The combination of immediate rental income and the opportunity for substantial asset management in a sought-after location should see strong interest from investors in the sale of Rockfield Central in south Dublin.
Located immediately adjacent to the Luas green line stop at Balally and just 350m from the entrance to Dundrum Town Centre, the investment comprises three blocks let to 20 tenants with a weighted average unexpired lease term of of over seven years. The portfolio is generating a total of €1.89 million in rental income currently and is being offered to the market by agent Savills and Investi at a guide price of €25.5 million. The sale of the investment at that level would offer the buyer a net initial yield of 6.75 per cent (after standard purchasers' costs) and equates to a capital value of €341 per square foot.
Rockfield Central extends to 74,858sq ft distributed across three blocks: North, South and East. The north and south blocks, developed by Gannon Homes as part of the wider Rockfield mixed-use scheme in 2004, comprise office space and offer panoramic views of Dublin from the upper floors. The ground floors of both buildings are occupied by retail tenants. The east block is positioned over the underground car park. It incorporates two levels of retail beneath a four-storey office block, known as the Rockfield Medical Campus, which is held separately under long leasehold and not included in the sale. The seven retail units in the east block, which do form part of the sale, benefit from significant footfall from the surrounding offices, Dundrum Town Centre, the Luas green line stop and from the apartments at nearby schemes.
Access
Quite apart from the ease of access afforded by its position at a Luas green line stop, Rockfield Central is well located in Dundrum, and just 6.5km from Dublin city centre. The M50 motorway is about 2km away from the scheme, providing ready access to north, south and west Dublin and the surrounding commuter-belt counties.
The investment is virtually fully let to 20 tenants including the vendor, Mac Group, Mott MacDonald, Medserv and VHI Investments, with 77 per cent of the income derived from offices and the remaining 23 per cent from retail. The average passing office rent is €24.53 per square foot (excluding car parking). The blocks, managed by Investi, offer substantial asset management opportunities, meanwhile, with several outstanding rent reviews and potential to let the part vacant floor in the north block. The subject portfolio also includes 45 car-parking spaces in the adjoining the Balally park and ride facility and seven surface spaces.
Rockfield Central was purchased in 2017 by Mac-Group. They have now decided to review their portfolio holdings after carrying out improvements on their current stock, and are now actively looking at both residential and industrial development schemes.
Fergus O’Farrell of Savills says: “Rockfield Central presents investors with the opportunity to acquire a high-quality and well-diversified income-producing asset with asset-management potential.”
