Apartment block near UL for €1.7m

A block of 40 apartments in Brookfield Hall Student Village close to the University of Limerick is to be offered for sale at a knockdown price of €1.7 million – the equivalent of €42,500 a unit.

Ian Lyons of Allsop, who is planning to sell the investment by private treaty, says their convenient location beside the university campus and the fact that they had a guaranteed income should guarantee considerable interest in them.

Block 8 was one of eight blocks with a total of 234 student apartments developed in a courtyard setting in 2000 and funded by private investors availing of tax breaks.

The portfolio comprises 29 two-bedroom apartments, eight two-bedroom units and three four-bedroom homes, which are producing a net income after all costs of €168,000 per annum.

The current agreement with the management company has another four years to run. The block is particularly well maintained and has an occupancy rate of 95 per cent. A new owner can expect a return on the investment of almost 10 per cent.

Brookfield Hall is within a 10-minute walk of the university campus and is equally convenient to the Plassey Technology Park where a range of multinational companies are based, including Johnson & Johnson, Flextronics and O2.

Close by, Allsop is guiding €2.3 million for the Newtown Centre, a retail and office complex at Annacotty which is to be sold on the instructions of receivers Grant Thornton.

The modern two-storey commercial development extends to 2,141 sq m (23,051 sq ft)and stands on a site of 0.88 of a hectare (2.17 acres). The rent roll of about €250,000 will show a yield of about 11 per cent. Current tenants include Bord Gáis, Mace, Curves, Tuscany Bistro and Bambury Bookmakers.

All nine ground-floor retail units are occupied while all but three of the 10 first-floor office/retail units are also trading. An extensive car park to the front of the building is one of the attractions of the Newtown Centre. The centre is ideally located between Newtown and Annacotty – about 1km from Castletroy and 5km from the city.

Ian Lyons says he is expecting considerable interest in the Newtown Centre, a well-established business centre with strong tenants and a good rental income.