Pan-European investor and asset manager M7 Real Estate has secured four new lettings across three schemes within its Dublin portfolio of industrial and logistics properties.
In the first instance, M7 has agreed a deal on behalf of a major financial institution with the HSE for 12,800sq ft of warehouse and office space at unit 8 North Park. The subject property has been acquired on behalf of the ambulance service on a new 10-year lease at a rent of €10.50 per sq ft following a full refurbishment.
The second deal sees Clevamama, the baby products and nursery brand retailer founded by sisters and mothers Martina Craine and Suzanne Browne, taking 11,400sq ft of newly refurbished warehouse space at €10.75 per sq ft on a 10-year lease at B3A Airport Business Park, which is located close to Dublin Airport.
The third transaction, meanwhile, sees Screwfix Ireland leasing unit 3 at Westlink Industrial Estate. The subject property comprises 5,850sq ft and will be occupied by Screwfix on a 10-year lease at a rent of €10 per sq ft.The building underwent an extensive refurbishment in the second half of 2020 on a speculative basis and terms were agreed with Screwfix in advance of its practical completion. Screwfix is the UK's largest retailer of trade tools, accessories and hardware products and is part of the Kingfisher Group, which also includes B&Q, Castorama and Brico Dépot.
The fourth and final letting sees Commercial Interior Supplies (CIS) expanding its existing footprint at Westlink Industrial Estate with an agreement for unit 27 (5,808sq ft) at a rent of €9.50 per sq ft. CIS was one of a new generation of tenants to enter the estate in 2017 when occupiers were seeking a trade counter location with the security of a managed business park.
Since acquiring the Westlink scheme for €13,870,000 in 2018, M7 has invested about €1.5 million as part of its asset management programme. The estate's tenant line-up includes: Euro Car Parts; ADI Gardiner; Vinny Byrne (trade supplier for Dulux); and Silverskin Coffee Roasters. Westlink is situated just off the Kylemore Road in Dublin and comprises a combined area of 195,000sq ft of light industrial space.
Established in 2009, M7 manages a portfolio of some 610 assets across Europe comprising 45.2 million sq ft with an estimated capital value of €4.1 billion. M7’s Irish portfolio comprises 16 assets extending to about 1,000,000sq ft, primarily in industrial and logistics space.
In January 2020, the company acquired Primeside Park in Dublin for €6.75 million. The industrial estate, which is in Ballycoolin, has 71,300sq ft of floor area split over 25 units. The development is almost fully let. The group also controls Century Business Park in Finglas, which it acquired for €4.47 million in September 2019.
Its first investment here came in 2017 when it bought Fumbally Lane, a combined office and residential development in Dublin 8 which was on the market for €24 million. M7 sold Fumbally Lane to BCP Asset Management in 2018 for €33.5 million, following the completion of a comprehensive asset management programme which enabled the property's vacancy rate to plummet from 17 per cent to 2 per cent through the addition of 19 new tenants, and which saw its annual rental income grow by €1.14 million.
