Green Reit: Dublin rents back at peak
Dublin office rents are back at boom-time levels of 2007 but are “not going anywhere too quickly”, despite demand fuelled by Brexit and foreign direct investment, says Green Reit chief executive Pat Gunne.
Mr Gunne said Dublin was “a good market” for landlord and tenant because there was a strong level of supply coming on stream. The property firm revealed it is completing the legal work to fill the fifth and top floor of its newly built One Molesworth St in central Dublin, which has already booked Barclays and the London’s Ivy Restaurant as tenants.
The shares climbed up to 2.7% after it said profits rose to €53m in the six months to the end of December, up almost 21.5% from a year earlier. It revealed a 5% average valuation uplift across its properties, to €1.45bn, which includes the Building 1 in Central Park, Leopardstown, Dublin, which it has started building.
Mr Gunne said the focus remains on Dublin despite the “great” performance of One Albert Quay in Cork, which is valued at over €73m, up 11.3% in the year.
Top Cork rents have risen to €32.50 per sq ft and “the prospects for further rental growth in Cork are strong”.
At One Molesworth, Barclays agreed to pay an annual rent of €2.4m, or €62 per sq ft; Le Pain Quotidien restaurant will pay €240,000, or €99 per sq ft; while The Ivy restaurant will pay €550,000, or €58 per sq ft.
The budget hike in stamp duty cost Green Reit €59m and its effect on transactions in Ireland “remains to be seen”, it said.
Davy says the shares were “attractively-valued relative to the sector”. They have risen 16.7% in a year.
