03-07-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Optimism for investment outlook despite dip in second-quarter deals
Nevertheless, that brought the first-half investment figure to almost €940.4m which, while down on the €1.74bn of the previous six months, was ahead of the €671.7m in the first half of 2024.
Meanwhile, the number of deals in the first half of 2025 fell to 47 which was the lowest number of first-half deals in more than five years and compares with 59 in the second half of 2024.
US investor Realty Income Corporation was a major player in both the first and second quarters of this year. In Q1 it bought a portfolio of eight retail parks from Oaktree Capital Management for €220m. In Q2, Realty purchased another portfolio of retail parks from Pat Crean's Marlet group for €123.5m. That trio comprised Belgard Retail Park in Tallaght, Dublin 24; the M1 Retail Park in Drogheda, Co Louth; and Poppyfield Retail Park in Clonmel, Co Tipperary.
Realty's purchases helped to bring retail's share of the investment market to 46pc, up from 41pc in the first half of 2024 and well over the low single-digit market shares seen in both first halves of 2021 and 2022.
Giorgio Ferrari of Colliers says that retail accounted for €437m of the deals in the first six months of this year, offices for €270m and hospitality for €86m.
The office sector also saw a recovery in market share, up from 19pc in the first half of 2024 to 30pc in the corresponding period of this year, boosted by a €394m spend in Q2. The largest office deal of the quarter saw German investor Deka Immobilien acquiring 20 Kildare Street from US real estate firm Kennedy Wilson for €74.5m.
A second office deal saw Pontegadea, the investor arm of Zara founder Amancio Ortega, acquire Ten Hanover Quay in Dublin docklands from Kennedy Wilson and Nama for €69m.
Looking forward, Stephen Aherne of TWM estimates that there are about €1.3bn worth of deals currently available, with approximately €400m under offer.
'It is anticipated that bids will soon be solicited for a number of transactions, suggesting a potentially strong conclusion to the year,' he said. 'Steady momentum is gathering. We expect to see strong performance in other sectors in the market for H2.'
Niall Gargan of JLL acknowledges that the weak second quarter was due to tariff announcements causing uncertainty.
'As financial markets regain stability and a trade agreement between the EU and the US appears imminent, optimism is growing that the recovery anticipated at the start of 2025 can begin in earnest in the second half,' he added.
