More than €2bn (£1.67bn) of investment was secured on the Irish property market in the last quarter of 2021, bringing full-year activity to €5.5bn. One of the largest deals in the final quarter was Blackstone’s deal for Facebook’s HQ in Dublin.
Savills research shows that the yearly total was €2.5bn more than the €3bn in 2020, and the second-highest level ever recorded.
Divisional director of investments at Savills Ireland, Kevin McMahon, commented that “Investor appetite has been exceptionally strong throughout the year across most real estate sectors. The last quarter of 2021 was characterised by multiple large deals in the office and industrial sectors in particular, accounting for 36% and 27% of quarterly volumes respectively.”
The largest transaction of the quarter and year was Blackstone’s acquisition of a large proportion of Meta’s new European campus in Ballsbridge in Dublin. The transaction of four buildings for €395m from the Serpentine Consortium, a syndicate of private individuals and companies, was subject to strong bidding from a range of parties.
In Savills view, the retail sector will experience a more positive 2022.
In the last quarter of 2021 13 assets exchanged, the largest being the Park Collection – a portfolio of retail parks sold to Marlet Property Group by Marathon Asset Management for €74m.
“The multi-family sector outperformed the rest of the market across the year and accounted for 39% of annual volumes. In total, €2.1bn worth of multi-family deals took place in 2021, compared to €1.2bn in 2020. This sector has remained resilient to the effects of the pandemic and is increasingly funding the delivery of much-needed apartment stock,” McMahon said.
In 2021 the industrial sector’s share of investment volumes continued to grow, accounting for 18% of the market with the €1bn trading representing a record for the sector.
LSL News.