Eason puts Blanchardstown Centre store on the market for €16m

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One of only a handful of independently-owned retail units at the highly successful Blanchardstown Centre has been brought to the market by agent Bannon at a guide price of €16 million.

The property, which is being offered as a sale-and-leaseback opportunity, will be the subject of a new 25-year lease to its current owner, the leading book and stationery retailer,Eason, at a market rent of €1.1 million per annum, reflecting an initial return of 6.25% for the prospective purchaser.

The subject property comprises a large double unit extending to 1,125 sq.m (12,104 sq.ft) over two floors and is centrally located within the Blanchardstown Centre, enjoying frontage on to both level 1 and level 2 malls.

At level 1, the unit is located opposite the new flagship 12,500 sq.ft JD Sports which is under construction and due to open later in the year. At level 2 the unit is situated directly opposite the Hollister flagship store, which is due to open in the third quarter of this year. This is in addition to a number of other new developments within the scheme including a new Aldi at level 1 and nine new restaurants at level 2. Other high-profile occupiers in the retail scheme include Dunnes, Penneys, M&S, BT2 , Boots, H&M and Zara.

Blanchardstown Shopping Centre scheme is Ireland’s largest shopping and leisure destination and is majority owned by Multi/Blackstone, who acquired their interest from Green Property in 2016 for close to €950 million implying a yield level for mall units in the region of 4.75%.

New units

In terms of the subject property, Bannon say there is scope in the long term to increase the rental income by dividing its existing space at levels 1 and 2 into two or even four units. Were these new units to be let independently of each other, the selling agent believes the estimated rental value grow to as much as €1.28 million.

The lessee of the current combined unit will be Eason Limited. This entity is the lessee on all the major Eason’s units in Ireland including the four other M50 shopping centres being Dundrum Town Centre, Liffey Valley Shopping Centre, The Square Tallaght and The Pavilions Swords.

Eason Limited had a turnover of €109 million in the year ended January 2018, with a profit after tax and restructuring costs (€3.3m) of €700,000. The profit after tax for the year ending January 2019 is expected to be approximately €3 million bringing the balance sheet value to around €6 million. Full accounts for 2018 and 2019 are available on request.

Quite apart from securing an attractive initial yield of 6.25%, the purchaser of Eason’s Blanchardstown unit will have the benefit of a 10-year parent company guarantee from Eason Operations Limited (EOL). This guarantee will be limited in terms of financial exposure to three years’ rent. Full draft accounts for EOL will be made available to prospective purchasers of the Blanchardstown unit on request.

Eason’s sale of the Blanchardstown unit forms part of a wider disposal of 13 of its properties which it announced in 2018. The company estimated at the time that the sale of this property portfolio could generate a windfall of about €60 million. Some €20 million of these proceeds are set to be transferred to Eason’s retail business with the remainder divided among its 220 shareholders.

Warehouse

The first and most significant transaction in the process saw Eason secure €19 million from the sale in January 2019 of its 17,176 sq.m (184,886 sq.ft) St Margaret’s warehouse on 8.4 acres in north Dublin to Irish property company Iput. Eason’s flagship store on O’Connell Street remains on the market on a sale-and leaseback basis at a guide price of €24.5 million.

Commenting on the sale of Eason’s Blanchardstown unit, Rod Nowlan, director at Bannon, says: “This is an opportunity for smaller institutional funds and private investment houses to gain access to an asset quality usually reserved for super funds.”

Published Article 

How To Achieve The Connectivity That Today’s Tenants Need

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Connectivity is firmly established as a necessary utility for office tenants. However, there are still many office locations that don’t deliver the connectivity that businesses require. A Bisnow survey carried out in September found that 69% of businesses had moved location to improve connectivity, while 41% of respondents said poor quality connectivity hindered them from doing their job properly on a weekly basis.

The savviest landlords and developers are therefore using all available technologies to achieve high connectivity. Dublin Airport Central has taken IT infrastructure seriously from the first stages of development, and the scheme has now achieved WiredScore Platinum certification.

“Today, fast internet is the most important factor for specific companies searching for office space who see their IT infrastructure as more important than the physical building they occupy,” DAC Head of Sales and Marketing Paul Byrne said. “Until now there has been very little information available to tenants about the quality of internet connectivity in office spaces. Wired Certification provides that transparency and access to information for tenants.”

What Good Connectivity Means

WiredScore has quickly become a recognised benchmark for a landlord to demonstrate a property’s level of connectivity. To achieve Platinum certification, the development must demonstrate an extremely high quality of infrastructure, as well as factors such as good communication with fibre providers, in-building mobile planning and free WiFi in common areas.

All these elements come together to provide a high level of experience for those who use the building. They come at a cost to the developer, of course, but the return will be an increased level of tenant interest. Businesses will increasingly turn away from offices that don’t meet their connectivity requirements.

Additional concerns for a landlord or property owner are IT security and reliability. Business operations are now so dependent on the internet that tenants need to be assured that they can stay online at all costs.

“At DAC we have installed multiple diverse routes underground that deliver fibre optic connectivity to the IT hub in each building,” Byrne said. “In addition, there are several different IT routes into the overall campus for further security. Being an airport city, IT security is one of, if not the, most important requirements we deliver for our customers.”

To ensure reliability, developments are increasingly including back-up generators to supply emergency power if needed. DAC has taken this further by providing space within the buildings’ plant areas for tenants to install their own private generators.

Future Proofing

It’s not enough for a business to improve connectivity for today’s technology, however. The speed of improvements to both wireless and mobile connectivity and what can be done with technology mean that an office provider must keep one eye on the future. “We have invested and we continue to invest very significant capital into future proofing our campus,” Byrne said. “In a rapidly evolving digital economy, technology is increasingly central to operations. Fast and reliable connectivity is the lifeblood of any modern business.”

An example of DAC’s investment in future proofing is the inclusion of a distributed antenna system to effectively provide high-speed wireless coverage across the campus buildings. This means that when 5G is rolled out, for example, high mobile connectivity should be available.

“Being an airport city, physical connectivity has always been one of our main unique selling points in terms of attracting companies here,” Byrne said. “However, in respect of the actual building and services, achieving world class IT infrastructure was a goal for us from the very beginning as we have always recognised that business continues to evolve at a rate of knots and we must stay up with the pace. For perspective, the iPhone only turned 12 this year, it still isn’t even a teenager. Where will the world be in a decade?”

We are already getting glimpses of how 5G, artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things will change the way we operate. To ensure businesses can make the most of new technology when it arrives, a landlord must lay the IT foundations today.

This feature was produced by Bisnow Branded Content in collaboration with Dublin Airport Central.

Slack lease the lure as ESB seeks €168m for Fitzwilliam 28

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The combination of Dublin’s status as a location to deploy international capital and its standing as the city favoured by global tech giants for their European headquarters is expected to spur significant interest from European and international investors in the sale of Fitzwilliam 28.

Located on Fitzwilliam Street and at the heart of the traditional central business district in Dublin 2, the building, which has just been leased in its entirety to workplace collaboration tech giant Slack Technologies, is being offered to the market by joint agents Savills Ireland and Bannon at a guide price of €168 million.

Fitzwilliam 28 is one of two adjoining but independent blocks both being developed by Ireland’s largest utilities company, the ESB. The sister block to 28, Fitzwilliam 27 will be owner-occupied by the ESB.

Upon completion in the second quarter of this year, Fitzwilliam 28 will comprise 12,599.2 sq.m (135,617 sq.ft) of prime grade-A accommodation over eight floors with 50 car-parking spaces.

Slack Technologies have taken a new long-term lease of the entire building from practical completion. The rent roll will be in excess of €7.7 million per annum, reflecting an initial yield of about 4.2 per cent. Colliers International represented Slack Inc in the recent letting, while Savills Ireland and Bannon represented the landlord.

Slack’s decision to rent all 135,617 sq.ft of space at Fitzwilliam 28 will give it the capacity to add as many as 1,100 jobs in Dublin. The company currently employs about 180 people at its existing European headquarter operations at One Park Place on nearby Hatch Street.

In terms of specification, Fitzwilliam 28 will feature extensive landscaping and sunken gardens, a double-height reception with marble walls and natural stone floored area leading to a centralised core offering the occupier maximum flexibility. The A3 BER-rated building will also feature more than 1,759 sq.m (18,933 sq.ft) of rooftop, courtyard and terrace gardens, providing extensive views of Dublin, in particular Merrion Square.

The building is designed by internationally acclaimed Grafton Architects and O’Mahony Pike Architects. PJ Hegarty & Sons, who are the leading design and build contractors in Ireland, are the contractors. They have a strong track record of developing high-profile offices. Recent experience includes No 10 Molesworth Street, AIB’s new corporate headquarters, and No 40 Molesworth Street, Jet. com’s headquarters.

Prime location

The Fitzwilliam scheme enjoys a prime location within close proximity to Government Buildings, the traditional retail core of Grafton Street and St Stephen’s Green and the city’s south docklands. The immediate area is well serviced by Dublin’s public transport network with both the Luas and Dart, and numerous Dublin Bus routes located within a short walk.

Fergus O’Farrell, director of investment at Savills Ireland, says: “Interest remains strong in the office sector. Dublin’s strong occupier market and economy, coupled with the quality of this asset and its central business district location, will attract interest from global investors.”

Rod Nowlan, investment director at Bannon adds: “As proven by recent lettings to the likes of LinkedIn, Twitter and Stripe, modern offices of scale situated in the traditional city core represent the focus of the current and likely future wave of occupiers. This reflects an increased emphasis by companies on “employee experience”, and there are few modern buildings that can deliver on this aspiration more than Fitzwilliam 28.

Published Article

Northbrook Road offices for rent at €45 per sq.ft

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Companies priced out of Dublin’s core central business district and the prime postal code areas of Dublin 2 and Dublin 4 will be interested in the opportunity to locate at 6 Northbrook Road.

Situated within a five-minute walk of Leeson Street and Ranelagh Road, this Victorian property has been thoroughly refurbished to provide more than 9,400 sq.ft of office accommodation over four floors at a competitive €45 per square foot.

Quite apart from the immediate cost benefit available to the prospective occupier, 6 Northbrook Road offers the benefit of modern open-plan and cellular office accommodation complemented by numerous of the building’s original Victorian features, including stained-glass windows and an impressive central staircase.

In terms of its facilities, the property’s specification includes: Cat 5E cabling, generous floor-to-ceiling heights throughout, recessed spot and ornate feature lighting, gas-fired central heating, floor boxes and part perimeter trunking, tea stations, solid timber flooring in part, shower rooms, an eight-person passenger lift and ladies’ and gents’ toilet facilities on all levels.

Externally, the building features a landscaped set-down area, a communal summer garden to the rear, 11 car-parking spaces and bike storage.

The property is well connected in terms of public transport. Charlemont Luas stop is just 450m away while the quality bus corridor on nearby Leeson Street Upper is served by 10 Dublin Bus routes. The surrounding area offers numerous amenities including restaurants, cafes and bars such as the Sussex, Canal Bank Cafe, Dillingers, the Butcher Grill, Bunsen, and Cinnamon.

Rebecca Jones, who is handling the letting on behalf of Bannon, says she expects to see “significant interest” from occupiers looking for a location for their headquarters within close proximity to Dublin’s central business district.

Contact our Office Department today for more information on 01 6477900

View PDF Brochure

Published Article

South Dublin site with planning permission for 203 homes seeks €14m

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Bannon are guiding a price of €14 million for a ready-to-go development site with full planning permission for 203 homes at Carrickmines, in south Dublin.

Extending to an area of 10.38 acres (4.2 hectares), the land is located off Glenamuck Road South, and 900 metres from the Park Carrickmines retail park. The site is highly accessible to both the M50 motorway and the Luas green line service at Ballyogan, offering easy access to both Dublin city centre and beyond.

While planning permission was obtained in June 2019 for a residential scheme comprising 173 apartments and 30 houses, a feasibility study prepared by Ferreira Architects in advance of the sale indicates the site’s potential for a private rented scheme of 333 apartments.

Full details of the existing permitted development can be accessed at the dedicated strategic housing development (SHD) website, www.glenamuckshd.ie. In addition to the residential units the permission also provides for 299 sq.m of communal/amenity space, a 480 sq.m creche facility and an 84 sq.m retail unit.

A further full suite of information which includes site investigations, drawings and planning permission details can be found in the data room, www.glenamuckroad.com.

Contact Niall Brereton today on 01 6477900 to discuss.

Published Article

Prime pitch on Cork’s premier shopping street for €6.6m plus

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Agent Bannon is seeking offers in excess of €6.6 million for a landmark building on Cork city’s most sought-after thoroughfare, St Patrick’s Street.

No 113-115 St Patrick’s Street has been occupied by the well-known bookseller and stationer, Eason & Son, for more than 33 years. The company is taking a new 25-year lease of the premises subject to a market rent of €500,000 per annum. This promises the building’s prospective purchaser an immediate return of 7% net of costs.

Located immediately opposite Merchants Quay Shopping Centre, Marks & Spencer and Debenhams, the subject property extends to 2,045.3 sq.m (22,017 sq.ft) over four storeys. The building incorporates 1,282.1 sq.m (13,801 sq.ft) of retail area across its ground and first-floor levels.

Internally the ground and first-floor retail areas are open-plan and underwent a complete refurbishment in 2013.

St Patrick’s Street has long been recognised as Cork’s foremost shopping district. Eason’s neighbours include a number of premium high street brands such as Brown Thomas, Tommy Hilfiger and Pandora, together with a wide array of local, national and international retailers including Penneys, Dunnes Stores and Lifestyle Sports.

Alexandra Patterson, who is handling the sale on behalf of Bannon, said: “This investment opportunity is likely to appeal to a range of local, national and international investors given its prime position on St Patrick’s Street, large retail floor plates and established tenant.”

Published Article

Easons launches Munster sale and leaseback deals worth over €4m

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Stationery and book seller Eason has launched sale and leaseback deals for three stores which it owns in Limerick City, Tralee, Co Kerry and Clonmel, Co Tipperary.

The launch provides an opportunity to compare the returns which regional high streets can offer to investors.

For instance with these three properties the net initial yields will range between 7.5% and 11.5%.

The Limerick building is a mid-terraced property extending to 12,573 sq ft of which 9,461 sq ft is devoted to retail. Agents Bannon are guiding €2.2m for the property and offering a 25 year lease at an annual rent of €180,000. This equates to a net initial yield of 7.5%.

Set on a 0.1 acre site, the Limerick building ranges in height from a four storey over basement on O’Connell Street to ground and first floor on Cruises St. The basement extends under adjoining properties at 10 O’Connell Street and 1, 2 and 3 William Street.

Eason’s Tralee store at 25 The Mall, is on a prime stretch directly adjacent to Penney’s. Joint agents Bannon and Walsh O’Sullivan are seeking €1.23m and with an annual market rent of €120,000, they say this equates to an immediate return of 9% after standard acquisition costs are deducted.

The four-storey building extends to a net internal area of 6,483 sq ft incorporating a large retail area of 3,948 sq ft.

The Clonmel store is located at 19/20 Gladstone Street, in the main commercial area of the town centre. Joint agents Bannon and Moynihan Curran are asking €560,000 and with an annual rent of €70,000 this equates to a net initial yield of 11.5%.

Most of the lease terms are similar for all three stores with new leases for 25 years, five yearly open market rent reviews and a break option at the end of year 10.

These sales are part of Eason’s plan to sell 13 properties in the Republic which could generate €60m of which about €20 million would be invested in its retail business. The rest of the proceeds will be divided among its 220 shareholders.

It has already sold a retail outlet in Carlow town which it had let to another retailer and in January Eason agreed a deal to sell its 184,886 sq ft warehouse on 8.4 acres at St Margaret’s in north Dublin to Irish property fund Iput for €19m.

Sale and lease back deals are also among the options being considered for its flagship store on O’Connell Street in Dublin as well as its store on Patrick St in Cork city centre but the future timing and details of those have not yet been decided.

Last month Bannon launched a sale and lease back on Eason’s 11,200 sq ft store at 33 Shop St, Galway City with an €8m guide price. Its annual rent of €525,000 would equate to a net 6% initial yield.

Contact our Capital Market’s Team today on 01 6477900 for more information.

Published Article

Eason building in the heart of Galway for sale at €8m

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One of the best shops in Galway city centre is on the market for more than €8 million through agent Bannon. It is being sold on a sale-and-leaseback basis by books and stationary retailer Eason, which has occupied the building at 33 Shop Street for the past 30 years.

Eason is to take a 25-year lease on the premises at a rent of €525,000 per annum, and, given the guide price, this would reflect a net initial return of 6%. A guarantee from Eason Operations Ltd will cover 10 years of the lease (but any payment in relation to this will be limited to two years’ rent).

The retailer announced last year that it was to sell 13 properties in the Republic which could generate a €60 million windfall. Some €20 million of this would be transferred to its retail business, and the rest divided among its 220 shareholders. This disposal process will also include the sale of its flagship store on O’Connell Street in Dublin.

In January the retailer agreed to sell its 17,176 sq.m (184,886 sq.ft) St Margaret’s warehouse on 8.4 acres in north Dublin to Irish property fund Iput for €19 million. This marked the start of its property sales programme, which is now moving on to its retail assets.

The Galway sale – a prime asset – is very much about testing the appetite among investors for its retail portfolio. Further sales of its provincial stores are expected to follow shortly.

No 33, on a prime stretch of pedestrianised Shop Street, is a part two-storey and part three-storey building extending to 1,042.9 sq.m (11,226 sq.ft) with 834.1 sq.m (8,978 sq.ft) of retail space over ground and first-floor levels. This is considerably larger than most other stores on the street, and of a scale sought after by many modern retailers.

The open-plan retail area underwent complete refurbishment in 2013. It includes books, news and magazines at ground floor, and stationary and gifts on the first floor.

Nearby retailers include River Island, Tommy Hilfiger, Schuh, Lifestyle Sports, Holland & Barrett and Boots.

Brown Thomas and Edwards Square shopping centre are close by on William Street.

Contact Alex Patterson or Rod Nowlan of Capital Markets Team today on 01 647 7900 for further information. 

https://www.easonsgalway.com

Published Article

Georgian on Stephen’s Green guiding €4.25m

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A Georgian building with a seven-day publican’s licence and a restaurant near the top of Dublin’s Grafton Street is expected to attract considerable interest when it goes on sale at a guide price of €4.25 million.

The building at 10 St Stephen’s Green will be available with full vacant possession from early next year. Daniel McLaughlin of selling agent Bannon said No 10 would suit a variety of uses, and not just a bar and restaurant. The vendors have already carried out some feasibility studies to improve the internal layout of the Georgian property.

The three-storey over-basement building extends to more than 483 sq.m (5,202 sq.ft) and adjoins the renowned Hibernian Club. The ground and upper floors are currently trading as the No 10 cocktail bar and the Mamma Mia restaurant. The basement is vacant but previously traded as the Il Posto restaurant.

No 10 was previously owned by Markland Holdings, which sold it in 2014 for more than €2.5 million.

Bannon says the prestige associated with St Stephen’s Green should ensure an early sale.

Article published

Prime Temple Bar retail block sells for €11.2m

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The busiest retail block in Dublin’s Temple Bar area, including the Elephant & Castle restaurant, has been bought by a fund managed by Davy Real Estate. The €11.2 million paid for the Crampton Buildings is almost €3 million more than they made just over three years ago when they were acquired by the Dublin-based investment manager Ardstone Capital and CBRE Global Investment Partners.

Separately, the Elephant & Castle business was recently bought from a New York company by Paddy McKillen jnr’s Press Up Entertainment Group with another 13 years to run on the lease and renewal rights after that. The company will consider opening another branch if suitable premises are found.

In the meantime, the Davy fund can bank on a net initial return of 5.76% on the block after acquisition costs are taken into account.

Ardstone purchased the Temple Bar property from Bank of Scotland (Ireland) in a considerably weaker market in the summer of 2014 when it was listed among a number of distressed assets held by Treasury Holdings before it was wound up.

10 separate retail and restaurant units

The Crampton Buildings comprise 10 separate retail and restaurant units extending to 1,580 sq.m (17,000 sq.ft) and fronting on to Temple Bar, Bedford Row and Crampton Quay beside the Ha’penny Bridge. More than 55% of the €700,000 rental income comes from three of the 10 traders: Elephant & Castle (€160,000); Gallagher’s Boxty House (€120,000) and Café Nero Ireland (€120,000). The three strongest performing businesses face directly on to Temple Bar’s busiest street.

Starbucks is the latest trader to move into the block, taking a prominent corner unit at Crampton Quay at a rent of €75,000. In another notable change, units 5 and 7 along the quays were amalgamated to accommodate Forbidden Planet which pays €55,000 on a lease that runs until 2021. Otherwise, the average weighted unexpired lease term for all the units has around 13 years to run.

Ardstone’s intensive asset management of the block led to six new leasing transactions during its ownership and a 30% increase in the rent roll.

David Carroll of Bannon, who handled the lettings and the sale, said they had recorded strong interest in the large block from a range of investor types. The location, asset quality and income sustainability was a big draw to interested parties and led to a prompt sale.

The Crampton Buildings are the last commercial investments in the Ardstone fund which previously offloaded office developments such as Fleming Court and 2 Harbourmaster in the IFSC, 100 Mount Street and Velasco office block on Clanwilliam Terrace. The commercial assets were sold to institutional investors over the past 18 months and the company has since changed direction and moved into the new homes market.

Article published in the Irish Times

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