Quanta Capital in €20m deal for prime Grafton Street retail investments

Real estate investor Mel Sutcliffe of Quanta Capital has returned to the acquisitions trail paying about €22 million in total for three prime properties on Grafton Street and South Frederick Street in Dublin city centre.

In the first instance, The Irish Times understands that Quanta has acquired numbers 69 and 72 Grafton Street from Irish property company Iput on behalf of the Goldstein Icav. The two properties are understood to have been guiding at a total of €20 million and a deal is understood to have been completed at around that level.

No 69 Grafton Street will be best known to visitors to the street as the home of Dune Shoes. The property, which is on the stretch between South Anne Street and Chatham Street, comprises a four-storey over-basement building of 451sq m (4,853sq ft). The property has a retail-trading area of 340.95sq m (3,670sq ft) distributed across its ground, first, second and third floors. The building is let to two tenants, with Dune Shoes occupying the ground floor and basement and the well-known Robert Chambers Hair Salon occupying the first, second and third floors. No 69 Grafton Street is generating €324,000 in annual rental income and has a blended lease term of 6.4 years to the nearest break option and 8.1 years to expiry respectively.

No 72 Grafton Street is a four-storey over-basement building of 819.22sq m (8,818sq ft). Located directly across the street from the entry point to South Anne Street, the property has a lease area of 765.80sq m (8,243 sq ft) distributed over three floors (ground, first and basement).

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Quanta Capital in €20m deal for prime Grafton Street retail investments

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The building underwent a significant refurbishment programme prior to being let to The White Company in 2018. The property, which boasts an impressive, vaulted ceiling and a double-height entrance, is let to TWC Retail (Ireland) Limited with a guarantee provided by The White Company (UK) Limited. No 72 Grafton Street is generating annual rental income of €570,000 on a 15-year lease commencing on March 1st, 2018. The break option and rent review is due on February 29th, 2028, while the lease expires on February 28th, 2033.

Quanta Capital is also understood to have completed the purchase of No 3-4 Sooth Frederick Street. The building, which was occupied for many years by General Investment Trust, a subsidiary of New Ireland Assurance and Bank of Ireland, comprises a stand-alone office building dating from the 1940s and extending to 661sq m (7,118sq ft) distributed across four storeys over a concealed basement.

The property was offered for sale by Savills on behalf of New Ireland Assurance at a guide price of €2.6 million and is understood to have been acquired by Quanta at around this level. The Irish Times understands that the new owners have already agreed a deal to let the building in its entirety to the Cork-headquartered insurance company, McCarthy Insurance Group.