Israeli buys more Irish investments

A high net worth Israeli investor has just paid €12.7 million for two Irish property investments – one of them an office block in Navan, Co Meath, the other an Aldi foodstore in Sandyford, Dublin 18.

The deals come exactly a year after Igal Ahouvi paid €4.5 million for a Aldi store at Parnell Street in Dublin’s north inner city.

Ahouvi paid €5 million for the newly-developed office investment on the outskirts of Navan which will show an initial return of 8.8 per cent and an average yield of 9.7 per cent over the life of the lease.

Dublin commercial agent Murphy Mulhall had pre-let the new two-storey, 2,539sq m (27,329sq ft) office block for use as the Irish headquarters for Generali International, the Italian headquartered global financial services group. Last September it signed a 20-year lease with a break option after year 15.

The rent for the first five years was set at €459,740 with a guaranteed 10 per cent rise after five years and another 10 per cent after 10 years. The building was designed by architects KMD and was constructed by Walls Construction.

The block has a full modern specification including raised access floors, suspended ceilings and air conditioning.

There are 125 surface car-parking spaces in the grounds of the IDA Business and Technology Park, just off the new M3 motorway in Navan town.

Generali International has a presence in 68 countries with a global employee headcount of 85,000. The overall group has more than €400 billion in assets and about 70 million clients worldwide.

Robert Murphy of Murphy Mulhall said the attractions of the investment were four-fold: the strength of the tenant; the quality and design of the building; the location only 35 minutes’ drive on the motorway from Dublin Airport; and the guaranteed rental growth.

Savills handled the sale of the two German discount stores.

The Aldi foodstore at Sandyford was the first distressed investment to have been offered for sale this year after about €1 billion in loans taken out by the Cork-based Fleming Group were transferred to Nama.

Ahouvi completed the purchase last Friday of the Aldi store paying €7.7 million for it in a deal that will show a return of 7.5 per cent.

Rod Nowlan of Bannon advised the purchaser.

Aldi is paying an annual rent of €603,375 with five yearly rent reviews based on increases in the Consumer Price Index, subject to a maximum increase of 4 per cent per annum. Aldi’s 25-year lease from October, 2011, provides for a break option in 2029.

The Aldi store extends to 1,854sq m (19,956sq ft) and occupies a ground floor unit in The Boulevard, a highly accessible shopping and residential complex just off the M50 motorway.

Shoppers can avail of 100 car-parking spaces in the adjoining basement which is fitted with a travelator.

Ahouvi paid €4.5 million for the Parnell Street Aldi store which has been showing a return of 7.9 per cent. There are about 12 years to run on the 25-year lease.