Set your Compass for Cork

THE remaining zoned land of McInerney Homes, Ireland’s largest house builder during the boom, is now on the market through DTZ Sherry FitzGerald, on behalf of Kieran Wallace and Padraic Monaghan, of KPMG, the receivers.

The Compass Collection comprises 106 acres of residential sites in the south and west of the country, with 45 acres in Cork alone.

The sale is an attractive propostion for builders, says Seamus Costello, of DTZ’s Cork office, as the properties can be sold per site location, or in the entire.

“The development-land market has performed well over the last numbers of years. However, it has been slow to deliver up new opportunities, particularly in key regional centres.

“This is beginning to turn, however, with the recovery in regional house prices bringing confidence back to the development market.

“The viability of residential development in the regional urban centres has improved significantly, as house prices have improved,” he says.

Shovel-ready for the most part, and in some cases nearing completion, the portfolio offers “asset management and development opportunities to add value”, says the agent.

DTZ say that recovery is following demand in the regional locations of the properties, with significant scope for large-scale schemes to directly feed that demand.

The collection, with locations that include Galway, Tipperary, Limerick and Cork, offers 800 potential units with full planning for 400 dwellings and, in most cases, zoning for a further 400 units units across the seven sites.

“These housing estates, with a mix of complete and part-complete and with planning permission for further housing, should attract active participants in the market, as they are ready-to-go, as opposed to traditional greenfield development opportunities, which generally have a lead-in time of two years, before revenue can be realised” says Costello.

The collection is for sale by private treaty to registered parties for €13m, but the portfolio is also offered in various lots, he says, and DTZ are inviting proposals on both.

Being ahead of the curve, in terms of market capitalisation is the standout attraction of the former McInerney Homes portfolio.

The lands are in strategic, zoned locations, within strong urban ares like Midleton, in Cork, where, for instance, the Broomfield estate offers 12 acres of land within the settlement boundary and as part of an existing estate. With eight units in various stages of completion and another six acres outside the settlement boundary, the lands previously included planning permission for 137 residential units. The price for this property is €2.25m, which, on previous densities, would work out at €16,500 per stand.

Also in Cork county, the collection is also offering 18 acres of land at Cluain Ard, Cobh, including some unfinished properties, priced at €1.75m.

Further lands at Macroom, with a price of €750,000, complete the McInerney Homes collection of sites in Cork. Fionn Laoi, its housing estate in Ballincollig, Cork, is now owned by O’Callaghan Properties who expect to release semi-detached and detached units there in October.

McInerney Holdings was wound-down through a voluntary liquidation process instigated by the group’s management, and, at its peak, built 3,000 units a year, mostly in Ireland, but als with Spanish and UK interests.

Details: http://dtzsherryfitzgerald-thecompasscollection.com