Talk the talk

Patrick Curran, managing partner of property consultants Harrington Bannon, talks to David Clerkin.

Please tell us a little about the firm.

Harrington Bannon is a firm of chartered valuations surveyors and commercial property consultants founded in 1979. Clients include AIB; IBM; Green Property; MBNA; Kellogg’s; Castlethorn Construction; Dunloe; First Active and Financial Times. We employ 22 people.

What sectors of the commercial property market do you specialise in?

The business divides into two sections - agency, where we specialise in investments, offices and retail, and professional services, where we specialise in rent reviews, valuations and property management.

How would you describe the commercial market?

It’s buoyant and we are very optimistic about the outlook for 2005.

What sectors are performing well and not so well?

There’s demand for Dublin city centre modern offices and investment properties generally. These sectors are performing well. But the industrial letting market is sluggish, as is the residential letting market in certain locations.

What’s a typical rent review adding to a business’s rental costs?

Subject to location and unit size, in general you could estimate a 50%-70% increase on retail, 40% on offices and up to 25% on industrial if you are reviewing properties today coming off a 2000 rental base - but this is a quite a generalisation.

What’s popular with investors and why?

Irish people have an insatiable appetite for investment property. Retail is a perennial favourite, but we have been recommending office investments as a “buy” as we see good prospects for rental growth in 2005 and 2006. We also favour well-located modern industrial investments with good covenants.

Is the market perceived as good value or otherwise?

The investment market is very competitive and with the result, top prices are being paid. However, against other types of investment and cash on deposits, the returns are still very good.

What are the key things that investors look out for?

Acquiring an investment property is more than about location. While this is of paramount importance in any investment decision, the covenant and building specification are also extremely important.

How competitive is the market for your services? What are you doing that competitors aren’t?

There is competition in the market but Harrington Bannon’s mix of experience combined with a young, dynamic team of professionals gives us an edge.

What worries you most?

The shortage of investment product on the market is a concern, together with the penal rate of stamp duty levied by the government. This will lead to more and more investment transactions being carried out by Irish investors in Britain, mainland Europe and the States.