Ires Reit acquires 442 apartments from Nama

Irish Residential Properties Reit (Ires Reit) has said it has entered into an agreement to acquire 442 apartments in Tallaght from the National Asset Management Agency (Nama) for €83 million.

Ires Reit, an Irish multi-unit residential property investment company that floated on the Irish Stock Exchange last year, also said it had completed the purchase of 40 apartments in Terenure for €12.2 million.

The group said it is acquiring 442 apartments at Tallaght Cross West in a deal that is expected to close in mid-January. The acquisition includes the apartments, 18,344 sq m (197,460 sq ft) of commercial space and associated underground car parking.

Tallaght Cross West was built by Liam Carroll of Zoe Developments just before the property crash in 2008 and includes three office blocks, a hotel and 442 apartments with ground floor retail space. It is the largest number of apartments to come on the market in a single development in Dublin.

A residential leasing programme for the apartments began in September following a fit out of the properties. By unit type, the apartments comprise 161 1-bed, 237 2-bed and 44 3-bed apartments.

The 442 apartments currently have annualised passing residential rents of €5.1 million at 85 per cent occupancy, generating a gross yield of 7 per cent. The current commercial annualised passing rent is €63,000 at 10 per cent occupancy, Ires Reit said.

Based on current annualised passing residential rents and lease up of the remaining 15 percent unleased apartments at market rents, it is expected to generate a gross yield of 8.4 per cent.

Tallaght Cross West also includes 3 office buildings totalling 130,000 sq. ft. and a 186-bed hotel. Two of the office buildings have recently been sold to the Health Service Executive (HSE) and the third to Talacare which is to provide a Trinity College Dublin medical school facility in addition to a primary care centre.

Ires Reit said it has also recently completed the acquisition of 40 apartments and 64 underground parking spaces at Bessboro, on Terenure Road West, Dublin 6.

Bessboro currently has annualised passing residential rents of €640,000 at 93 per cent occupancy, generating a gross yield of 5.2 per cent. The yield profile is anticipated to improve as 82 per cent of the existing leases, which are currently seen as being below market rents and which will be renewed within the next 12 months.

By unit type, the apartments comprise 6 1-bed, 32 2-bed and 2 3-bed apartments.

The group said it completed the acquisition of an additional 8 apartments and 8 car parking spaces at Beacon South Quarter located in Sandyford, Dublin 18 last month for a purchase price of €2.24 million.

The eight apartments currently have annualised passing residential rents of €120,000 at 88 per cent occupancy, generating a gross yield of 5.6 per cent.

"These acquisitions represent an excellent opportunity for Ires to expand its portfolio in strong locations within the Dublin market," said chief executive David Ehrlich.