Ireland sees €1.7b of property investment in H1 2015

Investment transactions in the Republic of Ireland totalled €1.69 bn in the first half of 2015, according to figures from Dublin-based consultancy Murphy Mulhall.

The Irish investment market saw just over €1 bn of transactions undertaken in the first three months of the year, followed by €671 mln in the second quarter. This compares to €1.62 bn of transactions for the first half of 2014, Murphy Mulhall reported.

Murphy Mulhall is a full service commercial agency and an international affiliate of UK-based Gerald Eve for the Irish market.

The bulk of the investment activity centred on Dublin, with some 61% of sales by volume relating to assets in and around the capital. The southern province of Munster was the second-most active market place for the year-to-date with some 20% of transactions, with the city of Cork accounting for 17% of investment activity.

Offices remain the most attractive sector for investors in Ireland, accounting for some 35.3% of transactions by volume (67.5% by value), with retail making up some 27.3% of transactions by volume (17.4% by value).

Big deals
The largest single investment deal of the year to date was the €233 mln sale of Facebook’s EMEA HQ at 4 & 5 Grand Canal Square in Dublin, to Hamburg-based fund manager Union Investment Real Estate. Outside of Dublin, the largest single office investment transaction was the €58 mln sale of 1 Albert Quay in Cork, a 15,420 m2 office building pre-let to PwC and Tyco.

Notable retail transactions include the Cornerstone Portfolio, comprising six shopping centres for €117.3 mln and the sale of Manor West Shopping Centre in Tralee for €58.5 mln.

Comment
Robert Murphy, partner at Murphy Mulhall, said: 'Investment demand is being driven by strong occupational markets in the office and retail sectors which, combined with a limited development pipeline, is continuing to underpin rental growth. While domestic buyers continue to see value-add opportunities, Sterling and Dollar investors have the added advantage of strong currency rates which are boosting spending power.'