South African investors in €13m deal for Dublin industrial property

A consortium of South African private investors has paid about €13 million for Unit 2 at Vantage Business Park in Dublin. The sale of the property, which was conducted by way of sale and leaseback with the vendor, NPP, equates to a net initial yield of 5 per cent.

The property, which is in a high-profile position fronting the N2 and within a two-minute drive of junction 5 of the M50 motorway, and a nine- and 11-minute drive respectively from Dublin Airport and Dublin Port Tunnel, comprises a 6,238sq m (67,146sq ft) detached industrial/warehouse and office building. The property, built in 2020, includes 938sq m (10,092sq ft) of office accommodation over two storeys and sits on a substantial site with a large marshalling yard ranging in depth from 44m to 54m together with 68 car-parking spaces. While the property already has an A3 Ber rating, NPP recently installed an array of PV panels to cater for some of its power requirements and offset carbon emissions.

The completion of the sale and leaseback deal by industrial property specialist, Harvey, has allowed NPP to release the capital tied up in the property and put it to work in the continued expansion of the business. Commenting on the transaction, NPP’s managing director David Duffy said: “NPP has recently rebranded, and the funds released from this sale will enable the business to fund its next planned wave of growth.”

NPP, founded in 1984, is a packaging and systems business, offering solutions for customers’ in-line/end-of-line packaging and machinery requirements. Most of its work involves tailored solutions and it adopts a partnership approach to meet clients’ expectations. The company has grown rapidly in recent years, both organically and through synergistic acquisitions. In June 2023, NPP completed the purchase of Food Processing Technology Irl Limited, which has a 50-year history supplying a range of packaging materials, primarily to the meat, fish and dairy sectors. In 2018 it acquired Asgaard Packaging Limited, a similar business supplying a range of specialist materials to protect and extend shelf life.

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The purchasers of Unit 2 Vantage Business Park were represented in the transaction by Roy Alderdice from the Alliance Property Group in South Africa and advised by Clive Roche of Cushman & Wakefield in Dublin. The deal represents the consortium’s second purchase to date in the Irish property market. In 2018 the same investors acquired Building 9007, a new 4,772sq m (51,366sq ft) high-bay logistics facility developed by the JCD Group at Blarney Business Park in Cork. While the property had been a speculative development, it was fully let to tech engineering firm ILC Dover and logistics giant GLS at the time of its sale.

Unit 2 Vantage Business Park will provide its new owners with an immediate income stream of €720,000 annually based on a new 20-year full repairing and insuring (FRI) lease to NPP, incorporating five-yearly rent reviews. The tenant has the benefit of a 10-year break option. NPP was advised on the transaction by Harvey.

Speaking on behalf of Unit 2′s new owners, Roy Alderdice said: “We are delighted to have acquired our second property in Ireland and look forward to exploring further opportunities in the months ahead.”