey retail and office scheme, with a bar and restaurant also earmarked for the property. The total floor area of the development would be c. 344,000 sq. ft. and would see new floors added to the existing property, along with a second basement. As part of the proposal, OCS also plan on developing a new seven-storey, 176-bed hotel. This hotel would be located behind the site of Clerys at Earl Place. The Sunday Times, 31st July
Gresham Hotel: NAMA has selected RIU Hotels and Resorts as the preferred bidder for the Gresham Hotel on Dublin’s O’Connell Street. RIU is understood to have bid c. €91m for the hotel. The closest underbidder, Tifco, bid c. €88m for the hotel. The 2014 accounts for the 4-star, 323-bed hotel show that it made an operating profit of c. €3.4m on sales of c. €18m. NAMA Wine Lake, 31st July
Lyrath Hotel: The sale of the five-star Lyrath Estate Hotel & Spa in Kilkenny looks to be reaching a conclusion, with reports emerging that Xavier McAuliffe and an overseas partner have been chosen as the preferred bidder. McAuliffe was the original developer of the hotel and is believed to have spent c. €50m renovating the hotel after he originally acquired it. Together with his overseas partner, McAuliffe is now expected to pay c. €20m to reacquire the hotel. When McAuliffe last controlled the hotel, he had loans with Bank of Scotland (Ireland) which were secured by the hotel. In 2012, the bank took control of the hotel and later sold the loans to a Goldman Sachs investment vehicle as part of a portfolio sale. The sale process is being managed by the receiver, KPMG. The Sunday Business Post, 31st July
Poolbeg Peninsula: Dublin Port Company is looking at building two hotels in the Poolbeg West strategic development zone in Dublin City. The first hotel would have c. 600-beds and be located on the Poolbeg Peninsula, while the second hotel would be situated near the 3 Arena. The Sunday Business Post, 31st July
Newcastle House: Hong Kong businessman Hau Yan Lee has obtained planning permission to convert Newcastle House in Co. Longford into a 40-bed hotel. There will also be a further 24 beds on the grounds in different buildings. Newcastle House is situated on a c. 42-acre site and dates back to the 17th century. The target completion date for the work on the property is late 2017. A key selling point for the hotel is that it will be located next to the proposed Centre Parcs holiday development in Longford. The Sunday Business Post, 31st July
Howth Development: An Bord Pleanála has given Grant Thornton planning permission for the development of 200 residential units, six commercial properties and 487 car spaces on a development site in Howth, north Dublin. Following the planning approval, the estimated value of the site is €25m – €30m. The site extends to 10.87-acres and consists of the former Techrete and Teeling Motors sites (6.58 acres) and lands which were previously known as Baltray Park. The planning application allows for the development of 145 apartments (one to three bed units), 51 houses (three and four bed units) and four houses for the traveller community. The commercial units will have a total floor area of 20,214 sq. ft. Grant Thornton is acting as receiver for the site, having been appointed by NAMA. The Irish Times, 27th July
CIÉ Cork Site: Clarendon Properties and BAM Construction have been chosen as the preferred developers for a site owned by CIÉ in Cork City. The 6.1-acre site is alongside Kent Railway Station and fronts onto Horgan’s Quay and Railway Street. CIÉ has agreed to a 300-year ground lease with Clarendon Properties, for which CIÉ will either receive a set annual rent or else 10% of the market rent, whichever is greater. There is no active planning permission in place for the site however it is zoned as a mixed-use site. According to the developers, the site could facilitate office, residential or leisure accommodation. The Sunday Business Post, 31st July
Glenasmole Valley: The Irish Times reports that The State is in advanced negotiations with NAMA to acquire the c. 5,000-acre Glenasmole Valley site in the Dublin mountains. Although NAMA has valued the land at c. €2.5m (c. €500 an acre), the final purchase price remains unclear, with some market sources projecting that the final selling price may be as low as €1m. The majority of the site lies within a special area of conservation and a special protection area, while also being surrounded by c. 494,000-acres of the Wicklow Mountains National Park. The Irish Times, 27th July
Lisieux Hall: Noel Smyth is reportedly seeking to develop 17 houses and 52 apartments on the site of his Lisieux Hall home in Leopardstown, Co. Dublin. The development would include two five-storey apartment blocks and the majority of the houses would have a floor area of up to c. 2,250 sq. ft. The Lisieux Hall site extends to c. 4.6 acres. The Sunday Times, 31st July
H1 2016 Sales Figures: An analysis of the Property Price Register by MyHome.ie shows that the number of residential properties sold in H1 2016 (20,447) was c. 8.2% lower than in H1 2015 (22,273). Most notably, the cities of Dublin (-13.4%), Cork (-3.8%), Galway (-11.6%) and Limerick (-10.8%) all reported decreases in the number of units sold in H1 2016 when compared to H1 2015. Waterford (13.2%) reported the largest increase in the number of units sold, although it was one of only five counties where the number of units sold in the county increased. The Irish Times, 28th July
Mortgage Lending: A new report by the Central Bank on household lending shows that net mortgage lending increased by c. €105m in June 2016. While this increase was the largest recorded since February 2010, net mortgage lending has decreased by c. €1.6bn in the past year. The report also shows that Irish households continue to be net funders to the Irish banking system, as banks hold c. €6.8bn more in household deposits than in loans issued. In early-2009, household loans were greater than deposits by c. €53.5bn. Central Bank of Ireland, Money and Banking Statistics – June 2016
CSO Property Prices: The June 2016 report by the CSO reveals that national residential property prices rose by c. 6.6% for the year ending June 2016. For the month of June, prices decreased by 0.1% after increasing by 0.2% in May. Residential prices in Dublin decreased by 0.7% in June however prices are still 4.5% higher than they were a year ago. Residential prices in Dublin are now 35.6% lower than their peak in February 2007. Similarly, residential property prices for the Rest of Ireland are 35.4% below their peak in September 2007. The CSO’s property price report is based on mortgage drawdown figures. CSO Residential Property Price Index, June 2016
Center Parcs Longford: CP has been granted planning permission by An Bord Pleanála for a c. €232m holiday village in Ballymahon, Co. Longford. The planning permission granted has 21 conditions, including one stipulating that the developer must make a financial contribution towards public infrastructure in the region. The holiday village is to be situated on a 395-acre site and will include 470 lodges, 30 apartments, retail facilities and a “Subtropical Swimming Paradise”. Center Parcs hope to have the development completed by 2019 and the holiday village is expected to create c. 1,000 full-time jobs once completed. The Irish Times, 27th July
Mater Private: The owners of the Mater Private group are reportedly trying to refinance the group’s existing debt. The news comes as the sale of the medical group has been postponed for the second time in 14 months. The majority shareholder in the group is CapVest, who hold a 51% stake. The remaining shares are owned by management and staff. Earlier this year CapVest was believed to have been close to agreeing a c. €500m sale to Fresenius, however the deal was never completed. Approximately 14 months prior to that, CapVest had been in negotiations with Netcare over a potential sale. CapVest acquired their stake in the Mater Private in 2007, when AIB were their main funder. The Irish Times, 29th July
IPD/SCSI Index: The latest report by the MCSI shows that the total return from Irish property in Q2 2016 was c. 3.1%, a slight increase on the return of c. 2.9% in Q1 2016. The best performing sector in Q2 2016 was industrial, which had a total return of c. 5% in the period (income c. 1.8% and capital value growth of c. 3.2%). The office market improved by c. 3.1%, largely due to the Dublin office market rising by c. 5.5%. The return from the Irish property market in Q2 2015 was c. 4.2%. The Irish Independent, 28th July
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Project Gem: Bloomberg has reported that NAMA will launch the sale of a c. €4bn par value loan portfolio by the end of 2016. While details on the portfolio, named Project Gem, are not yet available, it is believed that the loans will be some of the lower quality assets held by NAMA. NAMA Wine Lake estimates that the par value of NAMA’s remaining loans on its balance sheet is c. €34bn, for which the market value is c. €6bn. NAMA Wine Lake, 24th July
Project Tolka: The commencement of the sales process of NAMA’s Project Tolka c. €1.5bn par value loan portfolio looks set to be delayed as NAMA try to perfect the title documents on a number of assets in the portfolio. The assets in the portfolio include the Burlington Plaza office complex (reportedly valued at c. €250m), the Clarion Hotel in Liffey Valley and the Belfield HQ of Paddy Power. The borrowers in Project Tolka include Paddy Kelly, John Flynn and the McCormack family. NAMA Wine Lake, 24th July
Liffey Valley: The owners of Liffey Valley Shopping Centre appear to be moving closer towards putting the shopping centre and an adjoining site up for sale, with The Irish Times reporting that they have retained Eastdil to broker the sale. The shopping centre is owned by Hines, HSBC Alternative Investments and the Grosvenor Group. The latest projected sales price reported is c. €600m. The Irish Times, 21st July
Debenhams Leases: Debenhams Retail Ireland has moved a step closer towards exiting examinership after agreeing a rent deal with Marathon Asset Management for four stores where Marathon is the landlord. The stores are in Limerick, Galway, Kerry and Waterford. Debenhams had sought to repudiate the leases in these stores and an additional lease for their unit in The Square in Tallaght, Co. Dublin. The Tallaght unit is managed by Laseda, who manages the entire shopping centre. There has been no update provided on negotiations between Debenhams and Laseda. The Sunday Times, 24th July
Nenagh Retail Park: An unnamed family has acquired Nenagh Retail Park in Co. Tipperary for slightly above the €2.6m asking price. The park consists of seven warehouses which have a combined floor area of 158,000 sq. ft. and 400 car spaces. Two adjoining development sites of c. 3.1 acres are also included, offering the acquirer future development potential. The anchor tenant is Woodies DIY, who pay c. 43% of the current rent roll of c. €240k p.a. The rental income is expected to increase to c. €290k p.a. in the near future following the agreement to let a vacant unit. The Irish Times, 20th July
Carrig Donn Ennis: Sherry FitzGerald McMahon is inviting offers of €2.25m for a 10,710 sq. ft. retail unit (c. €210 psf) occupied by the Carrig Donn Group in Ennis, Co. Clare. Carrig Donn is paying rent of c. €115k p.a. (c. €10.73 psf) under the existing lease, which runs until 2026. The property was previously used as a Bank of Ireland branch. The Irish Times, 20th July
Camden Street Restaurant: FC Hospitality, which is owned by Dublin footballers Diarmuid Connolly and Eamonn Fennell, has sought planning permission for a new restaurant on Dublin’s Camden Street. The property is located beside Cassidy’s Bar and DeSelby’s, a recently-opened restaurant. The Sunday Times, 24th July
Central Bank HQ: The Central Bank is reportedly considering the sale of their existing HQ on Dame Street, along with two other commercial properties on College Green in the coming months. Together the three properties may sell for over €60m. Construction of the Dame Street HQ was completed in 1978, with the official opening occurring in December 1979. On its own, the HQ may command a price tag in excess of €40m on the open market. The other two commercial properties the Central Bank may sell are No’s 6-8 and 9 College Green. The Central Bank is expected to begin moving into their new HQ on North Wall Quay at the end of this year, which has cost c. €140m to develop. The Irish Independent, 21st July
Lower Baggot Street: Larry Goodman’s investment vehicle is understood to be in “advanced discussions” with the pharmaceutical giant Shire over the leasing of c. 76,000 sq. ft. of office space in the former Bank of Ireland HQ on Lower Baggot Street, Dublin 2. With the Department of Health having already agreed to occupy the main office block on the site (c. 143,000 sq. ft.), Shire would occupy the two smaller blocks (c. 45,000 sq. ft. and c. 31,000 sq. ft.). If both the Department of Health and Shire pay the quoted rent of €60 psf sought by the letting agent Knight Frank, then the total rent roll of the complex will be c. €13m p.a. Larry Goodman acquired the site for over €40m in 2013 and has since spent c. €100m redeveloping the complex. The Irish Times, 20th July
Arkle Road: Noel Smyth, through his investment vehicle Wexele, has obtained planning permission to develop three office blocks on a site at 3 Arkle Road in Sandyford, Co. Dublin. The adjoining blocks will range from six to seven storeys in height and have a cumulative floor area of c. 230,000 sq. ft. The development will also include a ground floor café and 186 car spaces. Wexele is now understood to be seeking to either pre-let the office space or else source a funding partner for the development. The cost of the development is projected at €55m – €60m, while the end value is estimated at c. €150m. Wexele is expected to seek rents of €28 – €30 psf for the office space. The Irish Times, 20th July
Docklands Extension: IPUT has sought planning permission from Dublin City Council to extend 25 – 28 North Wall Quay by c. 19,000 sq. ft. The extension would be six storeys tall and located to the rear of the property. A&L Goodbody currently occupy the property. NAMA Wine Lake, 24th July
Capital Dock: Kennedy Wilson (KW) has tasked John Sisk & Son with developing the proposed 660,000 sq. ft. mixed use development on their Capital Dock site in the south Dublin docklands. KW paid c. €106m in 2012 to acquire their interest in the 4.8-acre site. The development of the site is now being undertaken by way of a joint venture with NAMA, who have a 15% interest in the project. The Capital Dock development is expected to include 330,000 sq. ft. of office space across three blocks and 190-high quality apartments in a 23-storey tower. There will also be retail and leisure facilities on-site. The first office block is expected to be completed by the end of 2017, while the target completion date for the apartments is mid-2018. The Irish Times, 22nd July
New Generation Portfolio: Bartra Capital, the company owned by Richard Barrett, is believed to have withdrawn from the race to acquire a development land portfolio being sold by New Generation. Bartra was understood to have been the highest bidder on the 27-site portfolio, for which a price tag of c. €320m was being sought. The sites are believed to be capable of facilitating c. 3,000 homes across 143-acres. The locations of the sites include Dundrum, Blackrock and Harold’s Cross in Dublin. The Sunday Business Post, 24th July
Social Housing Funds: Following the announcement that the Government are to undertake a major social housing development project, two private funds look set to enter the market to part finance the development of social housing units. The first potential funder is Bartra Capital, which is expected to contribute a minimum of €100m. The second potential funder will be led by Donal McManus, the chief executive of the Irish Council for Social Housing. McManus is reportedly trying to raise up to €100m from private investors. The Sunday Business Post, 24th July
Affordable Housing Fund: Bill Nowlan, the former Head of Property Investment for Irish Life, is seeking to establish an investment fund which will target the affordable rental scheme, which was unveiled in the Government’s recent housing action plan. The fund will aim to supply the sector with c. 500 to 1,000 units a year, using land provided by the state. Once the units are completed, the fund will then lease them to an approved housing body where the rent would be dependent upon the development cost. Using this structure, rents for the units may be only c. 70% of market levels. The Sunday Times, 24th July
Ziggurat Sites: The student accommodation developer Ziggurat is reportedly in negotiations to acquire six development sites for student accommodation. It is understood that three of the sites are in Cork and three are in Galway. Ziggurat hope to have a portfolio of 4,000 student beds in Ireland by 2021. Earlier this month Ziggurat announced that they had acquired two development sites in Dublin, which are expected to accommodate c. 800 beds and should be in operation by 2019.The Sunday Business Post, 24th July
Clontarf Development: An unnamed group of investors has acquired a 0.96-acre site in Clontarf, Dublin 3 for €4.25m. The site comes with full planning permission for 17 three-bed family homes, which will range in size from 1,055 sq. ft. to 1,927 sq. ft. Planning permission was granted in June 2014 by An Bord Pleanála. The Irish Times, 20th July
Mars Capital (MC) Repossessions: MC has suffered a setback in their legal proceedings against 583 borrowers which were part of a c. 1,500 mortgage portfolio acquired from IBRC in 2014. The 583 borrowers were already the subject of legal proceedings before MC acquired the portfolio at a c. 58% discount. MC then sought to continue the existing legal proceedings outstanding against each borrower, however the High Court has ruled that they must now restart each repossession order from the beginning. The Sunday Times, 24th July
Dolphin House: The government has given the go-ahead for the first phase of the redevelopment of Dolphin House in Dolphin’s Barn, Dublin City. A funding package of €25m has been allocated by the government, which will be used to develop 100 homes. 72 apartments in three existing blocks will be refurbished to provide 63 bigger apartments, with three more blocks being built to provide an additional 28 apartments. Nine new houses will also be built. Of the 100 new homes, 40% will be one-beds, 41% will be two beds and the balance of 19% will have three or more bedrooms. The proposal will also see the creation of internal courtyards, which should reduce anti-social behaviour in the area. The Irish Times, 21st July
Mortgage Arrears: The Department of Finance’s report on mortgage arrears for May 2016 shows that there are now c. 65k Principal Dwelling House (PDH) accounts in arrears, a c. 19% decrease on the May 2015 figure. Following the reduction of accounts in arrears, 616k PDH accounts (c. 90% of the total) now have no arrears. The number of Buy-to-Let (BTL) accounts in arrears in May 2016 was c. 22k, a c. 21% decrease from May 2015. The total number of BTL accounts outstanding in May 2016 was c. 117k, meaning that c. 95k (82% of the total) had no arrears. Department of Finance Mortgage Restructures Data, May 2016
House Purchases: A new report by the Central Bank shows that nearly 60% of all house purchasers in 2013 and 2014 were cash buyers. When examining the causes behind the increase in the level of cash buyers, the report highlights the decline in mortgage drawdowns and the low levels of construction as some of the influencing factors. Cash buyers include older individuals looking to downsize, private investors and individuals who have received pension lump sums. The Irish Times, 25th July
Pepper Mortgage Rates: Pepper has announced interest rate reductions of up to 0.45% on a number of their variable mortgage rate products. First time buyers who secure a mortgage with Pepper will now be able to borrow at a rate of 3.1%, provided their loan-to-value is no more than 50%. Pepper will also reduce their buy-to-let rates by up to 0.20%. Pepper’s Advantage Product rates will also be cut by as much as 0.35%. The Advantage Product targets borrowers who have previously been in arrears, with these rates now ranging from 3.85% to 5.05%. Pepper, who manage c. 50,000 loans in Ireland on behalf of other lenders, launched their own mortgage products in January 2016. The Irish Independent, 26thJuly
Westlink Industrial Estate: Irish Life has sold the Westlink Industrial Estate in Ballyfermot, Dublin 10, to a joint venture of Ardale Property and C2 Capital for over €7.5m. The 30-year-old industrial estate has a total floor area of 180,000 sq. ft. spread across 31 units. According to The Irish Times, the new owners may look to upgrade the industrial estate now that the sale has been concluded. The Irish Times, 20th July
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Shopping Centre Report: DTZ’s report on the shopping centre market reveals that there have been c. 40 shopping centre transactions in Ireland since 2013, equivalent to c. 20% of the market stock. Of these c. 40 transactions, 24 were sold via portfolio sales. There haven’t been any new shopping centre developments completed since 2012, and 2019 is the first projected year of new developments. Prime shopping centre rents in Dublin Zone A, based on Liffey Valley Shopping Centre, increased from c. €209 psf in Q4 2015 to c. €250 psf in Q2 2016. DTZ Irish Shopping Centre Market Report, July 2016
Henry Street: Fitzwilliam Finance Partners (Noel Smyth’s investment vehicle) in conjunction with Arnotts has submitted a planning application to Dublin City Council to separate numbers 7 – 9 Henry Street, Dublin 1 into a separate building of c. 40,000 sq. ft. The division of the buildings will reduce Arnotts department store to c. 250,000 sq. ft. of retail space but will enable the new standalone premises to be redeveloped to attract a major retailer. The Sunday Independent, 17th July
1 Grand Canal Square: IPUT plc has let 18,500 sq. ft. of penthouse office space in 1 Grand Canal Square, Dublin 2 at €60 psf to Citadel Securities. The c. 120,000 sq. ft. Grade A six storey building is also occupied by Bank of Ireland, HSBC and Accenture. The Irish Times, 18th July
Dunboyne Business Park: Lisney is seeking offers of €3.75m for Dunboyne Business Park (DBP) in Co. Meath. DBP contains a mix of office and warehouse space and has a total floor area of 81,174 sq. ft. The current rental income is c. €412k p.a., of which €100k p.a. is attributable to the chemical company Scott Bader. There is potential to also increase the rental income of DBP in the short term, as c. 20% of the business park lies vacant. The Irish Times, 13th July
Cumberland House: The US travel conglomerate Travelport has agreed to rent the fifth and sixth floors of Cumberland House near Fenian Street in Dublin 2. Travelport will pay a rent of c. €50 psf for c. 33,000 sq. ft. of space. Cumberland House was acquired in 2015 by Hibernia REIT for c. €49m. The property is currently undergoing a c. €27m refurbishment which will see the floor area extended to c. 135,000 sq. ft. Cumberland House is also set to become the Irish HQ of Twitter, who has agreed a 20-year lease at a rent of c. €50 psf. The Irish Times, 13th July
Harcourt Centre: Knight Frank is seeking tenants for two office units of the Harcourt Centre complex near Harcourt Street in Dublin 2. The first unit is the fourth and penthouse level floors of Block 5, which have a floor area of 7,389 sq. ft. The rent being sought for this unit is €60 psf, as it has recently been refurbished. The second unit to let is the lower and upper ground floors of Block 8, which extend to 3,821 sq. ft. The rent quoted for this unit is €49.50 psf. The Irish Times, 13th July
Leopardstown: Ardagh (the global packaging group) is reported to have agreed to rent Pelham House (26,585 sq. ft.) in South County Business Park, Leopardstown, Dublin 18 from Friends First. The rent is believed to be in the early €20s psf (subject to refurbishment of the offices) and also includes 44 on site car parking spaces. The Irish Times, 13th July
Galway: Savills has placed a guide price of €1.8m for an 18,212 sq. ft. office building at Galway Financial Services Centre. The premises is let to a Galway based accountancy firm at €150k p.a. on a 20 year lease from January 2016 with a break option in year 10. There is additional income of €12k p.a. from a mobile phone mast rolling licence agreement. The initial yield on the guide price equates to c. 8.6%. The Irish Times, 13th July
JLL Report: JLL’s report on the Dublin office market for Q2 2016 reveals that the total take-up in the quarter was 536,535 sq. ft. The vacancy rate in the market decreased from 8% to 6.7%, compared to the European average of 8.6%. In the city centre, the vacancy rate is just 3.3%. Prime rents in the city centre range from €55 – €65 psf while prime suburban rents range from €25 – €30 psf. The level of supply will increase in the short term, with 3.5m sq. ft. of new space under construction. A further 1m sq. ft. of space is undergoing refurbishment. 41% of the space under construction has been pre-let, while 52% of the space undergoing refurbishment has been let. JLL Dublin Office Market Report Q2 2016
Dublin City Centre: The British hotel and serviced apartment group, Marlin has sought planning permission to increase the size of its planned Dublin hotel on Bow Lane East (behind the St. Stephen’s Green Shopping Centre) from 190 to 311 bedrooms in a 7-storey over 2-basement development. The larger plan has been facilitated by Marlin recently acquiring three adjoining sites. The extra bedrooms would increase the size of the overall development by c. 33,000 sq ft (to c. 123,200 sq. ft.) on the original plans. The total investment is reported to be c. €60m. The Sunday Times, 17th July
Radisson Blu Hotel & Spa Athlone: iNua Hospitality Group has acquired the four star Radisson Blu Hotel and Spa in Athlone from the receiver Kieran Wallace of KPMG. The sales price is reported as €9.5m for the 128 bedroom hotel. The iNua group already owns Radisson Blu Hotels in Cork and Limerick in addition to the Muckross Park Hotel (Killarney) and the Hibernian Hotel (Kilkenny). The Irish Times, 13th July
House Building: Dublin listed builder, Abbey plc has reported that its sales in south Dublin and north Wicklow are strong but its building sites in Kildare and Laois are on hold due to no growth in demand in these areas. Abbey plc’s Preliminary Statements for FYE 30/04/2016 identify that it completed 597 sales in the year (UK 544, Ireland 23, CZK 30) and pre-tax profits for the year were €61.5m (25.5% YOY increase). Its strong sales in the British market were aided by the government’s help to buy scheme. The growth in pre-tax profits was attributed by Charles Gallagher, Chief Executive of Abbey plc to higher sales margins and an increase in house completions. The builder’s margins in Britain were 400 bps over analysts’ forecasts. The Sunday Business Post, 17th July
Census Figures: Preliminary figures from the 2016 census show that there are almost 260k vacant homes in the State at present, of which 61,204 are holiday homes. With c. 260k homes vacant, it means that the national vacancy rate is c. 12.8%. Leinster has the highest number of vacant homes (over 90k), followed by Munster (over 83k). The Irish Times, 15th July
Roslyn Park: The Department of Education (DoE) has entered into “exclusive talks” to acquire the Rehab Group’s 5.16-acre Roslyn Park site in Sandymount, Dublin 4. Joint agents Lisney and Savills had been inviting offers of over €12m for the site, which attracted significant interest from developers who were attracted to its potential for residential development. It is understood that the DoE may now pay over €21m to acquire the site, which will be used to facilitate an education centre. Cairn Homes had been bidding for the site and its Chief Executive and Founder Michael Stanley had hoped to obtain planning permission for a development consisting of 100 to 120 residential units. The Irish Times, 13th July
Housing Action Plan: The Irish Times reviews a draft copy of the Housing Action Plan (HAP) which is expected to be released shortly by the Minister for Housing and Planning, Simon Coveney. Central to the HAP is a proposal to deliver c. 45,000 social housing units by 2021, while also establishing a c. €70m state fund which will be used to acquire c. 400 distressed housing units from lenders. The HAP also proposes that institutional investors will be invited to establish large scale multi-family units which will facilitate the creation of a new build-to-rent sector of the market. The Irish Times, 14th July
Navan Development Site: Joint agents Lisney and Smith Harrington are guiding c. €4m for 44-acres of residential development land in Navan, Co. Meath. The land, which is owned by the Spicer family, adjoins Academy Street and forms part of the grounds of Belmont, a large period house owned by the family. The site is understood to be able to facilitate between 360 and 400 houses, equating to c. €10k – €11k per site. The Irish Times, 13th July
Ziggurat Acquisitions: The student accommodation firm Ziggurat has announced that they have acquired a number of development sites in north Dublin’s city centre. The sites include one on Upper Dominic Street which is expected to provide a c. 380-bed facility, the site of the former Michael H textile plant and two sites which were previously used as car parks for Arnotts. The co-founder of Ziggurat, Matthew McAdden, has advised that any developments on these sites are not expected to be completed until 2019 at the earliest. The Irish Times, 13th July
Industrial Market Report: CBRE’s report on Dublin Industrial & Logistics market identifies that prime headline rents are currently c. €7.90 psf and yields are stable at c. 5.75%. CBRE also projects c. €8.75 psf for prime Dublin industrial to be achieved in H2 2016. H1 2016 take up volumes in Dublin were c. 1,288,500 sq. ft. which is 35% down YOY. However, CBRE attributes the reduction in take up due to lack of supply of modern accommodation in core locations rather than weakening in demand levels. CBRE, Dublin Industrial & Logistics MarketView, Q2 2016
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Project Jewel: Hammerson and Allianz Real Estate have jointly taken possession of Dundrum Town Centre and three development sites – an undeveloped site at Dundrum Town Centre in Dundrum village, a 16-acre site beside the Pavilions in Swords and Dublin Central and a five-acre plot bounded by O’Connell Street and Henry Street, Dublin 1. The assets were acquired via the €1.85bn NAMA Project Jewel portfolio sale in September 2015. It is reported several retailers have already entered discussions with the new owners about increasing the size of their stores in Dundrum Town Centre. The Irish Times, 9th & 11th July and NAMA Wine Lake, 10th July 2016
Project Tolka: The Sunday Independent reports that negotiations are at an advanced stage in relation to NAMA’s proposed disposal of Project Tolka (par value of €1.5bn), and that it is expected to be marketed for sale in September 2016. Project Tolka comprises of loans linked to property developers and investors Paddy Kelly, John Flynn and the Dublin-based McCormack family. The portfolio’s main investment properties are the Burlington Plaza office complex on Dublin’s Burlington Road, Belfield Office Park and the former Children’s Hospital on Harcourt Street in Dublin city centre. The Sunday Independent, 10th July
Horizon Mall: Capital Assets has acquired the loans associated with Limerick’s Horizon Mall site from Danske Bank. It is reported that the par value of the loans was c. €41m. The purchase price has not been reported. The Sunday Business Post, 10th July
Brasserie Sixty6: The freehold interests in Brasserie Sixty6 restaurant on 66/67 South Great George’s Street, Dublin 2 (4,911 sq. ft.) have been acquired by a private investor for €2.6m (€529 psf). The sale equates to an initial yield of 7.2% based on the contracted rent of €195k p.a. and the weighted average unexpired lease term (WAULT) is c. 15 years. There are two 35 year leases on the premises, both of which expire in 2031. The Irish Times, 6th July
50 Grafton Street: Irish Life has acquired no. 50 Grafton Street, which is currently vacant having been previously occupied by Three Ireland with 7.5 years remaining on the lease. The acquisition means that Irish Life now owns four premises in a row on Grafton Street (nos. 47 – 50), in addition to nos. 7-11, 57-58 and 85-86. The rent roll from nos. 47 – 50 is c. €1.1m and it is believed that the properties could be combined into one or two large outlets to attract big name international traders and maximise returns in the future. The Irish Times, 6th July
Dún Laoghaire Shopping Centre: Coltard has been granted planning permission by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council for a c. €10m redevelopment of the Dún Laoghaire Shopping Centre (currently 183,000 sq. ft. with a rent roll of c. €2m). The redevelopment is due to be completed by the end of Q1 2017 and includes two additional large anchor stores fronting on to the town’s Marine Road (19,600 sq. ft.) and George’s Street (35,100 sq. ft.). The Irish Times, 11th July
St. Stephen’s Green: IPB Insurance is believed to have acquired Standard Life’s Dublin offices (26,591 sq. ft. office accommodation in addition to 25 car parking spaces) on St Stephen’s Green for €26.825m – 7.3% in excess of the €25m guide price. The initial yield is expected to be 4.7% after a rent review takes place in September, as the current rent of €650k p.a. (€22.11 psf) may increase to c. €50 psf, alongside increased car parking space rental (from €2.5k to c. €4k per space). The offices have been owned and occupied by Standard Life for the past 30 years. However, the company provided an undertaking that it will not seek renewal of its lease on expiry in 5.5 years, enabling the new owner to maximise returns by refurbishing and reletting. The Irish Times, 6th July
Riverview House: TWM is seeking offers in excess of €5.47m for a 40,000 sq. ft. office building in Carrick on Shannon, Co. Leitrim. Riverview House was purpose built in 2005 and is rented by the Department of Family and Social Affairs for €600k p.a. The guide price offers an initial yield of 10.5% with 10 years remaining in the lease. The Irish Times, 6th July
Project Wave: Planning permission for a c. €46m office development on North Wall Quay, Dublin 1 has been granted. This relates to Block A (323,000 sq. ft.) of the Project Wave development by Oakley Holdings and the Ballymore Group, and works are expected to commence in Q4 2016 with construction taking c. 20 months. In addition, the main works on the c. €111m development of Block D in the scheme are commencing following completion of the ground, basement and piling works. The Sunday Business Post, 10th July
4–5 Trinity Street: Savills is guiding €1.725m (€454 psf) for a mixed use retail and office building on 4-5 Trinity Street, Dublin 2. The 3,800 sq. ft. fully occupied four-storey over basement period property has passing rent of €110k p.a. with estate agents Douglas Newman Good occupying the basement and ground floor on a new 20-year lease for €80k p.a. The three upper floors are rented as offices by StoryToys for €30k p.a. (€13 psf) with its lease expiring in less than two years. The selling agent expects the property to provide an initial yield of 6.1%, with the prospect of increased rental income in the short term when the office lease ends. The Irish Times, 6th July
Ormond Quays: Fenergo, an Irish fintech company employing 250 staff in Dublin, is relocating from Ormond House on Dublin quays to the larger Castleforbes House (20,000 sq. ft.) in the northside docklands. The rent is reported to be c. €26 psf. The Irish Times, 6th July
Days Inn Hotel: Wellington Hospitality Limited has applied to Dublin City Council to extend the Days Inn Hotel in Rathmines by c. 17,500 sq. ft. from 66 to 106 bedrooms. NAMA Wine Lake also reports that it is projected that there will be an additional 5,500 hotel bedrooms in Dublin by 2019. There are presently c. 25 live projects in Dublin city centre comprising of both new hotels and extensions. NAMA Wine Lake, 10th July 2016
Receivership Portfolio Sale: Kelly Walsh, on the instruction of receiver Tom Kavanagh of Deloitte, is guiding €7m for a portfolio of sites, unfinished developments and the 34-acre Kill International Equestrian Centre in Kill, Co. Kildare. The portfolio consists of unfinished housing developments at Garristown, north Dublin (18 units), Loughrea, Co. Galway (20 units) and 21 acres at Kilrane in Co. Wexford (which previously had planning permission for 130 houses). The equestrian centre hosted the Special Olympics equestrian events in 2005 and there is potential for residential rezoning on the site in the future. Rutland House, a 2,971 sq. ft. house (in need of refurbishment) in Dún Laoghaire, Co. Dublin is also included in the portfolio and has planning permission for two additional houses on its 0.6-acre grounds. The property was previously offered for sale in Q1 2015 at €1.9m. The Irish Times, 6th July
Southeast Dublin Housing: The Private and Public Housing Supply Report published by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council (DLR) reports a requirement for 3,300 private and social houses in southeast Dublin to be built each year until 2022 which is 250 houses per year more than the area’s peak housing output in 2007. The report states the average monthly rent for a three-bed house in DLR in June 2016 was €2,291 and the average sales price of a three-bedroom house was €459k for the first five months of 2016.
It is also reported that the Cosgrave Property Group has reached agreement with DLR to provide 124 social housing units (ranging from 1-beds – 3-beds) in Phase 2 of the former Dún Laoghaire golf club. The deal is estimated to be worth €37m. The Irish Times, 6th July
Mount Merrion Development: Balark Investments (controlled by developer Greg Kavanagh) has sought planning permission to demolish a former 21,500 sq. ft. monastery to the rear of Oatlands College, Mount Merrion and build 63 houses on the site comprising of 9 houses, 24 duplex units, and 30 apartments in two blocks. The Irish Independent, 6th July
Cardiff Lane Development: Crekav Landbank Investments Limited (also controlled by Greg Kavanagh) has applied for planning permission to build a 6-storey, mixed use development including 47 apartments off Pearse Street at the existing An Post sorting office at Cardiff Lane. The 2.3-acre site had a face value of €45m and was sold by An Post in 2015. The sale included a requirement to relocate An Post to a similarly sized site within a 2km radius. The Irish Independent, 6th July
Navan Development Site: Joint agents Lisney and Smith Harrington, acting on the instructions of receiver RSM Ireland, are seeking offers in excess of €4m for a 44-acre residential development site in Navan town, Co Meath. The lands are all zoned for residential development in two parts with Part A zoned for immediate development and Part B for future development from 2019. The Sunday Business Post, 10th July
Dublin Luxury Homes: Luxury home sales in Dublin increased by 34% in H1 2016 YOY with 193 sales of houses costing in excess of €1m compared to 137 in H1 2015. The highest ranking sales prices were recorded in Dublin 2, 4 and 6. It was also noted by The Sunday Business Post that the value of nationwide residential transactions increased by 14% to €4.6bn YOY in H1 2016 with Dublin accounting for half of this. The Sunday Business Post, 10th July
House Price Index: The Irish Independent / Real Estate Alliance Average House Price Index for June 2016 shows that the average three-bed semi-detached house now costs €195k in Ireland – an increase of 2.18% since the end of March 2016 and 4.49% YOY. The Index identifies that sales prices have increased by 14% in Roscommon, 8% in Laois, 7% in Kilkenny, 2% in Galway City and 1.4% in Dublin city centre. There were no increases in Cork City or north Co. Dublin. The Irish Independent, 11th July
Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) Development: The RCS is reportedly seeking a €50m loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB) to part-finance the development of their new c. 120,000 sq. ft. property in Dublin city. The property will feature a mix of facilities, such as a surgical and clinical training suite, mock operating theatre, a 540-seat auditorium and a sports hall and fitness area. The total cost of the property is projected at c. €103m, with the RCS hopeful of having the development completed by April 2017. The Irish Independent, 12th July
Grange Castle: US company EdgeConneX is to due build its first data centre in Ireland at Grange Castle, west Dublin, joining existing Microsoft operations on the site. The initial cost is projected at c. €30m for the 61,600 sq. ft. data centre on a 16-acre plot, but this could potentially be expanded to three phases in the future. The Irish Independent, 8th July
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Manor Mills Shopping Centre: Manor Mills Shopping Centre in Maynooth, Co. Kildare, has been brought to the market by DTZ Sherry Fitzgerald, who is guiding €13.4m. The 116,803 sq. ft. shopping centre consists of 26 retail units, four kiosks and a restaurant, with a weekly footfall of more than 50,000. The net operating income is in excess of €1.229m p.a., and tenants include Elverys, Vodafone and Hickey’s Pharmacy. Dunnes Stores anchor the shopping centre, however they own their unit. The shopping centre, which was prefunded by Davy in 2005 for c. €48m, offers a net initial yield of c. 8.77%. The Irish Times, 29th June
Stillorgan Shopping Centre: Kennedy Wilson (KW) has announced that it will spend c. €15m this year refurbishing the Stillorgan Shopping Centre in south Dublin. The refurbishment includes extending the floor area of the shopping centre by c. 15,000 sq. ft. KW purchased the shopping centre in 2013 as part of a portfolio which cost c. €306m in total. KW recently acquired the neighbouring Leisureplex bowling alley. Subject to planning permission, it is KW’s intention to demolish this bowling alley and extend the shopping centre onto the site in the next few years. The Irish Times, 1st July
OranTown Centre: Offers of €5.25m are being sought by agents TWM for OranTown Centre in Oranmore, Co. Galway. The centre was developed in the 1990s, has 35 retail and office units and is anchored by SuperValu, who part-own their unit. The total floor area of the two-storey centre is c. 45,000 sq. ft., with 230 parking spaces available. The annual rental income is c. €540k, and the other tenants include An Post and Coillte. There is scope to increase the rental income in the short term, with c. 11% of the centre vacant. The Irish Times, 29th June
Parnell Street: Four retail units on Dublin’s Parnell Street have sold for over €2.2m. Numbers 3, 4, 5 and 9 Kingscourt are occupied by Star Asia Foods, Subway, Roy Hogan Pharmacy and La Cucina Café. The annual rental income is €261k p.a. The Irish Times, 29th June
Clanwilliam Court: Hibernia REIT has paid London + Regional (L+R) c. €51m to acquire Blocks 1, 2 and 5 Clanwilliam Court near Lower Mount Street in Dublin 2. The properties had been on the market for c. €54m since the end of April. The properties have a combined floor area of c. 93,700 sq. ft., with 220 underground car spaces available. According to Hibernia, the current rental income is c. €2.9m p.a., equating to a net initial yield of c. 5%. Hibernia has also advised that the properties are c. 76% occupied and the tenants include ESB, An Bord Bia and Hines Real Estate Ireland. The Irish Times, 1st July
Baggot Plaza: Kennedy Wilson Europe Real Estate (KWE) has completed the redevelopment of its Baggot Plaza development on Upper Baggot Street, Dublin 4. In March 2015, KWE obtained planning permission to redevelop the property, with the application allowing for the floor area to be extended to 129,300 sq. ft. KWE has agreed to lease the property to Bank of Ireland (BoI) on a 25-year lease at a rent of c. €47.50 psf. BoI will have an 11-month rent-free period and there is a tenant only break option in year 20. The Sunday Business Post, 4th July
Shelbourne House: Savills is seeking offers above €31m for Shelbourne House on Shelbourne Road in Dublin 4. The 64,287 sq. ft., seven-storey block has 51 car spaces, sits on a 0.68-acre site and consists primarily of office space, however the block also includes three penthouse apartments. The current rental income of the property is c. €1.6m p.a., however this can be increased as 8,277 sq. ft. of office space and one of the apartments is vacant. The capital value of the property is €482 psf. The property also offers redevelopment potential as it adjoins two substantial sites being redeveloped in the area. These are the 2.02-acre site of the former Veterinary College and the 6.8-acre Ballsbridge hotel site. The Irish Times, 29th June
Cedarhurst Building: After recently being sold for c. €4m, the Cedarhurst Building in Sandyford, south Dublin is to be refurbished before being relet. The two storey property has a floor area of 17,488 sq. ft. and also has 39 car spaces. Once the works have been completed, agent Browne Corrigan Chartered Surveyors is to seek a rent of €20 psf for the property and €1k each for the car spaces. The Irish Times, 29th June
Scotch House: The Irish developer Castlepark has obtained planning permission from An Bord Pleanála to proceed with a c. €8m redevelopment of Scotch House on Burgh Quay in Dublin. The planning application will see the property redeveloped into a seven-storey block with over 40,000 sq. ft. of office space and 2,000 sq. ft. of retail space. The office space is expected to be completed by the end of 2017 and QRE is quoting rents of €55 psf. There are also 12 car spaces available to rent at c. €4k each. The Irish Times, 29th June
Georgian Market: The Irish Independent reports on the recovery of the Georgian office market. While the prices of Georgian properties can vary considerably, those in good condition and located on Merrion and Fitzwilliam Square can achieve capital values of c. €600 psf. The rental value of Georgians has also improved in the past few years, with rents of c. €35 psf achievable. The Irish Independent, 30th June
Shelbourne Hotel: Kennedy Wilson (KW) is set to undertake a €4m refurbishment of the five-star Shelbourne Hotel in Dublin’s St Stephen’s Green. Some of the €4m will be spent upgrading the best suites in the hotel, the corridors and the common areas. KW paid €112m in 2014 to acquire the hotel. The Irish Times, 1st July
Clayton Hotel: Savills is guiding over €8m for 24 suites in the four-star, 304-bed Clayton Hotel on Cardiff Lane in Dublin 2. The 24 suites have a total of 62 bedrooms, equating to a value of c. €129k per room. The total rental income of the suites is c. €467k p.a., with c. 24 years until their lease expires. The suites are let to Hanford Commercial Ltd, a Dalata subsidiary. The rent is subject to upwards-only rent reviews under the leases, with the next review in January 2018. The Irish Times, 29th June
Dublin Aparthotel: Tetrarch Capital has sought planning permission to develop a 159-unit aparthotel near Pearse Street in Dublin City Centre. The cost of developing the aparthotel is estimated at €25m, and Tetrarch hope to have the project completed by the end of 2018. Should the development be completed, Tetrarch will seek to lease the aparthotel to the serviced apartment company Staycity. The Irish Independent, 3rd July
Hotel Sales: According to CBRE, there were 29 hotels sold in H1 2016, with the sales proceeds exceeding €136m. These figures do not include hotels sold in loan sales, (e.g. NAMA’s Projects Emerald and Ruby). The outlook for H2 2016 is strong, with hotels such The Gresham Hotel, the Doubletree Hotel in Dublin 4 and Lyrath Estate in Kilkenny all at advanced stages in the bidding process. CBRE Ireland Bi-Monthly Research Report, July 2016
Property Prices: New figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show that on a national basis, property prices rose by c. 6.9% in the year to May 2016, with prices rising by 0.2% in the month. In Dublin, prices rose by 4.8% in the year and 0.1% in the month of May. House prices in Dublin rose by 5.7% in the past year, while apartment prices fell by 1.1%. Excluding Dublin, residential property prices rose by 8.5% in the past twelve months and 0.1% in May. The CSO figures are based on property acquisitions financed by mortgages. CSO Residential Property Price Index, May 2016
Daft Report: The Daft.ie House Price Report for Q2 2016 shows that the number of properties on the market has increased for only the second time in five years. In June 2016 there were just over 25,000 properties for sale, a slight increase on the March figure. While an increase in supply is usually seen as a sign of a healthy market, the only other time the supply of properties rose was in Q2 2015. Therefore, it is unclear if this may be due to a seasonal trend. According to the Daft.ie report, property prices rose by 6.3% over the past twelve months. The figures in the Daft.ie report are based on properties advertised on Daft.ie. The Daft.ie House Price Report, Q2 2016
Haven Mortgage Rates: Haven, the AIB subsidiary, has announced cuts to their variable mortgage rates. Haven will reduce their Standard Variable Rate (SVR) mortgage by 0.32% to 3.4%, mirroring the SVR offered by AIB. Haven has also announced cuts to their mortgage rates which are based on loan-to-values. In a further positive for consumers, Haven will also pay a contribution of €2k towards legal fees for borrowers switching to Haven. The Irish Independent, 29th June
Development Land Sales: New research from CBRE for H1 2016 shows that there were 53 development land sales completed in the period, which had a total value of c. €489m. On a value basis, this compares favourably with H1 2015 when 54 transactions were completed for c. €276m. The total value of development land sales in 2015 was c. €770m. The Irish Independent, 5th July
Dublin Land Bank: Knight Frank, under the instruction of the receiver Grant Thornton, is inviting offers greater than €10m for a 166.43-acre land bank in north Dublin. The land bank is located off Junction 4 of the M50, near Dublin Airport. The current zoning of the site is broken down into 126.61-acres for warehouse and distribution, 32.05-acres for rural and 5.17-acres of open space. This may change in the future though, as the draft 2017-2023 Fingal development plan proposes that all but 5-acres may be used for general employment. The current occupant of the land bank is using it for agricultural use. The Irish Times, 29th June
Rosemount Business Park: IPUT has acquired the logistics facility of Dunnes Stores in Rosemount Business Park, Dublin 15 for c. €17.8m. The facility has a floor area of c. 270,000 sq. ft. and lies on a 12.84-acre site. Dunnes is paying a rent of €1.15m p.a. (c. €4.41 psf) for the facility, under a 20-year lease from September 2008. The rent may increase in the short term as there is a rent review outstanding, while there is a tenant break option in the lease in September 2019. The capital value of the property is c. €65 psf, substantially below the replacement cost of €120 psf. The Irish Times, 29th June
Bank of Ireland (BoI) Branches: Murphy Mulhall is guiding €9.34m for five BoI branches in Leinster and Connaught which are producing an annual rental income of c. €574k. The branches for sale are in Ballina, Co. Mayo (rent €216k, value €3.5m), Mobhi Road, Dublin (rent €103k, value €1.85m), Ardee, Co. Louth (rent €114k, value €1.8m), Athy, Co. Kildare (rent €79k, €1.25m) and Edenderry, Co. Offaly (rent €61k, value €940k). The branches are all let on long term leases with no lease expiring in the next 16 years. There are also no break options in the leases and rent reviews are upward only. The properties can either be purchased individually or in one lot. The Irish Times, 29th 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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Project Oyster: Ulster Bank has hired PwC to oversee the sale of the Project Oyster loan portfolio. Project Oyster is a portfolio of distressed loans with a par value of €2.5bn. Approximately two-thirds of the loan portfolio is secured against business loans, for which the majority of debtors are SMEs. The portfolio also includes c. €875m of residential mortgages, with 33% of the mortgages secured by 900 family homes. Roughly 95% of the family home mortgages have been in arrears for at least two years and all of the family home mortgages have been the subject of legal action. The Irish Times, 25th May
McDonald’s Temple Bar: Savills is inviting offers of €6.25m for a property on Temple Bar Square in Dublin 2. The property is let to the fast-food chain McDonald’s under a long term lease. The 8,500 sq. ft. property has three storeys and dates back to the 1880s. McDonald’s occupy the property under a 20-year lease from April 2013, with the annual rent set at €350k. While there is a break option on the lease, this is not until April 2023, offering investors certainty of income in the short to medium term. The Irish Times, 25th May
Arena Centre: After announcing their intention to sell six investment properties in February 2016, Green REIT has advised that five properties have either been sold or else a sale has been agreed. The one property for which a sale is yet to be agreed is the Arena Centre in Tallaght, Co. Dublin, which has a guide price of €65m and an annual rent roll of c. €4.6m. The properties which have either been sold or sale agreed are the Ormond building in Dublin (c. €17m sale / c. €1.2m rent p.a.), Classon House in Dundrum Business Park, Dublin (c. €20m sale / c. €1.26m rent p.a.), Parnell Car Park in Dublin city centre (c. €12m sale / c. €700k rent p.a.), the Globe Retail Park in Kildare (c. €25m sale / c. €1.7m rent p.a.) and the Parkway Retail Park in Limerick (c. €25m sale / c. €2.02m rent p.a.). The Irish Times, 25th May
La Touche House: In a sign of the recovery in the property market in recent years, an office block purchased in 2013 by a Luxembourg company backed by a Credit Suisse fund has now doubled in value. In April 2013, the company acquired La Touche House in Dublin’s IFSC for €35m. The December 2015 accounts for the company now place the value of the property at €70m. The current rental income of the six-storey property is c. €4m p.a. and tenants include Zurich Bank and Dexia Credit. The property was developed in 1993 and was initially purchased by Bank of Ireland for €38m. The Irish Independent, 26th May
Tetrarch Portfolio: Tetrarch Capital is seeking to raise €100m for a new equity fund which will be used to acquire twelve office properties already controlled by the group, while also providing a liquidity event for Pimco, one of Tetrarch’s main backers. The fund will acquire six office properties in Dublin 1 (347,000 sq. ft.) and six office properties in Millennium Business Park in Naas, Co. Kildare (142,000 sq. ft.). Tetrarch has asked Merrion Capital and Leon Partners to identify potential equity investors, and these firms will reportedly target high net worth individuals, pension funds, institutional funds and international investors. Pimco has also provided Tetrarch with funding for the Citywest Hotel, Jacob’s Hostel and other Millennium Park offices. Pimco’s investment in these assets will be unaffected by the liquidity event. The Irish Times, 27th May
One Spencer Dock: The Irish Independent reports that a sale has been agreed for One Spencer Dock in Dublin’s IFSC for c. €240m. This would mark the second occasion where a sale has been agreed, after Hines had previously agreed to acquire the block for c. €240m earlier this year. However this deal failed to materialise and a buyer was sought a second time for PwC’s HQ. The proposed acquirer of One Spencer Dock is unclear, however it is reported that it is not Alan McIntosh or IPUT, who were previously interested in acquiring the property. The property is being sold by NAMA, with EY acting as receivers. Savills and CBRE are the joint selling agents. The Irish Independent, 26th May
Telephone House: An unnamed investor has paid c. €17m (c. €5.5m over the €11.5m guide) for Telephone House on Marlborough Street in Dublin 1. The inflated sales price was driven by intense bidding amongst a number of investors who were all seeking to convert the 1970s office block into a hotel. Telephone House has a floor area of 80,773 sq. ft. and is spread over nine storeys. HCL occupy the property under a 10-year lease (break in year five) signed in 2015, with the annual rent set at €968k. HCL is also paying €2k p.a. for each of the 61 car spaces on site. The Irish Times, 25th May
Bracken Court: The developer McGarrell Reilly Group has paid c. €3.3m (c. €550k over guide) for Bracken Court in Sandyford, south Dublin. The four-storey office block has a floor area of 26,270 sq. ft. and there are 59 car spaces at surface level. The property is currently 50% let to Prima Management, Infinite Technology and Irish Welcome Tours. The current annual rental income is c. €102k. The sales price equates to a capital value of c. €125 psf. McGarrell Reilly has already sought planning permission to upgrade the property. The Irish Times, 25th May
26 Fitzwilliam Square: Colliers has set a guide price of €2.35m for 26 Fitzwilliam Square in Dublin 2. The Georgian property has a floor area of 4,500 sq. ft. and there are six car spaces available to the rear. The property is currently being used for office space and the current annual rental income is €92k. While the existing tenants include Grafton Recruitment and Adare Cosmetics, Grafton are due to vacate in September, which would free up 2,820 sq. ft. of space. Colliers estimate that this potentially vacant space would command an annual rent of c. €110k. The Irish Times, 25th May
Dalata Kevin Street: Dalata look set to expand their hotel portfolio in Dublin following the announcement that they have purchased a ready-to-go 0.36-acre hotel site on Kevin Street for €8.1m (€22.5m per acre). In November 2015 An Bord Pleanála granted planning permission for the development of a new 137-bed hotel over five floors on the site. Dalata hope to commence construction on the site in Q4 2016 with a target completion date of mid-2018. The total anticipated cost of the hotel is €26m and Dalata intend on trading the new hotel under the Maldron franchise. The Irish Independent, 27th May
Tulfarris Hotel: The Prem Group has completed the purchase of Tulfarris Hotel & Golf Resort in Co. Wicklow for over €8m. The group is already very familiar with the hotel, having managed it for the past seven years. The group now own, lease or manage 43 properties throughout Ireland, the UK and Europe, and have set themselves a target of owning 50 properties by 2017. The Irish Times, 30th May
North Wall Hotel: Chirita Ltd has sought planning permission from Dublin City Council to convert a warehouse in Dublin’s North Wall Quay into a 93-bed hotel. The directors of Chirita are Paddy McKillen and Matthew Ryan. The application proposes that the shell of the warehouse is kept and a further five storeys are added, so that the new hotel will have a floor area of c. 50,000 sq. ft. and will stand at eight storeys tall. NAMA Wine Lake, 29th May
Radisson Extension: Padraig Rhatigan’s Luxor Investments Ltd has sought planning permission for a 103-bed extension to the Radisson Blu Hotel on Golden Lane in Dublin 8. The application seeks approval to demolish two warehouses which lie next to the four star, 150-bed hotel and replace them with the 103-bed extension. The extension would have a total floor area of c. 65,000 sq. ft. spread over eight stories. NAMA Wine Lake, 29th May
House Prices: The latest figures from the CSO on the Irish property market show that for the twelve months ending April 2016, property prices increased by an average of 7.1%. While the overall increase was 7.1%, there was a large disparity between Dublin and the rest of the country, with prices outside of Dublin rising at a much faster rate during the period. Property prices outside of Dublin rose by 9.5% during the period while Dublin prices only rose by 4.6%. On a national level, property prices rose by 0.3% in April 2016, following a month of zero growth in March. Based on the national index, property prices are now 33.3% lower than their 2007 peak. The Irish Examiner, 26th May
St Augustine Street: An unnamed European investor has paid €25m (c. €3m over guide) for a block of 110 apartments in Dublin 8. The apartments are located at 42 – 76 St Augustine Street and the sales price reflects an average value of over €227k for each unit. The block has been fully leased to the rental company Staycity, who pay an annual rent of €1.3m. There is c. 8 years remaining on Staycity’s lease, with no rent reviews contracted. The Irish Times, 25th April
Parkmore Business Park West: Savills has set a guide price of €3.75m for Building 5 in Parkmore Business Park West which is located to the east of Galway City. The entire property is let to the medical technology firm Medtronic who is paying an annual rent c. €414k. The weighted average unexpired lease term of Medtronic’s leases is c. 2.3 years. The 53,884 sq. ft. property consists of a mix of warehouse and office space and sits on 2.6-acre site. The €3.75m guide price reflects a net initial yield of c. 10.6% and a capital value of c. €70 psf. The Irish Times, 25th May
Primary Care Centres: A €70m loan from the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) will part fund the development of 14 new Primary Care Centres (PCCs) in Ireland. The Prime Balfour Beatty consortium has been awarded the contract to build the PCCs and construction is expected to commence shortly. The EFSI loan is for a 25 year term and represents 49.5% of the total funding required. The project will be co-funded by Talanx Asset Management and Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi. The PCC’s will spread throughout Ireland and the locations include Mayo, Tipperary and Waterford. The first PCCs are expected to open in mid-2017. The Sunday Business Post, 25th May
Allsops Auction: An online Allsops Auction on Wednesday May 25th saw c. €11m of property sold. A total of 70 commercial and residential properties went under the hammer, with buyers found for all but 13 of the lots. One of the most noteworthy sales was an office / residential property in Navan town centre. After having a reserve of €400k – €450k, the property eventually sold for €860k. A period house on Northumberland Road was amongst those which failed to sell. The property consisted of three one-bed apartments and had a reserve of €560k – €590k. The Irish Times, 26th May
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