Investment property spend triples to €548m during opening months of 2025
The value of investment property transactions during the first quarter of the year rose to €548m, three times higher than the same period in 2024, on the back of a large transaction involving the sale of a portfolio of retail parks, a report by estate agent Sherry FitzGerald shows.
The report shows there were 27 transactions completed during this period, the largest of which was the sale of Oaktree Capital Management's portfolio of eight retail parks — located in Bray, Drogheda, Galway, Limerick, Naas, Navan, Sligo, and Waterford — for €220m to US investor Realty Income Reit.
During the same quarter in 2024, there were 20 deals completed — valued at a combined €163m. However, when compared to the long-term average for the first quarter of the year, both the value and volume of transactions were both down by 20% and 26% respectively.
During the early part of 2024, the European Central Bank still had very high interest rates — which made borrowing money, potentially for investment, very expensive. Rates have been steadily declining since June of last year and, as of the start of the year, were significantly lower.
Retail was the main driver of investment activity during the period January to March, accounting for half of turnover in the market. In total, €272m was invested in retail space.
Aside from Oaktree Capital Management's retail park portfolio sale, other retail assets that transacted during the quarter included three receivership assets that were bought back by Johnny Ronan's property company RGRE.
All three properties were located on Grafton St, Dublin — including 78-79 Grafton St, the flagship premises of Bewleys Café; 70 Grafton St, which is let to PTSB and City Break Apartments; and 116 Grafton St, which is leased to cosmetics company Lush.
Total investor spend on office, industrial, and residential assets remained below the long-term quarterly averages.
Industrial and logistics
Office space accounted for €87m of total investor spending. The largest transaction in this sector involved the sale of Central Quay — a six-storey, over-basement modern office building at South Docks — by Hibernia Real Estate Group to French investor Atland Voisin for approximately €42m.
Hotel asset investment accounted for €86m of the overall spend while healthcare investments stood at €43m.
Industrial and logistics transactions totalled just over €41m during the first three months of the year, while residential assets saw the lowest quarterly level of investment activity since the second quarter of 2017 — reaching just €11m.
Overseas investors accounted for 78% of total investment spend during the quarter. Approximately 47% of turnover during the period was located in Dublin.
Cork absorbed a further 6% of capital spend in three transactions, while Galway, Limerick, and Meath each saw one transaction during the period.
In the report's outlook for the rest of the year, it said that the current international trade tensions and uncertainty across the global economy is likely to 'have some impact on the investment market in the short- to medium-term'.
'That said, given the current underlying strength of the domestic economy with robust employment, unemployment close to full employment, low inflation and strong consumer spending, investors in a position to move may take advantage of favourably priced assets,' the report said.
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