The combination of immediate rental income and asset management potential in an area of proven demand should see strong interest from both institutional and private investors in the sale of Niland House in Galway city’s docklands. The subject property, which comprises 27 residential units and three retail units, is being offered to the market by agent Cushman & Wakefield at a guide price of €8.5 million.
Built originally for use as a warehouse in 1820, Niland House occupies a highly convenient location with dual frontage to Dock Road and Merchants’ Road, and within a short walk of Galway’s central business district. The property, a listed cut-stone building, was redeveloped in the early 1990s to provide three retail units at ground-floor level with 27 fully fitted apartments overhead. The accommodation, which is 100 per cent occupied briefly consists of 21 two-bedroom apartments, five one-bedroom apartments, and one three-bedroom duplex.
The overall development is distributed across two interconnecting buildings connected by a raised courtyard. One element faces on to Merchants’ Road and comprises a five-storey building housing 24 apartments and two retail units. The second element, which faces on to Dock Road, comprises of a ground-floor restaurant and three overhead apartments.
While Niland House is currently producing a gross overall income of €528,210 per annum, there is scope according to Patricia Staunton of Cushman & Wakefield’s Galway office, to increase this figure significantly.
“It is extremely difficult to secure an apartment block of this scale right in the centre of Galway and we believe the opportunity has fantastic asset-management opportunities,” she says.
Based on its current income, a sale of the property at its €8.5 million guide price would provide the purchaser with a net initial yield of 5.6 per cent.
