Irish Property Developer Magazine Issue 1 by Irish Property Developer Magazine

Winter ‘16/17 €8.95 / STG £7.80

Magazine HOUSING MINISTER Simon Coveney “Exclusive Insights into Budget 2016” CIF CHIEF Tom Parlon Gives Members’ Reaction to Government Housing Plan I N S I D E Green Reit’s Commercial Building of the Year

HOUSING MINISTER Simon Coveney speaks to the industry CI F C H I E F Tom Parlon gives Members’ reaction to Government Housing Plan SOB O Introducing Dublin’s newest district Industry Guest Editor, Robert Colleran

V O L 1 PA R T 1 I S S U E 1 D E C 1 6

M G M B O AT S MGM BOATS Old Coastguard Station, Coal Harbour, DunLaoghaire, Co. Dublin.

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Celebrating its fortieth anniversary this year, the Irish Architectural Archive is Ireland’s buildings record. The Archive collects and preserves material of every kind relating to the architecture of the entire island of Ireland, and makes it available to the public. As a cumulative body of material the holdings of the Archive represent the greatest single source of information on Ireland’s buildings and those who designed them.

Front elevation and plan, Carton, Co. Kildare, Isaac Ware, 1762

This proposal for unexecuted alterations to Carton, Co. Kildare, is from the Archive’s forthcoming fortieth anniversary exhibition House and Home. Featuring over forty original architectural drawings, as well as publications, models and photographs, for residential projects in Ireland from the 1750s to the 1980s, House and Home will run in the Archive’s Architecture Gallery, 45 Merrion Square, from 27 October 2016 to 28 April 2017.

Irish Architectural Archive, 45 Merrion Square, Dublin 2 10 am to 5 pm, Tuesdays to Fridays Access is free www.iarc.ie www.dia.ie info@iarc.ie 01 663 3040 4

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I N D U S T RY F O C U S 8

I N D U S T RY G u e s t E d i t o r

Our industry guest editor Robert Colleran, CBRE, takes a look at how the development land market has changes over the past decade

Planning Reform

Executive director of the Irish Planning Institute, Sean O’Leary, talks us through the planning reform under way

F I NA N C E

The ever-insightful Karl Deeter gives his view on this new era of finance

B E R L E G I S L AT I O N

Energy consultant engineer, Jonathan Tallon, breaks down the BER legislation for developers and contractors

S I M O N C OV E N E Y I N T E RV I E W

We bring you the entire transcript of our interview with Minister for Housing Simon Coveney

T O M PA R L O N I N T E RV I E W

Interview with Tom Parlon to get his members’ reaction to the housing plan

D i s ru p t i n g t h e m a r k e t

Disrupting the Market: We meet Matthew McAdden of the Atelier Group and the man behind Ziggurat student housing

H i b e r n i a R e i t C E O K e v i n n ow l a n

When passion meets purpose: We meet Hibernia REIT’s CEO, Kevin Nowlan

INTRODUCING SOBO

Introducing SOBO: A look around Dublin’s newest district

development land market

Marie Hunt of CBRE talks us through the current development land market

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MANAGING EDITOR Carol Tallon INDUSTRY GUEST EDITOR Robert Colleran, CBRE WRITER Caroline Allen ART DIRECTOR Richard O’Connell PHOTOGRAPHER Aisling Conway DIGITAL MARKETING EXECUTIVE Tanzeela Ajmal CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Karl Deeter – Sean O’Leary – Jonathan Tallon Orla Fitzmaurice – Marie Hunt – Patrick Phelan Orlaith Carmody – Helen Walsh Caroline McEnery - Emmett Humphries Ian Noctor – Anna Daly - Annie West Conor O’Dwyer – Sarah Holland COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR Trevor Hull trevor@irishpropertydeveloper.com SOLUTIONS MANAGER Adrian McMahon adrian@irishpropertydeveloper.com SOLUTIONS EXECUTIVE Cleo Fenlon cleo@irishpropertydeveloper.com CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Sinéad Ballantyne DISTRIBUTION Newspread Irish Property Developer Magazine is published by Firebrand Multi-Media Ltd., Johnstown House, Johnstown, Naas, County Kildare, Ireland. Tel: +353 45 844 241 Web: www.IrishPropertyDeveloper.com Email: info@IrishPropertyDeveloper.com sales@irishpropertydeveloper.com Member of Magazines Ireland

Disclaimer: The views within this magazine are not necessarily those of the publisher. Articles and advertisements are for information only. The entire contents of this publication are copyright Firebrand Multi-Media Ltd© and may not be reproduced in any form without written consent from the publisher.

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L i s n e ys b e l fas t p o s t b r e x i t

Declan Flynn, Lisney Belfast, talks about the post-Brexit commercial market

third option to density

Fresh from his Tedx Talk, architect Emmett Humphries gives us a Third Option to Density

d e b t & s t ru c t u r e d f i na n c e

Patrick Phelan, CBRE, discusses debt and structured finance

commercial building of year

Take a look inside Green REITs One Albert Quay, Commercial Building of the Year 2016

A R E S H OW H O U S E S N E C E S S A RY

We ask leading new homes estate agents: Are showhouses still a necessary sales tool?

B U S I N E S S O F P R O P E RT Y 6 8 # PROPTECH

Property Expo: Thinking of exhibiting? We bring you the insiders’ guide to trade show success

P R O P E RT Y E X P O

Property Expo: Thinking of exhibiting? We bring you the insiders’ guide to trade show success

EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP

Executive leadership strategies with Orlaith Carmody

CSR is dead

CSR is dead: We look at a new type of industry-specific social endeavour to create positive impact

D OW N T I M E

Welcome to our inaugural issue and more importantly, to the dawn of new era in Irish property development.

T R AV E L I D E AS

Travel ideas to suit every mood: Adventure | Experience | Revel | Retreat

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H E A LT H & W E L L N E S S

Tips from Ireland’s favourite Health & Wellness expert, Helen Walsh

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INTERIORS

Style icon Anna Daly gives us her interiors wish-list

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T h e p ow e r o f t h r e a d

Style: Outside In, we feature the best men’s coats for Winter 2016 and delve into the Power of Thread

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B E AU T Y

Beauty: Who doesn’t love vinyl? News from the latest YSL beauty launch

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MOTOR REVIEW

TV3’s Ian Noctor reviews the Audi A7

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H O R S E R AC I N G

Horse racing with Conor O’Dwyer

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TOP 10 gadgets

Top 10 Gadgets you can’t live without

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TOP 10 APPS

We review top Apps for the industry

t has been an intensive few months and I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Firebrand Multimedia management; the talented team at Irish Property Developer; our columnists; contributors; and particularly, our industry guest editor, Robert Colleran and his patient colleagues at CBRE, their insight has been invaluable in putting together this publication. 2016 has been a year of positive turbulence for the construction and property industries. We now have a dedicated, cabinet-level government Minister, who has shown early signs of strong leadership. Together with Robert, I met with Minister Coveney recently to discuss the Government’s Action Plan for Housing. In particular, we talked about the part that developers will play in solving Ireland’s housing crisis. You can read the transcript of this interview on page 20. Recognising the pivotal role that contractors will have in delivering the proposed new housing, I spoke with Director General of the Construction Industry Federation, Tom Parlon to get his members’ reaction to this (page 30). With so much activity expected in the residential market, I talked to the man disrupting one of the most profitable sectors -Matthew McAdden of the Atelier Group and Ziggurat student housing - about his Irish plans (page 34). I also had the opportunity to meet with one of the industry’s most inspiring men, Hibernia REIT chief, Kevin Nowlan and he showed me the plans for Dublin’s newest district - SOBO. If the fusion of historical and stunningly modern architecture on page 44 doesn’t get you excited about the Docklands, then nothing ever will! Over the coming months, we will continue meeting with developers and industry leaders to find out their plans for progress. And while the print magazine will issue quarterly, our developing website will bring you the latest property news, analysis and key planning decisions on a daily basis www.IrishPropertyDeveloper.com . Ultimately, this magazine is written for the industry, by the industry so your voices, your comments and your suggestions are most welcome. You can reach me on Editor@IrishPropertyDeveloper.com. Finally, if you are having a particularly busy day as you read this, might I suggest that you take a few moments and jump straight to our Downtime section? Here you will find our App & Gadget reviews, travel features to suit your mood, horse racing, style, motoring and so much more. Our aim through this magazine is to educate, inspire and engage the rest is up to you.

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INDUSTRY Guest Editor

Robert Colleran Director Capital Markets and Development with CBRE

t is amazing how the landscape of the Irish property development

market has changed over the past decade. Back in 2006, I was working with Liam Carroll who was one of the best known property developers in Ireland at that time (Danninger, Royceton, Dunloe). He was also one of the largest landlords, with control of one of the largest property land banks in Ireland, including land at Cherrywood, 56 acres of development land in the north docks, Sir John Rogerson’s Quay, Poolbeg, Tallaght Cross, Coolock and Clondalkin. The company had an in-house office staff of 260, another 550 builders and owned 26 cranes. At that time, we had no less than 30 development sites under construction.

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efore the property market imploded, Liam Carroll was known to have ‘deep pockets’ or access to bank finance that would allow him to close out quickly on property sales. He was a man of his word; most deals at that stage were done on a handshake and were concluded by a quick legal process that took three to five weeks. One of his greatest skills was the ability to identify and acquire so-called ‘off-market’ development sites at prices well below market values. In fact, at that time, his business was responsible for 26 per cent of all office lettings in Ireland possessed a development pipeline that could have lasted a lifetime. He remains one of the most respected and well-liked figures in the industry. Most of his property portfolio has now been sold or is under NAMA control (Project Ulysses, consisting of Cherrywood, Tallaght Cross, The Mill Shopping Centre, Bloomfield Shopping Centre and Sir John Rogerson’s Quay). Kennedy Wilson are currently building out the Capital Docks site on Sir John Rogerson’s Quay. Oxley and Ballymore are looking to launch the ‘Dublin Landings’ development on North Wall Quay beside the Central Bank Head Office in October and Hines will be looking to start development of Cherrywood in six months time. It’s safe to say that the property development market in Ireland is coming back to life... They say that 10 years is a long time in politics, and this is equally true in property. Today, most developers appear to be funded by foreign funds from the US, UK, and Asia. Most of the big players in the Irish development market are backed by funds, shares or OPM ‘Other People’s Money’ as one developer described it. The likes of Cairn, Ronan Group Real Estate,

Oxley, Bartra Capital, Hines, Kennedy Wilson, McGarrell Reilly, and New Generation are all being funded by backers from outside of Ireland. Most developers seem to be trading their way out of their legacy debt or their arrangements with NAMA by using their knowledge and insight of the Irish property market, together with their development skills and acumen, to secure development sites and build them out for a profit for their fund. In return, they are given a payment or percentage of the development profit, which will enable them to get back in the market. Most of the familiar faces from Ireland peak development times appear to be back buying - or looking to buy - development land sites across the country. There is a distinct lack of new, younger developers that are prepared to enter the development market and take on the risk of purchasing sites and developing them out for a potential profit of 15 per cent. Most of the returning developers are obtaining their development finance from property shares or funds. They are not yet selfsufficient, cash buyers who can rely on the Irish banking system to finance their large construction projects. The reality is that there are still very few Irish banks that would be willing to lend to a large developer to purchase and build out a speculative development without a pre-let tenant or full planning permission in place. It is inevitable that intending developers will explore other finance options, outside of the traditional Irish banking system. Having said that, we are starting to see more bank lending come into smaller scale schemes. There is a feeling that the sales process today is also taking longer to conclude. In most cases, as the sales are more complex, there are often third parties in the background who need to approve the sales process. For example, many site vendors have to seek approval from their banks, receivers, loan books or NAMA to sell on the properties at a certain value. There is also more due diligence

being carried out on both sides; it takes most sales one to three months, or longer, for the sale to close unless the property is sold by tender or auction i.e. with a prescribed sales contract already in place. There is also a greater reliance on the level of due diligence carried out by the developer as they will have to run a series of stress-tested development appraisals and building costings, that will have to come under close scrutiny from their funders. As a result, it is taking longer for a sale to close, and there is a bigger transaction risk of the funder pulling out of the sale if any issues arise. Due to the lack of available bank finance, a developer can make more profit on a site that can be purchased for a lower price, and most of these sites would not have full planning permission. There may be issues on these sites i.e. current leases or lapsed planning permission or available services on these sites that may put off other developers from paying top price for them. Developers are looking for sites where they feel that the current planning permission can be altered or obtained to achieve a higher development profit. We are now at a stage where commercial rents, and a lack of supply in the city centre, is driving up the development value of sites to levels close to 2006 prices. Prices of up to €50 million per acre have been paid in the IFSC and Dublin 2. As prices for prime commercial sites in Dublin 2 and 4 are achieving prices in the region of €40 - €50 million per acre some developers are now looking towards secondary areas with end users in mind i.e. Dublin 1, 7 & 8 and the suburbs. We have seen a strong interest in secondary sites that can be purchased for a lower price level and are able to accommodate alternative uses that can generate 15 per cent developers profit i.e. hotels, student accommodation, nursing homes, private rental sector apartments and social housing.

Apartments are being built in prime city centre locations, but most developers are still struggling to build new apartment blocks in secondary areas and the suburbs due to current planning regulations, high development levies and building costs with low sales prices. The current Central Bank mortgage rules demanding 20 per cent deposit (for property in excess of €220,000), and loan rate of 3.5 times their annual income, is strangling development and forcing developers back to building houses in the suburbs and commuter towns where sites can be purchased for lower price levels. Some developers are now looking to purchase and develop apartment sites for the private rental sector (PRS) instead of selling them on practical completion to first-time buyers. The design for PRS apartments is slightly different, with smaller apartment sizes. Developers are building for the growing rental market and are, therefore, able to obtain pre-construction funding on the basis that there should be an expected rent roll that is still growing, due to lack of supply, and can be achieved immediately upon completion. In addition to this, the apartment blocks can be sold on at any stage for a potential yield of 6 per cent to 6.5 per cent. The traditional purchaser has changed considerably from 2006 and the new Investment fund or REIT are now the landlords of today, while the old pension property purchaser is being driven out of the market. With the Irish development market still heavily reliant on alternative funding, we can be sure that developers will be keeping a keen eye on Budget ‘17 to see what incentives will be put in place to encourage the development market and make some of the dormant legacy sites viable again i.e. reductions to development levies, VAT, improvements to the planning system and incentives for new purchasers to enter the market and older house owners to move to smaller accommodation.

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INDUSTRY FOCUS

PLANNING REFORM When it comes to planning “reform” be careful what you wish for.

ecent commentary and announcements have suggested reforms and changes to the planning system raising questions such as what will that reform look like and how will it affect the process, costs and timescales? Rebuilding Ireland, the Government’s Housing and Homelessness Action Plan published in July commits to completing the May 2016 Programme for Government’s promise of a “root and branch” review of the planning system by Q1 2017. How deep a “root and branch” review can be when completed in a matter of months is up for debate but Rebuilding Ireland also proposes a number of legislative changes which are due to come on stream in the coming months alongside previously announced changes. Here I will discuss the “root and branch” issues that should be tackled alongside the implementation of already announced changes.

Root and Branch Clearly some of the demands of critics of our planning system are red herrings or ignore the substantial changes that have already taken place. Changes to planning legislation recently have reduced the costs of providing new homes. Initiatives include reduced development contributions and a targeted development contribution rebates scheme. The Part V contribution of social housing has been reduced from a maximum of 20 per cent to 10 per cent. Apartment standards have been revised and fast track planning has been introduced to facilitate changes in apartment layouts to permitted, unconstructed developments to incorporate the new apartment standards. Reducing the VAT on

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houses; greater coordination between bodies such as Transport Infrastructure Ireland, Irish Water and local authorities; funding for essential infrastructure; addressing land costs; and the greater use of compulsory purchase powers to assemble sites are all factors that will play a part in increasing housing output. The Government must show strong leadership in ensuring that the response to the housing crisis is not simplified into a numbers game. Authorities are already coming under pressure to push forward unsuitable sites that are detached from services and the urban centres so that unit numbers can be maximised and presented as the solution to the problem. “That is not to say the planning system is perfect but its fundamental problem does not lend itself to soundbites” That is not to say the planning system is perfect but its fundamental problem does

not lend itself to soundbites and instead centres on the need to consolidate planning law. The Planning and Development Act, 2000 (as amended) is the framework for Ireland’s planning system and guides planning authorities, An Bord Pleanála, and the courts in development matters. Since 2000, the Act itself has been modified significantly by subsequent Acts and additional planning regulations. These amendments are not contained within the core body of the Act and mean that planning law is now sprawling and complex. As the Independent Review of An Bord Pleanála chaired by an English QC and published in March 2016 notes “An unnecessarily complex and fragmented planning code acts as a barrier to access and must be regarded as a considerable challenge not only for An Bord Pleanála. It is the view of this Review Group that the Government should

Sean O Leary E xe c ut ive D ire c tor, Ir ish Pl an n ing Inst itute

When it comes to pl anning reform be careful what you wish for ... Last year the Scottish Government commissioned its own “root and branch” review of their planning system which took nine months from the appointment of the expert panel to publication. Amongst its recommendations are increases to planning fees, increased resourcing of local authorities and options for extended permitted development (exempted development). The extended permitted development rights are aimed at cutting local authorities workloads but have been received with scepticism by practitioners; of course, if hikes in application fees were suggested here they would be unlikely to be popular. “A recent survey of planners in England found that 73 per cent felt constant changes to planning processes were actually preventing positive developments”

give prompt consideration to establishing a review to address the complexity of planning law. Simplification of the legislative framework would also enable more efficient processes and practices among planning system

Planning in England has been in an almostconstant state of flux and “reform” for the last decade. This has been primarily driven by critics of the speed of decision making, the perceived regulatory burden imposed by planning systems, and a lack of local involvement in plan-making and planning

decisions. However, a recent survey of planners in England found that 73 per cent felt constant changes to planning processes were actually preventing positive developments. Furthermore, 53 per cent believed reform had hampered the delivery of housing by producing a system that is more complicated and uncertain, with less local autonomy and consultation and more under development.

Rebuilding Ireland Beyond the “root and branch” review, Rebuilding Ireland proposes a number of planning initiatives which could come on stream quite quickly. This Autumn’s Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016 will be aimed at the speedier delivery of housing as well as finally introducing the Office of the Planning Regulator (a proposal that has been in gestation since the Mahon Tribunal introduced the concept in 2012). Local authorities in our cities have been asked to identify potential future “fast track” Strategic Development Zones (SDZs) by the end of October. Rebuilding Ireland’s commitment to speeding up pre-planning consultations for

participants, including An Bord Pleanála.” “When a barrister tells you that your planning code is too complex you need to take heed” When a barrister tells you that your planning code is too complex you need to take heed. Planning legislation urgently needs updating and consolidation but this can’t be done in the fewer than nine months Rebuilding Ireland commits to, assuming it even makes the terms of reference of the “root and branch” review. There may be a feeling that tackling the issue means biting off more than the Government is prepared to chew with few opportunities for immediate headlines.

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potential applicants is welcome; however, this will only work in a properly resourced system. Between 2008 and 2015, the number of planners in local authorities here decreased by 30 per cent.

Large Housing Applications One of the most eye-catching changes is the proposal to direct housing applications for schemes of 100 units or more to An Bord Pleanála and away from local planning authorities for a limited time. There is little evidence that housing applications made directly to An Bord Pleanála will be decided significantly more quickly than an application to a local authority. The timelines for Strategic Infrastructure Development (which go directly to the Board at present) are not significantly quicker than that of a standard planning application. How pre-application discussion at local level and decision making at Board level as proposed will operate in practice is also unclear. It certainly raises the prospect of more judicial reviews which ultimately add time, cost and uncertainty. A better option would be the creation of properly resourced local authority rapid response teams for housing developments. The Board already has a system in place

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to prioritise housing appeals and there are also proposals to reduce its timelines for the determination of appeals. There is also an onus on applicants to engage an appropriate team of professionals, including planners, who can advise and assemble a planning application which meets all relevant requirements in order to reduce delays in processing.

Infrastructure and Active Land Management “Funding of infrastructure remains a key barrier but calls for further cuts to development contributions - without identifying how infrastructure can be funded - should not be heeded.” Sufficient zoned land is available nationally to deliver over 16 years of new housing supply however, not all of this is readily available. Funding of infrastructure remains a key barrier but calls for further cuts to development contributions - without identifying how infrastructure can be funded - should not be heeded. Rebuilding Ireland also commits the government to supporting more proactive land management and further guidance from the Department of Housing and Planning on land supply, including revised statutory guidelines on development plans, is likely. This focus would seem to be underlined by the

creation of a “Planning, Land Management and Housing Market Policy” division in the Department.

Other Changes: National Planning Framework and Office of the Planning Regulator At the top of Ireland’s planning system is the National Spatial Strategy (NSS). Scotland’s third National Planning Framework published in June 2014 has been identified as a model for Ireland’s successor to the NSS, also to be named a National Planning Framework (NPF). This will be a high level document describing the key urban and rural trends, environmental, social and economic drivers and their implications and policy responses. It will have a legislative underpinning missing

from the National Spatial Strategy and real efforts seem to be going towards ensuring buy-in across Government. Such buy-in is necessary to in order to avoid a repeat of the “decentralisation” fiasco that torpedoed the National Spatial Strategy, by ignoring designated growth centres, in favour of politically favourable towns. Unlike the Scottish document, which names and maps proposed strategic infrastructure projects it classifies as national developments, the Irish document is likely to be more high-level. This is probably appropriate given that the National Spatial Strategy had a “something for everyone in the audience” feel - which made commitments on everything and was not truly strategic - but it will open it up to criticism if, for example, smaller towns expect designations and associated funding.

Conclusion The discussion in Scotland has moved on since 2014 with the recent review there recommending that its National Planning Framework should be enhanced to replace the strategic development plans which cover the four main city regions. The primary function of the Office of the Planning Regulator (OPR) will be to carry out appraisals of development plans, local area plans, regional planning guidelines and such matters. The Planning Regulator will advise the Minister on the content of the plans and, where appropriate, provide

advice that all or part of a plan should be amended or rejected (through a Ministerial Direction). Significantly, the advice of the OPR will be published. Mahon however anticipated an Independent regulator able to directly take action, this is not the case now; its recommendations need to be implemented by the Minister. The OPR will also have investigative powers to examine possible systemic failings in the planning system and will also be mandated to carry out research, training and education roles.

More fundamentally, planning is a participatory process focused on the common good. Changes such as the nationally set apartment standards, the oversight of the Department’s new Housing Delivery Office and the shift of larger applications from local government to the Board, risks alienating communities from their development plan and local authority. Such a disconnect has been identified as a leading driver of calls for reform in England, meaning we risk a decade of disaffection and a spiral of ongoing “planning reform” that will ultimately generate more uncertainty than clarity. As experience from elsewhere shows, when it comes to planning reform, unless there is comprehensive evidence of blockages, its advocates would be advised to be careful what they wish for. Seán O’Leary, Executive Director, Irish Planning Institute

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INDUSTRY FOCUS

A New Era of Finance Karl Deeter TAK E S A LO OK AT

Finance A New Era of Finance Karl Deeter Karl Deeter is the Compliance Manager at Irish Mortgage Brokers www. mortgagebrokers.ie on Pearse Street in Dublin 2. Twitter: @ karldeeter Things have really changed in credit markets and, in particular, for that sweet spot where credit and property development meet. Many of the banks who would take a large risk on a development proposal are now only referred to in a historical sense, or they were saved by the State and have (hopefully) learned the error of their ways. What this doesn’t do is make life any easier for those trying to develop new buildings and,

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in particular, it is a key causal factor why we have shortages in some sectors, such as residential housing.

(QIAIFs) because their tax treatment is very different to that of an indigenous developer.

Depending on your structure, a developer in Ireland may also be trying to operate in an environment where not just the funds are an issue, but the taxation treatment is as well. The reality that some firms operate with favourable treatment gives them an advantage that is hard to equalise against. In development, this isn’t the likes of section 110 companies, which many people refer to as ‘Vulture funds’ (due to this being a structure used to purchase assets), it is more a case with Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and Qualified Investor Alternative Investment Funds

and building regulations, labour shortages, material prices and the reliable problem of land supply and prices. So what is available? What can a person needing money to make a deal happen do?

“The banks are lending and are open for business, but long gone are the old days where they would take a punt on a project.” One solution is to reach out to investors such as the REITs and those operating QIAIFs; if you can’t beat them, join them.

Added to this, the high cost of money for anything with a sniff of speculation about it, means that we have yet another blockage in the production system. Such a blockage can only add to the existing ones of the planning and appeals process, planning

Another is to look at raising financial backing through one of the many private firms working in this space. That said, their rates do take account of the full spectrum of risks and for that reason you’ll be lucky to see any prices below 12 per cent on offer. The banks are lending and are open for business, but gone are the old days where they would take a punt on a project . This inevitably means you will need to have other funders or equity

partners. In short, almost every developer working today isn’t an island but is more commonly operating under a series of different funding sources and, in many cases, also on a joint venture basis. The return of some of our well-known names who previously went bang is evidence of this. They are back in business but not as their own operation, rather they have been teaming up with funders and are operating with a similar

team but perhaps different management and a new name.

“In return for missing out on some of the cream on top, you don’t get the indigestion that `such a meal often serves as well.” There are, of course, developers who have funds and, if you are in the position of having viable projects, one option that shouldn’t be overlooked is the capacity to sell on the site in question. This is contrary to the genetic urges of many in the development business, but it can’t be over-emphasised that in return for missing out on some of the cream on top, you also don’t get the indigestion that such a meal often serves as well. Perhaps the toughest aspect of the market currently is that, on viable sites, who you may or may not be up against, and in what form, is unknown. If you are going to use borrowing to operate, and another site goes under the shovel nearby who have a huge financial

advantage, then you could find that your projections are all shot to pieces. Imagine the position a person can find themselves in if they do their sums and get started only to find that a few doors down a developer who has NAMA backing or a lower cost of finance gets started too? All things being equal, they will be able to sell below your price and that sets price levels. The market is rising so, perhaps, they might

instead come closer to yours, but in order to sell first, you get undercut and have to bear the problems that come with that. One upside in the modern world is that money is a truly global resource and, if yields are strong in a zero and negative yielding investment world, then property is bound to become the beneficiary of that. The more global, secular concern is what effect this will have on all markets; in the medium term, it will be very positive towards property as an asset generally.

“In return for missing out on some of the cream on top you also don’t get the indigestion that `such a meal often serves as well.“

This means we are now getting to a point where money can still be made, even if a few mistakes or hiccups occur. This is something that wasn’t possible when backers wanted high profit margins while at the same time prices were tight. Finance is going to flow faster and easier in time, but it does take time, and in the near term the best defence or approach to the market is to consider all forms of funding you might be able to source, weigh up the costs and risks and then determine, having done that, if you are better off to get started, sell out or hold off.

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INDUSTRY FOCUS

JP Tallon, Specialist Energy Consultant and S.E.A.I. Registered BER Assessor, based in Leinster and specialising in the Residential building sector in Ireland. www.jptallon.ie

New Domestic dwellings and BER Certification: What Developers and Contractors need to know T Jonathan Tallon, Energy Consultant Engineer and S.E.A.I. Registered BER Assessor is based in Leinster and specialises in the residential building sector. Jonathan is passionate about a ‘fabric first’ principle to limit fuel consumption and CO2 emissions, which involves maximising the performance of the components and materials that make up the building fabric itself, before considering the use of mechanical or electrical building services systems. This reduces costs, carbon emissions and lifetime maintenance, in addition to improving energy efficiency www.jptallon.ie

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here has been much conversation within the industry over the past decade about the need for more energy efficient buildings. There is no doubt about the importance of energy efficiency and embracing new technologies to achieve this, particularly at a time when Ireland faces EU fines over failure to meet binding green energy targets. But the real question within the building industry is whether the objective of our current system is to promote efficiency or simply compliance? Let me first start off by explaining what our current BER (Building Energy Rating) certification is all about and then, hopefully, you will see why it is important. As a developer or contractor, it is a statutory part of the design and build process so it is vital, for your business, to understand what’s involved and what BER (Building Energy Rating) certification means to you and your development. A BER is required before a new home is occupied for the first time and this BER certificate is compulsory for all homes offered for sale or rent in Ireland. This basically means that every developer, builder, surveyor, estate agent and letting agent in the country needs to be aware of the minimum

BER assessments are completed by registered BER assessors who have been trained under the National Framework of Qualifications, passed an SEAI (Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland) BER Assessor exam and are currently registered with SEAI, the regulatory authority over the BER scheme in Ireland. A BER certificate is an indication of the energy performance of a dwelling. The actual rating is the calculated energy usage for space heating, hot water heating, ventilation and lighting based on a standard occupancy associated with the size and area of the dwelling. A BER is similar to the energy label for a household electrical appliance, like your television for instance, and the label has a scale of ‘A’ to ‘G’; with ‘A’ rated dwellings being the most efficient. As you slide down the scale towards ‘G’ rated dwellings, these will tend to be the least efficient dwellings. The BER is often dismissed within the building industry as just another piece of meaningless certification, to add to the pile of certificates that is already required to build a new dwelling in Ireland today, but this needs to change.

With the introduction of BER legislation through the European Union Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), the requirements regarding conservation of fuel and energy for dwellings were laid out in ‘Part L’ of the Second Schedule to the Building Regulations 1997 (S.I. No. 497 of 1997) as amended by the Building Regulations (Part ‘L’ Amendment) Regulations 2011 (S.I. No. 259 of 2011). This legislation means that a building shall be designed and constructed so as to ensure that the energy performance of the building is such as to limit the amount of energy required for the operation of the building and the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions associated with this energy use, insofar as is reasonably practicable.

For new dwellings, the requirements of Part ‘L’ are met by: 1.

Providing that the energy performance of the dwelling is such as to limit the calculated primary energy consumption and related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions insofar as is reasonably practicable, when both energy consumption and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are calculated using the Dwelling Energy Assessment Procedure (DEAP) published by Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland;

Providing that, for new dwellings, a reasonable proportion of the energy consumption to meet the energy performance of a dwelling is provided by renewable energy sources;

Limiting heat loss and, where appropriate, availing of heat gain through the fabric of the building;

Providing and commissioning energy efficient space and water heating systems with efficient heat sources and effective controls;

Providing that all oil and gas fired boilers (when applicable) shall meet a minimum seasonal efficiency of 90%;

Providing to the dwelling owner sufficient information about the building, the fixed building services and their maintenance requirements so that the building can be operated in such a manner as to use no more fuel and energy than is reasonable.

“SEAI registered BER assessors are the only design team engineering professionals who can issue the, now compulsory, Building Energy Rating Certificate and Irish building regulations Part ‘L’ compliancy document for new dwellings upon completion.” Now reading all these points separately, or as a whole, it is my opinion that that these targets (1-6 above), although now mandatory, can be easily incorporated into new ‘A’ rated building design as a matter of course. In fact, as the next wave of building for a new generation kicks off over the coming months and years, efficiency and compliance will be better achieved by smarter design. In 2016, if we are serious about building energy efficient homes for the future, the key is to get it right at design stage and not just rely on incorporating technology at the end in order to meet the

criteria. We already have the necessary software, with trained and skilled independent energy professionals, that we can easily see with a simple ‘Pass’ or ‘Fail’ section at the end of the DEAP calculation process whether, or not, a building is in compliance with Irish Building Regulations Part ‘L’. This is a huge advantage to architects, engineers, builders and developers alike. Remember, the BER system was introduced so as to finally put a value on the energy efficiency of a building, and to put a minimum

standard on the performance that a newly constructed dwelling in Ireland must achieve. Looking at residential properties for sale in the newspapers and online over the last few months and years, it is clear that the energy performance of the house or apartment does impact the value and, ultimately, the price. A stronger BER creates a stronger perception of the quality of the home; this benefits not only the environment and homeowners/tenants, it benefits the building sector generally.

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THE

INTERVIEW

Minister Simon Coveney

Our managing editor, Carol Tallon and industry guest editor, Robert Colleran of CBRE recently sat down with Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Simon Coveney to talk about the government’s action plan for housing, Rebuilding Ireland. Other items on the agenda included Budget 17, Brexit and the crucial and immediate role that property developers must play in order to solve Ireland’s housing crisis.

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Carol Tallon: From our reading of it, 12,000 of the 25,000 anticipated new dwellings will be delivered by way of local authorities and Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs). This leaves 13,000 to be delivered through developers and private building - is this accurate? If so, what is planned to stimulate the private development sector? Minister Coveney: Those numbers aren’t quite right, we are talking about 25,000 housing units. There aren’t necessarily 12,000 new housing units being constructed that are social housing; it will depend. So the mix, in terms of the 47,000 social houses that we are going to add to the social housing stock over the next 5/6 years, will come from a combination of built and acquired. We will see new builds moving from just over 2,000 to over 6,000 by 2021. And we will move, in terms of acquisitions, from nearly 2,000 up to nearly 2,300. In terms of leasing, it starts from 200 this year up to just

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over 2,000, through the kind of models that are dynamic and facilitate through a build, sale or a long time lease to improve the housing body that can then lease on to social housing. Just to be clear, the suggestion that nearly half of the houses that are built in the next six years would be social housing would not be accurate. We need to get up to a figure - we think that by 2019 we can get to a figure of about 25,000 units built a year – but, to be honest, we need to go beyond that and get up close to 35,000 units a year, for what I think is a sustained period of a decade, to get to where we need to be. I think by the time that decade is over, the increase in population in Ireland is going to mean that we are going to need to sustain a figure of building between, certainly, 30,000 to 40,000 units a year definitely into the future. The question is where we build those and how quickly we can get up to that level in terms of skillsets on sites, finance, getting a planning system that works, to make decisions that are consistent and efficient. And there are loads of things we can do to change that and then, of course, there is affordability to houses that are built.

Carol: I am interested to hear about the plan for the delivery through the private sector. Minister Coveney: The vast majority of housing units are going to be built by the private sector. If we can get up to 25,000 housing units being built each year over the next six years, it’s well over 100,000 units and maybe, in terms of new builds, about 26,000 units would be social; so more than three quarters of houses would be private. If you look at that big site, O’Devaney Gardens, we think that can accommodate up to 600 units. We got an agreement in principle from councillors that we met today that 50 per cent of those will be private; 30 per cent of those would be social and 20 per cent would be

Robert: And that’s gifted back. Minister Coveney: It won’t be gifted- see we have to pay for social housing. This department will pay for that but there will be other obvious costs linked to the access to land to build private housing, whether its amenity value, monetary value or whether it’s doing a deal on the affordable rental scheme. But there are a number of big sites in Dublin. Robert: Cherrywood…

affordable rental. We said that if they can agree a plan on that basis, we will go to the private market to invite design concepts consistent with the development plan for that site, which is mixed development; mixed tenure, mixed use but with up to 600 housing units of different sizes, shapes and heights and so on. On a big site that’s in a real strategic location – it’s next to the Luas, university campuses, a park – it’s got the rivers so it’s a great site. We think we will get a lot of interest in this new type of development in Ireland, which is essentially a partnership between a private developer and a local authority, where the local authority essentially provides the land, which is a big part of the cost delivering any development. But in return for that, they get a development built that is in and around 50 per cent private and the remainder being affordable and social.

Minister Coveney: Cherrywood is a huge site, I mean that’s an SDZ (strategic development zone). Cherrywood would be very much be a private development but obviously, under Part Five 10 per cent of all these units would be social. We have a €200m fund now, which we have already issued a call for. The projects that get that money would be the projects that can deliver housing units quickly, with the right type of design, so on and so forth. Robert: Have you engaged with Dublin port? Obviously the glass bottle site is there, and you have the Dublin port land just linking to it. Minister Coveney: We have issued an invitation to local authorities to come back with projects that require some infrastructure or funding to be able to deliver a lot of housing units. Anybody who wants to get a slice of that money, has to work through the local authority. What they did in Cork City was that Cork City Council actually put an ad in the paper

a few days ago to private developers, and to any other interested parties that have big projects that can deliver housing units but the impediment is infrastructure. The message was to come and talk to us and we will see if we can apply for it. And the same is happening in Limerick. You would expect it to be dominated by Dublin and, to a certain extent, other cities as well. Carol: Is that in place of any, say incentive or stimulus to the private sector? Minister Coveney: No, first of all, if you speak to a developer and ask them why they are not building at the moment, they will say the cost of building a house is beyond what many people can afford. Therefore we are not building; we are not making the margin that we need to make. Part of the cost of developing at the minute is the infrastructure and the infrastructure levies to go with that. We are looking to intervene to actually make the numbers add up to get people building. The other thing is to use the public land to build private housing as well as the public housing, to get the kind of mixed tenure communities that we are looking for, in terms of broad policy. We are also potentially providing the most expensive part of building a house for nothing to developers, which is a site cost. If you look at the fairly independent assessment of the cost of building a house in Dublin, €60,000 of site cost, if you can provide that for nothing, then you would expect that houses for selling today for €320,000 or €340,000 could be selling

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for €280,000 and, all of a sudden, it becomes much more affordable. Our focus is on how we spend money and how we use State assets; firstly, to incentivise buildings to get people moving and, secondly, it’s about bringing down the cost of a house to make it more affordable, particularly for a first time buyer. Carol: Tom Parlon of Construction Federation Ireland (CIF), in an interview with our magazine, said that his members were broadly supportive of the plan, in theory, but they are still pushing for some level of incentive i.e. reduction (even temporarily) of the VAT. Is this an option? Minister Coveney: There are number of ways in which we can introduce a help to buy scheme. Robert: Is that similar to the UK system? Minister Coveney: We are unlikely to replicate the UK system, which is the State taking an equity in property. I think we are more likely to look at some kind of a tax rebate system for first time buyers. Carol: Would that only apply to newly built houses? Minister Coveney: I think it has to, because what we don’t want to do is to increase the buying power for first-time buyers in the second time market, which just heats the market which is already over

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heated. Which is bizarre that we have elements of the property market overheated, even though nearly half of the people who would like to buy a house at the moment, the entire first time market can’t afford to get a mortgage to buy most of those houses. Literally there was no building of any note in the big cities for a decade - there is a huge pent-up demand. The problem, in terms of new build, is that the gap between the cost of building a house and what a first time buyer can afford in terms of mortgage is about €40,000 or so, and we need to narrow it. We need to use the kind of measures that I was talking about already, to reduce the cost of building a house. We also need to help first time buyers in terms of affordability to buy; accessing mortgages and raising deposits and so on. It’s not finalised yet but I think the more likely approach will be to not to have VAT exemption actually, because what that would do is benefit everybody. We are trying to improve the capacity of first time buyers to be able to compete in the new house market. We will restrict a tax rebate for firsttime buyers, but it will be the buyer who gets the rebate not the house builder. Michael [Noonan] hasn’t finalised it yet but I think this will be a likely approach. I think we will try to ensure that we help first time buyers to access new homes. The big problem is there aren’t any new homes for them at the moment. When you have first time buyers demanding houses and being able to afford to buy at reasonable price, that is going to drive, in my view, developers to build a lot more houses for that market. I think they can do it quite quickly because we have a lot of planning permissions, we have a lot of our own land and we have lot of developers in my view who have the

capacity to build and finance those projects now, if they feel that there is a quantity of first time buyers to buy them. Anything we do cannot continue to heat up demand, what it has to do is drive supply. If we were to introduce incentives and help to buy schemes for first-time buyers for second-hand houses, I think I would come under a lot of criticism. The big problem here is supply, so everything we need to do needs to be about driving supply; social houses, affordable houses, houses for first-time buyers and houses for families. Robert: What about the private rental sector market? That’s a huge market in the UK, basically where the developer builds solely for the rental market. Minister Coveney: It’s a big part, but I think we have had a broken rental market in Ireland for as long as I can remember. The vast majority of rental properties in Ireland are owned by the landlords, who only have one or two properties, some of them section 23. Some of them just bought an apartment because they were seeing capital appreciation of 10-15 per cent a year and they wanted a stake in that. I think a lot of people who bought apartments over the last 15 years in their 30s or 40s were people who are looking to sell those apartments again at higher price, so the price would keep going up and up. And now they are

renting them out probably not at a big margin, a lot of them had loss. A lot of those people want to get out of being a landlord. As soon as the prices come up to ensure that they no longer have a negative equity, I think they will look to get out of the market. And that’s a bit of problem in terms of supply of good rental accommodation, as there are lot of landlords getting out of the market at the moment as prices increase. What we need are big institutional investors, big developers building large developments specifically for rent. In the Budget we will also look to encourage institutional investors and investors in being professional landlords, building high quality apartments. The other thing we are going to do before the end of the year is that we are going to change rental policy in a way that tries to ensure that the appetite for building rental specific developments remains intact and we encourage it even more. Also, we encourage consumers to look at renting for longer term, if they want to do that, if they are not in a rush to buy. Most of the people who rent in Ireland are either students that are transition or they can’t afford to buy. One of the ways that you can insulate against creating property bubbles that can burst and

collapse is to have more people in the rental sector, because it gives them more options. They don’t have huge equity being tied up, they don’t have risk of big negative equity and huge debt management problems in the context of a crash and they have much more flexibility to move around. There also needs to be a recognition that we have a very different family structures; lots of people living on their own, lots of couples living on their own without children, lots of family breakup situations and lots of movement in terms of workforces and so on. We will certainly encourage significant investment in large scale rental-only developments, we will try to encourage that in the Budget. Robert: What about the trading down market? For example, your parents might be older, they are living in standard 4/5-bedroom house in south Dublin. Will you do anything to try to encourage them to trade down and free up housing? Minister Coveney: Certainly, there is quite a bit on that in the strategy. We would like to see, as part of mixed developments, houses designed specifically for elderly people. There are some really good examples in Dublin and outside of Dublin, of community developments. People in their 70s, 80s and sometimes in their 90s, that are well able to run their own homes, but what they want is security. They don’t want a massive house that they need to heat and look

after and pay rates on; what they want is a friendly neighbourhood, security, good lighting, good infrastructure that is easy and cost-effective to manage. I think they will sell much larger family properties to move into this new type of development and there is lot of anecdotal evidence to support this. Carol: Does government see the developer community as potential solution-providers in addressing the chronic lack of supply?

Minister Coveney:

They [developers] are the most important solution providers and that’s the reality. You will get a lot of people driven by the sort of ideology and politics that being a developer is almost a bad word a bit like bankers have been and politicians also for a while. The reality is we need risk-takers; we need people who can raise money, who are willing to borrow, who are willing to invest in and deliver large projects and to take the risk that comes with that and drive those projects and find a way to make a margin.

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Robert: Are there plans in place to relax planning requirements for purpose built student accommodation to improve the viability of this form of development?

We have a very broken property market and construction sector in Ireland around housing that we are trying to fix. There are multiple strands to the solutions that we need to put in place but without developers and builders we are going nowhere. The State cannot house everybody and shouldn’t be expected to either. The role of the State, for me, is to provide housing supports for people who need that but to also encourage as many people as possible, and as high percentage as possible, to be able to make their own way, in terms of housing need, as regards affordability. And that’s why it’s important that we have a tenure mix and have different types of housing for different types sectors in the market. I think the best and most efficient way to provide that is through the private sector and through developers, but the State needs to supplement that. Our housing stock, in terms of social housing stock, is too small; it’s between 7 and 8 per cent of our total stock. The average in Europe is between 17 and 18 per cent and we need to close that gap somewhat and that’s why we have a big social housing programme. But actually most of those social houses will be built by private developers.

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Minister Coveney: First of all, not necessarily, there are no huge problems in terms of student accommodation at the moment. There is a strong appetite at the moment. There are about 10,000 student accommodation units in train at the moment either in planning, in preparation for planning or under construction in Dublin, Galway and Cork. We need all of those by the way, and more. We need good quality student accommodation, but then it’s a different type of accommodation. I recently launched a new scheme in UCD, which is super scheme. There are six units to one communal area, high quality student accommodation on campus which is where we wanted. It makes lot of sense from a transport point of view, from a social point of view and so on. You will see us pushing very hard on student accommodation. We think there are about 25,000 students in the private rental market at the moment. We need to get lot of that grouping out of the private rental market into student specific accommodation and free up space for many other people who can’t find a rental accommodation at the moment. Robert: Will you be focusing in around the docklands - North Lotts and Grand Canal Dock - that type of area for student apartments?

Minister Coveney: You can see what’s happening in the Docklands at the moment. There is a lot of development going on, a lot of them will be rental accommodation, which is what we need. Not far away from there we have a big Glass Bottle site on which, we think, we can put thousands of units. When you come down the quays, there are a number of big redevelopment projects. O’Devaney Gardens will probably end up close to €100m, working with a developer, to build at least 50 per cent private housing as part of a big development. You come across the city, there is a big redevelopment project, which is about €23m for Dolphin House. We are trying to regenerate parts of the city that need that kind of an investment, but that doesn’t mean we are not focusing on and trying to facilitate large scale private developments too. I am a big believer in high quality communities in the city centre and on brown field sites. We have a lot of dereliction in Dublin still. We have a lot of sites that are essentially lying idle that could facilitate quite significant, and in some cases high-density, developments. That’s why, I think, we should be looking at reasonable height as well at some of those sites.

Robert: Height restriction is 13.5 metres and that includes the lift core, would you be relaxing any of those? Minister Coveney: I don’t have the control to directly do that, local authorities need to decide on these things. Obviously I have influence over those decisions and we can speak councillors about that. In the Docklands, in my view, we have potential for much higher building, but it must be of good quality. We not talking about flat complexes here, we are talking about dynamic, interesting, architecturally spectacular tall buildings that can add to the financial services sector in Dublin in very interesting way. It’s not all about Dublin, we already have one very large high-end apartment complex in Cork, which has a chequered history, and which is now in leasing talks that could be full by the end of the year. And I see the Docklands in Cork potentially has housing capacity of 10,000 or 12,000 people over the next 20 years. Carol: In light of that, why is the vacant site levy delayed? Minister Coveney: It is not delayed; we would introduce a vacant site tax tomorrow if we could - I would anyway - but that would be both unreasonable and probably illegal. If you are going to penalise somebody for inactivity, you have to give them due opportunity to ramp

up activity, which means you have to give them time to get planning, to get finance in place, to get building capacity in place and so on. The advice from the Attorney General is that if we are going to introduce a vacant site tax, that we can’t really do anything until late 2018/2019, because we have to give people a couple of years to show that they have been given a fair timeframe. Carol: From your perspective has that timeframe started? Minister Coveney: Yes; I mean, I have no time for people who are buying land on a speculative basis in Dublin, and in other parts of Ireland. Already we are seeing ridiculously high prices being paid for land in certain places. The anecdotal evidence suggests that, in some places, they are not being purchased by builders and developers, they are purchased by funds that actually look at the Irish property market and say it’s only going in one direction so let’s take a stake in that and sell it on in few years’ time. We really want to try to discourage that and if we can find a way doing it through the tax system, we will do it. I want builders and developers buying land for building and getting on building on them. I don’t want people looking to take a slice of margin out of that and forcing builders and developers to buy at higher prices, which then results in them having to sell houses at higher prices to be able to pay for that. That’s the kind of crazy snowball that was created during the boom times where builders made more money therefore they competed for sites, sites got more expensive, therefore prices for houses get more

expensive to pay for that and went on and on; building, building and then it just collapsed. That is not going to be allowed to happen again. What we need is a calm, stable predictable property market in Ireland, that drives good value in terms of margin for developers who are building good quality properties and that gives predictability and security of tenure for tenants in a rental market. And, most importantly, this allows young families, without regards to what age they are, to be able to afford to buy a house within reason. I think all those things are achievable but there are lot of different strands and challenges that we have to overcome to make it all happen.

What I would say to the development community is that we need you, as the heartbeat of this strategy in many ways, willing to take risk, wanting to comeback to Ireland, to build within the right places and my department will help you do that. My department will work with local authorities to help you do it. We are changing the planning system to bring more certainty and more pace to the planning decision making process.

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Robert: That’s for developments over the 100 units? Minister Coveney: Yes, that’s over the 100 units; they will have to go through a pre-planning process with the local authority and with An Bord Pleanála and then apply directly to An Bord Pleanála They will get a decision in 16 to 20 weeks. These are zoned sites for housing, in preplanning all of that work will be done. The message will go out to developers - we want quality applications and An Bord Pleanála will then make a decision, yes or no, in a relatively short time. If you want to build 400 houses in Ireland, you could potentially get planning in 20 weeks. Carol: I have spoken with many developers over the last few months and they all come back to this one common problem - delays in planning. Minister Coveney: Maybe 24 weeks would be more accurate at the end, but the idea is that you would get to go through entire planning process, including preplanning consultation, in 24 weeks. It’s something that developers would take your arm off for. It will certainly make a lot easier to finance projects. What some developers say to me is that the planning process in Ireland takes so long, and such a lack of certainty in terms of what you are going to get at the end of it, that it’s actually very hard to get finance in place for projects. We have taken that on board; we are going to legislate for that; you will see what that legislation looks like over the next few weeks. That’s one of many areas, where we

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are going to try and make Ireland building-friendly again in terms of making things happen. Having said that, we will demand a high quality application so that we are building communities and not just houses. This isn’t about acres and acres of housing units, this is about mixed tenure, it’s about building community facilities and sporting facilities. I want to send out a very clear and strong message that Ireland is up and running again when it comes to construction. There is huge demand for new homes in Ireland and refurbished vacant properties and we are going to help people to increase the capacity to access the mortgage and to be able to afford to buy. And we are certainly going to help developers to make a fair margin out of building and we are going to create a new rental market in Ireland that makes sense for investors and as well as tenants. I think if we can do that in a relatively short period of time, from a policy and legislative point of view, this industry will take off by itself after that.

Carol: I have a question from Irish developer, Declan White of Monford Group, based in Australia: Do you expect to see an increased demand for housing in Ireland post-Brexit and, if so, what is the government doing to meet the calls for high-end homes to meet the demands of executives that might possibly be relocating from London, or elsewhere, to Dublin? Minister Coveney: I think developers will meet that need because there is real margin in that area. The houses that are being built at the moment in Dublin are in places where there is very high demand, and they are building in some cases very high quality accommodation and are getting very high prices for them already. That’s where lot of developers see a guaranteed margin. The answer to that question is, yes, I think that will happen, it remains to be seen what the impact of Brexit will be in terms of people moving to Ireland, but undoubtedly I think there will be some companies - particularly in financial services sector - looking to come to Ireland, particularly to Dublin and Cork and with that will come a demand for high-end housing for executives and highly-paid people. I will be very surprised if developers and builders didn’t meet that demand. That’s the sector that there is already significant margin on, and that margin would increase as the buying power increases with those type of people coming to Ireland.

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INDUSTRY FOCUS

Carol Tallon talks to Tom Parlon AB OUT SIMON C OVE N EY ’S AC TION PL A N

HOUSING & HOMELESSNESS:

REBUILDING IREL AND

I n d u s t ry r e ac t i o n t o

The Plan Carol Tallon spoke to Construction Industry Federation Director General, Tom Parlon, to discuss his members’ reaction to Coveney’s...

Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Rebuilding Ireland

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Five pillars and one common theme – supply.

Successful delivery of each pillar depends upon the industry taking action to remedy that one overarching issue. And there can be no ambiguity about this; only the industry can deliver on the plan. At this stage, the government’s role is merely to facilitate and provide whatever help is needed so that the industry can start building the units needed for social and private housing. With such a clear but monumental task in hand, Irish Property Developer reached out to the CIF team to see whether, in fact, its members are ready to get started and what needs to happen next.

1. to address 2. to accelerate 3. to build 4. to improve the 5. to utilise

Tom Parlon is a refreshingly straight-talker. He has been broadly positive about the aspirations of the plan but is realistic as to its ultimate success, which lies in the execution of proposed measures by the industry. In a statement issued after the announcement of the plan he said:

“There is widespread agreement that the housing supply shortage is a major challenge facing Irish society. [This] strategy is a welcome step in addressing this challenge of unlocking supply in a sustainable way. The ambitious targets set out today will only be achieved if these measures support house building activity and there is coordinated follow through by all stakeholders including the industry, government and local authorities.” The key measures that he was referring to include: the Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund of €200m; the new Housing Delivery Office in the Department of Housing Planning and Local Government; and the proposed fast track planning process for larger developments. While these measures are described as “very helpful”, they are really only the start. The CIF and its members will need to work with the Department of Housing and other government agencies to increase the output of quality homes – built in the right areas - over the next five years.

homelessness social housing more homes rental sector existing housing

“There is no housing that we don’t need more of - social, residential, student. It is a massive relief to see more student housing coming on stream, this will take heat from the market.” This plan is the most extensive and coordinated approach we have seen in recent decades, and it needs to be such, as we are in the midst of tackling the worst housing crisis of recent decades. Earlier initiatives were seen as reactionary as best, and while emergency situations require emergency reactions, the overall sustainable health of the housing market requires a strategy that takes in the entire spectrum, from emergency and social housing, to private rental and private ownership. The detail of the plan, in terms of delivery, certainly focuses on homelessness first and then social housing, putting a greater emphasis on delivery through local authorities and Approved Housing Bodies (AHB). This does not exactly invite private developers, and even contractors, to a seat at the table.

“Our members appreciate that homelessness is a mega problem that needs to be prioritised. Of the 18,000 hotel rooms available per night, 600 of these are in use as emergency accommodation. We understand the reality but there needs to be a focus beyond that”.

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Speaking at the MacGill Summer School, he said that the Government had been “inclined to exclude the construction industry because of the blame that they chose to give the industry”. In a recent interview with Minister Coveney, I put this very point to him and asked whether, in fact, he viewed developers and builders as part of any housing solution. The Minster was unequivocal. “They are the most important solution providers and that’s the reality. You will get a lot of people driven by the sort of ideology and politics that being developer is almost a bad word, a bit like bankers have been and politicians also for a while. The reality is we need risk-takers; we need people who can raise money, who are willing to borrow; who are willing to invest in and deliver large projects and to take the risk that comes with that and drive those projects and find a way to make margin”, he said. So what needs to happen now?

“The hard cost of building is only half of the actual building costs, that is, foundations, blocks, plastering, facilities etc. That is all less than half of the overall cost. The Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland reported that the build cost of a €330,000 three-bed semi in

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Dublin is €155,000. The rest is the site cost, VAT, development levies and Part V.” According to Tom, his members are ready. What needs to happen now involves a range of measures to address ancillary costs and buyer affordability. As he explains, the cost of housing is effectively doubled by the time it is offered to the end user. This is a huge problem for first-time buyers and other owneroccupiers, who find their lending capacity cut and their deposit requirements increased by recent Central Bank rule changes. His members need to be able to build and deliver housing within the market at a price level that makes economic sense for them but also at a level that buyers can access mortgages sufficient to purchase.

“Credit has never been so available and so cheap. We have the capacity to build but can only get funding if we can guarantee the units can sell; banks want to see mortgage approved buyers.” Currently the rate of VAT on building houses is charged at 13.5 per cent. The CIF has long been campaigning for a sector-wide VAT reduction to nine per cent, even on a

temporary basis, similar to that granted to the hospitality sector, which proved hugely successful. They have put a proposition to government that such a reduction should be considered for an initial two-year period at least. In fact, a Grant Thornton report commissioned by the CIF last year demonstrated that output would only need to increase by a level of 16 per cent in order for the State to recoup the cost of this VAT reduction. Any increase in excess of that 16 per cent would be additional revenue for the State coffers. By way of comparison, it is worth noting that the majority of house building in Northern Ireland and the UK is zero-rated or reduced-rated for VAT purposes.

“The bigger picture is that house building is labour intensive; 10,000 new homes means 20,000 new jobs”, he said. To finish, I asked Tom about his current level of optimism, given that he is dealing with a new Minister in a newly created ministry to which he responded:

“There are always naysayers and opposition but I think the Minister appreciates the challenge.”

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INDUSTRY FOCUS

Disrup ting

the market

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ounding director of the Atelier Group and general disruptor of the Irish student housing market, Matthew McAdden, is a busy man. He divides his time, alternating weeks, between his home in Oxford and the business in Dublin. When in Dublin, he leads a team of close to 40 employees, but I suspect his weeks in Oxford keep him on his toes too, with three pre-teen children. Matthew is clearly a driven man, but he has a clear and admirable sense of his priorities. He was generous with his time and forthcoming in sharing his insights about the sector. His early career saw him specialise in structured finance and financial risk management before joining UNITE London more than a decade ago. That company was focused on the student housing market across the UK and within seven years had developed and managed in excess of 7,000 student beds, with a value of £1 billion, and an annual turnover of £75m. Over the course of his career to date, Matthew has been involved in managing the acquisition, development and operation of £1.5 billion in property assets.

Interestingly, UNITE tried to gain entry into the Irish market back in 2006 to 2009. However, the company was unable to gain traction in Dublin.

As Matthew recalls from that time: ‘ There was a perception that Ireland was too expensive and there was no land selling.” But Matthew kept his eyes firmly fixed on the Irish market. His father originally hails from County Westmeath and Matthew credits his Irish cousins for keep him updated on the market here. Since its founding in 2009, Atelier has been a contender in the UK market, ramping up to annual rental operations of £8 million across 1,200 beds. However, there is no suggestion that Atelier is anything but an Irish company. The chairman and nonexecutive directors are all Irish. Furthermore, the company has – very recently – disposed of all UK-based assets in order to fully concentrate on developing the portfolio in Ireland.

Exiting the UK market Atelier has been in the process of exiting the UK market for a few years;. Earlier this year, after a lengthy seven-month negotiation, it reached agreement with a UK REIT to sell its remaining assets in Edinburgh for £57 million. On the morning of the ‘Brexit’ results announcement, its buyer backed out. Their decision not to proceed was a direct result of the referendum result.

Matthew explained that, at the time, despite having a keen under bidder, he was not confident of securing a sale. Fortunately, as the property was performing well, with 15 years of guaranteed income in place, the company was in a position to retain and continue to manage the asset.

“We assumed that we wouldn’t replace that buyer but it was not a big deal because of our 15 year leases anyway.” As matters transpired, the under-bidder decided to proceed and an agreement was reached in mid-August to dispose of the Edinburgh residences. Brexit further reaffirmed Atelier’s earlier decision to focus exclusively on the Irish market.

Doing business in Ireland We discussed the operational differences between the two markets. Matthew confirmed that Irish students, focused on their studies, are generally “hardworking and well-behaved” whereas in the UK, the tenant behaviour was “variable, from good to atrocious”. At the moment Atelier’s student brand, Ziggurat, owns 200 student beds in Stillorgan. The company manages a further 288 in Cork for Lone Star fund and reports no problems.

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“My main influence has been a gentleman who was my rowing coach while at college. He had promised to spend two weeks coaching us prior to a major race. Shortly before the period of coaching began, he started the process of selling his business. Despite this being, at that time, a major transaction for him, he honoured his pledge to us and every day for two weeks he travelled a three-hour round trip to spend two hours with us. He sold his business and we performed very well in the event. I was struck by his integrity in continuing with an unpaid activity when he was in the middle of a major business transaction. I continued to stay in touch with him and have relied on his guidance frequently in my career.”

Matthew is similarly complimentary about business environment here. He describes the Irish market as an “excellent place to do business”. The local authorities are very much open for business and while they stick to the letter of the law - or the letter of the plan as the case may be – they are willing to facilitate progress. Significantly for him, the universities are open to talks.

nine years in London, he shared with me that “everything was painful; the local authority did not like student accommodation; it was expensive, complex, hard work, not particularly welcoming to property businesses.”

When questioned about how this is different to doing business in the UK, he spoke plainly. Athough the property process is basically the same, the legal process is slightly different. Speaking of his

Matthew and the team have ambitious plans to continue with their disruption of the student housing market. They are currently raising €400 million to deliver an additional 4,000 beds

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The future opportunity that is ‘student housing’ over the next five years. Theirs is currently the most significant and concrete plan to deliver housing in this sector, and there is certainly no company better placed to achieve this. Of the €400 million,

half of this will come from investor equity already in place and the balance will come in the form of bank debt. Bank of Ireland was a key partner in the Montrose development and it seems likely

that that relationship has strengthened over time. Atelier has recently acquired a number of strategic sites in key university catchment areas around Dublin, Cork and Galway. And this is good news. Ireland does not have a great track record providing purposebuilt student accommodation and with the rental market currently reaching crisis point, removing the student population from the general rental market should go some way towards easing the supply/demand mismatch. In addition to the strong management team and the polished model of service delivery, Ziggurat depends upon a tailored, integrated digital marketing platform that allows the company to interact with their student tenants in a way that works for this generation. Impressed with the company’s IP and approach to maximising emerging technology, I quiz Matthew on his tech skills:

“I still use a Blackberry. I get a lot of comment from my children who find this very funny but I find it excellent for sending long and complex emails while on the move.” While it is easy to be blinded by the obvious need in the market for the type of housing it provides, the reality is that Atelier is more than a property business delivering student housing solutions. It is, in essence, an investment vehicle with a mission to achieve high level returns. This explains why, after a successful and rapid – turnaround, the Montrose student residence has recently been offered for sale through Dublin agency, Savills. The strategy

at the time of acquiring this asset was always to fill it and sell it. This business model is not one that is familiar in the Irish marketplace, where tradition dictates that performing assets are retained. However, at the time of acquiring this, back in 2012/2013, the Dublin market was considered high risk. Investors needed sight of a workable exit strategy.

“We needed to demonstrate how the whole thing works, from start to finish.” Of course, as Matthew himself pointed out, recovery in the market happened faster than anyone might have imagined. Looking ahead, many of the same investors will stay with the fund while Atelier completes on a further round of site purchases; these future assets are being developed with a view to holding them long term. When discussing risk in the long and short term, Matthew reiterates that fundamentals underlying student residences were always sound and this is likely to continue. Investor returns annually from 12 to 15 per cent reinforce this view.

FOR SALE: Montrose Student Residence, Stillorgan Road, Dublin 4. Guide price €41,500,000 Kevin McMahon, Savills Contact +353 (0) 1 618 1328

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INDUSTRY FOCUS

W h e n pas s i o n

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MEETS PURPOSE

HIBERNIA C.200k sq feet of office development coming on stream from Windmill Lane (late 2017) and Sir John Rogerson’s Quay (mid 2018) IRISH

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Carol Tallon meets

H I BER N IA R EI T C E O

Kevin Nowl an

KEVIN NOWLAN

CAROL TALLON

‘I love what I am doing - we are about transforming Dublin. And that’s what gets us up in the mornings. Naturally we are about making money for our shareholders but our ethos is about leaving a quality legacy behind us and great buildings and contributing positively to Dublin. Hopefully when people walk down Windmill Lane in 24 months, they will say ‘these guys are really good. They have done a great job.’

n preparing to meet the chief of one of Ireland’s largest real estate investment trusts, Hibernia REIT plc., I did my homework. I checked

out the company’s past and projected earnings; researched all acquisitions; and did some digging around for some non-sanitised information on the process behind the product. Having worked in the industry for more than a decade, I know first-hand the scepticism that all property companies encounter when trying to effect positive and much-needed change. The bigger the company and greater the profits, the more intense the scepticism. This is undoubtedly why the new era’s industry figure-heads are a media-shy bunch.

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So I understood the opportunity that presented; I was getting to meet the man behind one of Ireland’s most successful property machines in recent years. But that’s not exactly what transpired. Firstly, Hibernia is no mere machine. Certainly, it operates with a mechanical scale, precision and speed that is quite unfamiliar in the Irish marketplace, but there is a palpable heartbeat running through this organisation. 1SJRQ SOBO DISTRICT

From the moment I arrived at South Dock House, nothing was as I expected. The offices are vibrant and, unusually, not over-staffed; with people moving around and chatting in hallways. It is a snapshot of the agile working conditions that Hibernia has championed for its high-tech commercial tenants throughout their own portfolio. The décor forgoes the pomp that traditional property businesses of this magnitude usually opt for; it has an edge to it that isn’t common but lends itself perfectly to its emerging docklands setting. The boardroom is elegantly modern, and there is the distinct feeling that people don’t sit for too long in any one seat.

work every day. “Cycling is my yoga,” he told me when I expressed wonder about how he managed to thrive personally with such a hectic work life. “I would go mad if I didn’t do some sort of exercise so I cycle in and out nearly every day from Dún Laoghaire. I play tennis regularly and I have a group of mates, we go cycling, one or two trips a year. My yoga is cycling, in and out every day. That’s where I get my head space.”

Energise.

CEO Kevin Nowlan is waiting for me as I arrive. True to Hibernia form, Kevin is not a stereotypical property chief. This engaging father-of-three has a youthful energy that belies his decades of immersion in the industry. Not a man removed from his work and his vision for Dublin; he knows the city and its inhabitants. He spends most days in the docklands area. In fact, he cycles into

At one point in the interview, he gets up from his seat at the opposite side of the suitablyimpressive boardroom table and pulls a chair alongside me, spreads the maps and plans before me and waits for me to take it all in. When I fail to get there fast enough, he starts to point out the strategic locations; the historic significance; the sheer audacity of the riverside landscape; and the innovative reach of Hibernia’s SOBO design. It is undeniably spectacular. 09 19 //20 10

Stimulating work setting With 1SJRQ as your base you are in a prime position to attract and motivate millennial workforces and top talent.

We have plenty of governance in the property industry, what we were lacking in the past was true and meaningful leadership; leadership not by virtue of portfolio size or value, but by genuine visionaries inspiring and manifesting the change that Ireland needs. But this is changing; when we count the thought-leaders making things happen in the post-recovery marketplace, Hibernia’s Kevin Nowlan will be among them.

A verdant new public realm and artisan retail cluster will transform Windmill Lane, creating a cool new urban social space linked by the Liffey riverwalk to its counterpoint at Grand Canal Square.

Early years with NAMA

It is fair to say that this was not the person I had expected to meet. The man before me was not cagey but brimming with enthusiasm for what had been created so far and what is yet to be delivered. Kevin is driven by passion and purpose, as a result of this, SOBO – Dublin’s newest district - has been created with the same enthusiasm. The potential simply bounds off the pages of specs and mock-ups that he passes across the table.

Kevin spoke of his time in NAMA in those allimportant early years. In particular, he recalled the value of ‘early wins’ when discussing the agency’s initial strategy of selling off larger prime commercial property outside of Ireland. “It was the only place we could sell these. There was no marketing in Ireland at that time. It was a very deliberate strategy. That slowly started to change. One Warrington was probably the first big office deal that was done in the market in the new era. That had to be done with stakeholder funding or stakeholder finance. NAMA actually had to fund that itself to be able to get away and, slowly, things started to improve.” Kevin describes NAMA as an interesting place to work but certainly a tough place to toil. He expresses his pride at the contribution he made there but also in the agency; the team there did substantial work. NAMA has performed objectively well and over-achieved what it set out to do. When asked about leaving NAMA, he had this to say: “I always said I would do three years in NAMA that was how long that I wanted to do. By end of 2012 I had started to get close to mid-way through my third year, I could see that NAMA had sold a lot of

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its foreign assets, a lot of UK assets, a lot of US assets and the beginning was starting to happen in terms of the ability to leverage Irish assets and they was going to be an opportunity. One of the big things that I could see was who was going to be the longterm owner of assets in Ireland. There were very few players because most of the model had been built on banking relationships; family money; private individuals; and that was the way our property industry had been built for the last 20 or 30 years. But you could see that was going to change because there was no equity base in that network anymore because of what was going to happen.”

a fund but we didn’t know exactly how we were going to do it.” Kevin describes the REIT structure as “fantastic for the market” and the control over their own capital gave the organisation an ability to make decisions quickly. In fact, he attributes that autonomy and resulting speed as the secret of Hibernia’s early success as they were better able to compete in the market without having to go to credit committees and so on. Meetings would be convened within a matter of hours and decisions made shortly thereafter. It is unsurprising that many of Hibernia’s deals – approximately 80 per cent - have been ‘off-market.’ “We were entrepreneurial and we bought a lot of debt.”

were rented at €25 to €30 per square foot - because it was our view that the rents are going to dramatically increase. Development wasn’t a part of it, there were about three angles to it. The number one was we bought under-rented assets, so we liked buildings rented €25 to €30 a square foot so we didn’t want to buy building rented in the peak in 2004 and 2005. We felt the reversion ambiguity review would be much better on those and would enhance our portfolio. “Secondly, we liked refurbishment and I think thirdly, the big issue we felt was around who are going to be new developers. This is to say, who is going to have the equity base to be able to actually do speculative development? I think our strategy was it won’t be as risky if we do it early in the cycle, so we actually took on a view that we will take on kind of riskier projects earlier and that’s why we targeted Windmill Lane; Sir John Rogerson’s Quay; and Harcourt Square rather than focusing purely on buying dry assets. “Our view is that there will be more profit made early in the cycle. You could see that 95 per cent of our development community was unfortunately wiped out, and our view was to consider who was going to replace them. You can see now there is only a handful of people who have actually replaced the multiple of individuals and families that used to this in the industry.

The introduction of REITs into the Irish market by Kevin’s father, Bill of WK Nowlan, was very much instrumental in getting the REIT legislation off the ground, having set up the REIT format in 2011. “Bill has been trying to get REITs into Ireland for about the last 30 years, since he worked in Irish Life, because Irish life was worth 60 per cent of the market and it couldn’t ever get any department to work with it on big projects. So it always had issues in terms of taking on big projects. Me, deciding to come back out of NAMA and going back to work for WK Nolan, and Bill’s journey in terms of getting the REIT legislation brought in, kind of overlapped at the end of 2012/2013. When I left, I left with an intention that we needed to set up

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We discussed the raising of capital initially for Hibernia: “The first thing you do is set out your strategy and we had a very simple strap-line. So, we went to meet investors - we had over 160 meetings to raise the first capital between probably August and December, mainly UK and US, some in Europe. Our very simple strap-line was that Dublin was a city centre office rental growth opportunity. That’s where we saw a play and we had a pretty simple strategy. “We said (A) we will buy within the canals; that was our preferred location, and (B) we wanted to buy under-rented buildings. We wanted to focus on buildings that had been rented in the time of over-supply - when the buildings

“The other view was that we felt the bank funding wasn’t going to be a big dominant feature anytime soon in the market. Again, that was going to give an organisation that had a lot of equity a big advantage because they can take on big projects. They didn’t need bank funding or because they were able to get fairly cheap money and basically finance their projects of the back of their rental income rather than actually just looking at financing individual projects. And that’s the way we work, so we have one big facility for the entire Hibernia and it’s secured both on our development assets and on our rental assets. That just means that we can be a lot cheaper and our gearing is very low, so low to value and at the moment I think it’s about 12 per cent. “

HARCOURT SQUARE

There has been so much uncertainty across the industry, not just in Ireland, but globally, that I was interested to find out about the non-successes. In particular, I was keen to know of assumptions Hibernia made during their early years that proved incorrect. In an evolving market, there is much to be learned from the mistakes of others. It is a cliché to say that hindsight is 20/20. But clichés become so for a reason, that is, they are generally true. Hibernia came into the Irish market after the most turbulent years, but we only know that to be true today. Back in 2013 and early 2014, the route to recovery was by no means apparent or inevitable. So I asked Kevin about incorrect decisions taken or perhaps opportunities that Hibernia let slip by in the early stages of lining up deals: “I think you never get everything perfectly right. We would have looked at a lot of opportunities, the amazing thing about that time is if you think about over the last 15 years the average volume of annual sales investments is about 2-3 billion. For a period of three to four years we were doing 15-20 billion a year. That was the opportunity that was there in terms of you have capital there was lot of opportunities, it was a very good time to deploy capital. An extraordinary moment in Irish history in the context of deleveraging the banks that was going on, in most economies something like that its €100 about, hopefully it would never happen to us again. “Getting capital out faster would have been better - we were very selective. I am happy with the decisions we made but you can never get it at 100 per cent. We had great investment committee, a great board. Naturally there were things that we lost out on, a couple of

deals that we wish now we had bought. We always have to be true to what we feel fair pricing is, and where we felt rents were going to go. In reality, nobody could have seen how aggressively rents have responded. We had a view but it wouldn’t have been as aggressive as its meant to go, it had changed more dramatically than we would have anticipated.”

What’s next for Hibernia “Setting up Hibernia was nuts, it’s basically full time 60 to 70 hours a week of work. You raise the capital and you think that’s the job done and then you have to deploy it and it’s a twoand-a-half-year job.” Kevin is optimistic about the improved state of the market. He describes it as being “much healthier” over the past six to nine months. One reason he cites for this is the return of European global pension fund money, that had been notably absent for the last 15 years. They are returning because Ireland once again is considered a good economy to buy in; the covenants are favourable, the returns work and, most importantly, this is now considered a safe place to put capital. The predominance of the buyers have been REITS

and public private equity, and the majority of the deleveraging been done over the last four or five years. This form of so-called conservative capital coming back into Ireland is good for Hibernia and its peers because they actually want to buy product that REITs end up delivering. This is different to the residential development, which is considered higher risk and even speculative; the longer term funds do not want to take that level of risk. In practice, they want to buy a building with 15 to 20 years of leases with the promise of long term income. “I think the market is much healthier now, you have got a number of four or five wellcapitalised, domestic players like ourselves, Green REIT, Kennedy Wilson, Irish life and a few individual families that have survived. The landscape is different, there are few players but they are bigger landlords and I do think that brings a little bit of more responsibility into the market… “I think where we are at this moment; you are seeing a lot of players focusing now on the development projects because that’s where the value is going to be over the next 24 to 36 months. You can see a lot of them have the fortune to buy good sites in the right places. As a consequence, they can now grow the construction capital to progress the projects. So you can see IRES, Green, ourselves and Kennedy Wilson are very active at the moment. The market is fundamentally changing I think you will see those organisations very much focusing on delivery now from next two to three years. “One of the big things we are doing with Hibernia at the moment is taking all the management of buildings internally. We are going to do it ourselves and that’s how generally all the UK REITs work but it has never been done in Ireland before. We are going to manage all of our properties ourselves. The level of service we are going to provide would be a big increase on what’s being already provided. We are really upping the standard of what we are about to design but also managing how the buildings work, longer servicing standards and a big amount of interaction with tenants. “

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Introducing Dublin’s Newest District

SOBO

Introducing SOBO, Dublin’s Newest District SOBO District is the connective hub where North and South Docklands meet; a dynamic, pedestrian friendly zone linking IFSC to Grand Canal Square. Spanning the riverfront between two of the city’s busiest bridges, SOBO (South of Beckett O’Casey) is alive with the buzz of revival. The twin bridges link the district to the National Convention Centre, the National College of Ireland and the 3Arena. SOBO District is an area rich in commercial and cultural heritage. Linking the Liffey, Grand Canal Basin and Pearse Station, it played a key role in the evolution of Dublin’s distillery, gasworks and ironworks sectors (many of the Tonge & Taggart manhole covers forged here are in use on our streets to this day). A Victorian centre of industry, the area resounded night and day with the sounds of enterprise.

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Fast forward to the 20th century and industrial workers were replaced by musicians and creatives, drawn by the reputation of the legendary Windmill Lane studios. The Joshua Tree album recorded here by U2 would go on to play an important part in Ireland’s elevation to the global stage. Now, SOBO District is at the heart of Dublin’s digital and fintech revolution, attracting companies like 3 and Verizon and bounded by businesses like Facebook, Google and Citi. The two buildings at the heart of the area’s revival are 1SJRQ and 1WML. These buildings will take centre stage in a revitalised neighbourhood, animated by a transformed Windmill Lane and engaging new streetscapes; its array of existing amenities enhanced by an exciting collection of artisan retailers. 1SJRQ, or numbers 1 - 6 Sir John Rogerson’s Quay, is a truly magnificent example of how modern and historical architecture can be combined to create something special. The six-storey building preserves its industrial heritage, seamlessly integrating the original Dublin Tramway entrance and two industrial era buildings into a modern Grade A office space. The designers evocatively describe it as light meeting water, and it works to dramatic and stunning effect. Monumental timber doors within the original Dublin Tramway façade open onto a spectacular 317 sq m garden courtyard flanked by a four-storey living green wall. The sculptural atrium soars 24 metres high, drawing light deep into the heart of the building. Panoramic full-height glazing systems will take full advantage of river views, while optimising natural light and lowering energy consumption throughout. 1WML, or number 1 Windmill Lane, will join 1SJRQ to complete a quartet of commercial buildings that are driving a new wave of revitalisation. A verdant new public realm and artisan retail cluster will transform Windmill Lane, creating a cool new urban social space linked by the Liffey riverwalk to its counterpoint at Grand Canal Square. Ambitious new developments will further reenergise the area in the next two to three years, providing high-spec workspace and artisan amenities for thousands of new employees. Windmill Lane will be transformed into a vibrant social hub, a welcoming green space at the epicentre of the revitalised district.

For further information check out www.SOBO.ie or contact joint agents: JJL and Cushman & Wakefield.

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INDUSTRY FOCUS

What’s happening in the Irish Development Land Market? MARIE HUNT

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR & HEAD OF RESEARCH

Marie is a chartered surveyor and a Fellow of the Society of Chartered Surveyors, Ireland. She established the research department at CBRE Ireland more than two decades ago and her department’s research is regarded as one of the most authoritative sources of property information in the Irish market. Marie carries out specialist consultancy work on behalf of a broad range of institutional, private and public sector clients and was, last year, shortlisted in the Businesswoman of the Year awards in Ireland.

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n reading much of the commentary about the severe lack of housing in the Irish market and inherent shortages in sectors of the Irish commercial property market, one would be forgiven for thinking that activity in the development land sector of the Irish market must be subdued. However, this is not the case. While actual development activity has yet to kick-start in a meaningful way in the residential sector of the economy, there is considerable development now underway in other sectors of the market and demand for land has continued unabated during 2016 as developers purchase land parcels and commence the planning process.

According to our research, a total of 53 development land transactions (totalling more than €489 million between them), completed in Ireland during the first half of 2016. This compares with €276 million in 54 land sales in the first half of 2015. Last year was obviously a bumper year with more than €770 million of transactions completed in the Irish market (excluding the Project Clear portfolio which traded as a loan portfolio). With many of the land parcels that are changing hands in the Irish market now relatively small, it is difficult to see this level of transactional activity being matched in 2016.

Irish Development Land Sales 2009 – 2016 (H1) Source: CBRE Research

Severe supply shortages in some sectors of the Irish property market have become even more pressing on the back of the recent release of the provisional results of the 2016 Census and the prospect of additional investment from the UK in due course, as a result of the Brexit vote. This has further focussed Government attention on the need to deliver infrastructure and, in particular, housing.

Although the volume of new home delivery in Ireland in the first half of 2016 was up 18 per cent year-on-year, only 6,642 housing units were delivered in the six month period of which only 1,993 were in Dublin. An increase in the delivery of new housing stock should be facilitated by the implementation of the Government’s blueprint for the housing sector (Action Plan for Housing: Rebuilding Ireland), which was launched earlier this

Summer. With new development plans recently published for both Dublin City Council and Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council, and some further incentives to promote housebuilding anticipated in the forthcoming Budget in October, the expectation is that viability will improve and developers will finally have confidence to proceed with much-needed development leading to a visible increase in output from this point forward. In particular, we expect to see an increase in the development of build-to-rent residential schemes and purpose-built student accommodation. Many of the transactions that are underway in the development land sector at present are being conducted off-market and this is likely to continue to be a trend for the remainder of the year.

Development properties that have sold or gone sale agreed in recent months include: •

Blocks 1,2 and 5 Clanwilliam Court, Dublin 2 for more than €51 million;

•

The Albany portfolio (128 acres of residential land in Swords, Leixlip, Naas and Newbridge) for approximately €50 million;

•

A 0.45 acre site at 86-88 North Wall Quay, Dublin 1 for €26 million;

•

A 5.16 acre site at Sandymount, Dublin 4 for €21 million;

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A 0.96 acre residential site at Vernon Avenue, Clontarf, Dublin 3 for €4.25 million;

•

The 0.69 acre former Annesley Motors site, Fairview, Dublin 3 for close to €2 million;

•

A 7.8 acre site in Rickardstown, Newbridge, Co. Kildare for €1.9 million

Sites that are currently being marketed or due to be formally offered for sale include:

We are anticipating a busy end to the year in the development land sector, with many investors now focussing on development and forward-funding opportunities considering the severe shortages of investment opportunties in other sectors of the property market. Hopefully, we will see some larger land-banks coming to the market for sale to satisfy the increase in demand that will inevitably materialise once housebuilding kicks off in earnest as we expect it will - now that Government have outlined their strategy.

•

A prime city centre development site formally occupied by Eir at Dame Court, Dublin 2, which is reportedly guiding €50 million;

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The Stocking portfolio (various assets including a major landbank in Rathfarnham on 25 acres), which is guiding €39 million;

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2.38 acres at The Point Campus, Dublin 1, which is guiding €18 million;

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0.8 acres at Sir John Rogerson’s Quay, Dublin 2, which is guiding €15 million;

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0.35 acres at Adelaide Road, Dublin 2 (with planning for 14 apartments), which is guiding €5.75 million;

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44 acres in Navan, Co. Meath, which is guiding €4 million;

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A ready-to-go site with planning for 34 houses at Chapelizod Hill Road, Dublin 15, which is guiding €3 million;

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A 0.5 acre site on Collins Avenue East in Killester, Dublin 5, which is guiding €1.9 million

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INDUSTRY FOCUS

Declan Flynn, Managing Director of Belfast-based commercial property agency Lisney, which works on behalf of many of Northern Ireland’s most significant investors and developers as well as major retailers and businesses.

POSITIVITY ABOUNDS DESPITE REACTION TO BREXIT VOTE

iven the widespread concern it caused throughout the majority of the Northern Ireland business community, it’s safe to say there would have been no good time for the ‘leave’ vote which the EU referendum delivered. However, looking back on it three months later through the lens of an economy which has not imploded, the end of June was probably as timely as we could have hoped for. July, of course, is traditionally one of the quietest months of the year for business in the UK and Ireland, with the end of school term heralding a mass exodus of families to a wide range of holiday destinations. In Northern Ireland, we have the added dimension of what’s generally referred to

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as the ‘marching season’, making the July shutdown even more intense for businesses across a wide range of sectors.

and industry commentators alike to predict a doomsday scenario for the commercial property market.

That’s particularly the case for the commercial property sector - and this July was no different, with very little transactional activity taking place and few deals being progressed.

The fact that the Brexit vote came when it did was fortuitous as it meant that the following six weeks of uncertainty and worry took place during a period which is traditionally very quiet for the market anyway.

There’s no doubt the referendum result, coming as such a major shock as it seemed to for the majority of the Northern Ireland business community, created an unwanted hysteria and panic about what the future holds for the local commercial property market. In many ways, this post-Brexit vote confusion was inevitable and, in the immediate aftermath of the vote, it was always going to be difficult to stop the rush by some business

Thankfully, three months on from the vote, the evidence on the ground has proved beyond doubt that the worst fears about Brexit have been more of a filler for the newspapers rather than a killer where the commercial property market is concerned. Across a range of sectors, the mood music is very much the soundtrack of a market that is alive and well – and set to prosper in

the future. The start of this month brought news of a planning proposal for another huge multimillion-pound office and retail building at Erskine House, which would be capable of housing 1,000 staff, in Belfast city centre. Plans are under way to turn the existing car park and adjacent 1980s building on Chichester Street into a 100,000 sq ft mixeduse development, which would include an eight-storey office block and retail space on the ground floor.

The office market has long been a talking point and research which we have carried out recently points to a sector which is still very lively indeed. It was revealed recently that the General Accident building on Donegall Square South is set to be demolished and replaced with the construction of a new nine-storey office development. It’s also been reported that property developer Paddy Kearney is planning to develop a series of huge office buildings across the

city over the next few years, including plans to redevelop Scottish Amicable on Donegall Square. French property firm Stargime is pressing ahead with plans for a new office development at Graham House in Belfast city centre, which will provide up to 80,000 sq ft of grade A office accommodation, while the anticipated development of the 15-acre Sirocco Site opposite the Waterfront Hall and the purchase earlier this year of the long-anticipated

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Royal Exchange project by Castlebrooke Investments of London also adds to the positivity. The hotel sector, meanwhile, is riding the crest of a wave at present, with more than 20 hotel projects currently at various stages of development across Belfast. In August we had the announcement from major hotel chain Marriott that it will build its first hotel in Northern Ireland at the City Quays development in Belfast Harbour, with the £20m project due to open in early 2018. This news came hot on the heels of planning permission being granted for a four-storey boutique hotel at Bank Square in Belfast city centre, a scheme which was first announced in August last year. Planners also gave the green light for a four-storey extension to the Holiday

Inn Express on University Street, which will provide 60 new bedrooms.When you consider the new, £4m Bullitt Hotel is due to open in October, it is clear that the hotel sector is in rude health. August’s business pages of Northern Ireland’s daily newspapers also made for positive reading for the local residential property market, with the latest Northern Ireland House Price Index report revealing that the house price index increased by 3.8% between Q1 and Q2 of 2016.This news came in the same week as it was reported that the second phase of luxury, newly-refurbished apartments at the Obel building in Belfast city centre is now being offered for sale. This release of the highend units is the latest stage of the ongoing £2m upgrade of Ireland’s tallest building, with the first phase of apartments now sold out.

The retail sector has also been buoyed recently by a number of new openings, including Stradivarius taking the former Clinton Cards unit on Donegall Place, Moss Bros in Castle Lane, Patisserie Valerie on Donegall Square West and Pandora at Cornmarket. A quick glance up Donegall Place shows that there are far fewer vacancies than was the case three years ago. A very welcome evolution to the city centre landscape. There are a range of other significant deals in the pipeline which will soon add further to the positive momentum being enjoyed by the local commercial property market. Thankfully, a line has been drawn under the collective knee-jerk reaction to the EU vote, and we are now concentrating on growing the market further.

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A 3 rd o p t i o n t o de n si t y

Venetian

Emmet Humphreys MRIAI B’Arch Sc, Dip Arch www.ehadr.ie Registered Architect running his own practice since 2004. Part time lecturer (2006 - 2012) in Lund University, Sweden with ‘Cityspace Dwellingspace’ under Bernt Nilsson. Practice focused on contextual architecture, dealing with new developments in the historic urban core.

N e g o t i at i o n T

he Italian architect Giancarlo De Carlo said that ‘Architecture is too important to be left to architects’ and that we start to work out ‘how’ to solve a problem, while the reason ‘why’ we are working on that problem, ‘we assume to have been resolved once and for all’. It is clear that the profession of architecture is commissioned by few but their work impacts on many. As Architects we are part of the unsustainable growth of our towns. The destruction of good agricultural land is not a pattern of development that is repeatable moving forward into the next hundred years.

By increasing our towns’ footprints, we will have greater future costs on an ongoing basis in terms of maintenance of services and utilities. Public spaces are harder to police and clean. Communities meet in cars as everywhere is too far to walk to. The alternative to building ‘out’ is building ‘up’. Building ‘up’ done well (for example, DeBlacham Meagher’s Wooden Building, Temple Bar), can be a solution that will work well. We can build sensitively in the historical

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core with good architecture while increasing height. This solution only works for a few select square miles of certain cities, as the cost of development, verses return, is not viable in the majority of the country. Sample plot in a Central Block of Drogheda, Co. Louth I practice in the large town of Drogheda. There are 18 architectural conservation areas and over 400 protected structures, some with associated curtliages. Drogheda’s topography slopes steeply and streets curve along the

banks of the Boyne. The town is situated between the world heritage site of Brú na Bóinne and the sea and is located on the Dublin/Belfast corridor 25 minutes from the airport. Like Drogheda there is vast vacancy and dereliction in the core areas of major towns throughout the country. With continual improvement of building regulations, and inaccessible plots and buildings, the only possible solution is that one developer

acquires a collection of plots together. This is a timely exercise and leaves the opportunity for the ransom strip to hold up the project. Also, demolition of entire parts of the town alters the intrinsic cultural value and memory of the urban space. We did an analysis of the central blocks for Drogheda to assess; area of use, area of vacancy and the area of potential new build. We found that 55 per cent of the block (all floors combined) was vacant. The lowest rate was at street level, vacancy rates raising the further up from the ground level you got. We also calculated that another 100 per cent of new build was easily possible within the existing blocks. In Drogheda’s historical core we have 75 per cent of the existing and potential floor space lying underdeveloped. In a sample block of 1.6 hectare we have the potential for 18,000 sq foot of space in total. Meanwhile the surrounding local authorities have zoned or rezoned up to 550 hectares of lands, the equivalent of 343 times one of our sample blocks. This land is infinitely easier to

Town Proposal Title: Proposal for the central blocks of Drogheda using the existing lanes and archways to maximise the potential accessibility. Block Accessibitility title: Analysis between the 2.5% public accessibility in Drogheda Blocks and 15% public accessibility in Venice. Central Blocks of Drogheda: Three main blocks of Drogheda have large amount of vacancy espically on the upper floors and in the centre of the block.

develop. It is also scalable so that the financing of projects in these areas is much easier to calculate. Also greenfield sites don’t generally throw up the same levels of complexity as development in the historic urban core, for example, archaeology; conservation; health and safety; fire and disabled access; third party objections, etc... It is much easier in a greenfield site to secure a fixed price tender without a large contingency.

A third option to the density discussion is removing elements that are restricting the urban block from reaching full potential; ‘Venetian Negotiation’. Venice is an interesting concept of development. The Venetians had a set limit of growth as the deep waters of the lagoon meant that the city could not expand. The buildings were constructed on piles so they were limited to three, four and five storeys. This forced the Venetians to negotiate with each other and design each block with maximum accessibility, therefore maximum use/capacity. The bridges in Venice are all individual responses to two island blocks connecting to each other.

Centre 3 Blocks Base Occupied Semi Occupied:Rates of single floor and multi floor occupation. Section Complete:Section of Drogheda with newly proposed street and buildings Section Base: Section of Drogheda existing use. Inner vBlock Photo: Photo of existing industrial building where the use has gone. One Plot: One plot of one of the central blocks.

Each bridge is a unique response to the context of trying to open up and connect. Drogheda Block internal accessibility Vs Venice internal accessibility Society needs change, as the way we work, live and play change. Drogheda’s buildings were designed over hundreds of years for particular needs and uses, which are now gone. The ‘change of use’ of these building

invokes building regulations when the new use comes. This is a very expensive exercise in a small local street and can be cost prohibitive. There are many upper floors and landlocked back yards that are not developable because of the Part B (Fire) Regulations. ‘Dead capital’ is a term for an asset that cannot easily be bought, sold, valued or used as an investment. Used by Hernando de Soto, he goes on to discuss two adjoining neighbourhoods in a shanty town in Lima, Peru. One Neighbourhood issued legal title to plots of land. This enabled the owners to access funds to start businesses. That neighbourhood and its inhabitants prospered while the other one continued to struggle. If we could open up our town’s blocks, landlocked land and inaccessible upper floors would become marketable, releasing much needed ‘Free Capital’. At this moment in time the central areas of blocks have great potential value but little real value. The central parts of the blocks of Drogheda are complex areas of rights, heights and flights. Their conflicting policies and protections raise red flags to investment. For the common good we use compulsory purchase orders to acquire land or rights of way, normally to little or no benefit to the original land owner. With the ‘Venetian Negotiation’ ideal we can open up the blocks with new streets, courtyards and lanes to facilitate new accessibility and services. We can make detailed local area plans which allow the landowners clarity in the planning process and open up the remaining parts of their plot to development potential. This small scale work over many blocks would add up to vast possibilities and a very sustainable blueprint for future generations to follow.

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LINK

Patrick Phelan Director CBRE

De bt & S t ru c t u r e Commercial Finance

or commercial development, the number of potential lenders will differ depending on the size of the scheme (€0m-10m, €10m-50m and 50m+). Key considerations are (i) the planning status (ii) the letting status, (iii) the phasing and duration of the scheme, (iv) the location, which really has to be considered prime, and (v) the sponsor, including their track record and the team who will deliver the project. The strength of the eventual contractor and the overall ability to deliver practical completion on the development is particularly important to lenders without previous experience in the Irish market.

In line with the general recovery of the Irish property market, financing for development has picked up over the last 24 months, although it remains constrained. Banks are far more cautious. Loan to Value and Loan to Cost ratios are more conservative than they were pre-crisis. Coupled with the lack of imputed equity, the regulatory environment has made it less attractive and more costly for banks to fund developments. With this background, the market has become fragmented, with real estate debt funds and other alternative lenders stepping in to address gaps in the market – notably financing projects where risks and/or the quantum of debt are higher. However, despite new entrants, it remains difficult to secure development finance. For office development in Ireland, many of the major developments are being undertaken by large property companies, REITs or private equity groups using their corporate lines. Lenders are looking for the right project, in the right location, with the right sponsor; lenders typically have the most appetite for central Dublin, south side suburbs along transport hubs, and possibly Cork City.

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A pre-let is key to the office development looking to secure senior financing. Debt providers have a limited appetite to fund non-recourse speculative development activity. They are conscious that there is currently a strong development pipeline in place and question whether there is sufficient tenant demand for schemes being delivered in 2019/ 2020. Therefore the timing, and delivery, of the scheme and vprojected rents are vital in any credit decision.

The Irish banks are keen to fund commercial development up to a maximum exposure of circa €50m, but have very a limited appetite for speculative development. Alternative lenders are more open to the idea of speculative development particularly if a corporate guarantee from a good sponsor is available, making it effectively recourse lending. It is likely that for large developments, with or without a pre-let, the main players who will consider development funding are the real estate debt funds. Whilst there are many real estate debt funds, there are a limited number who would consider a large development project in Ireland. They will typically look at a higher loan to cost ratio, with a coupon or interest margin and exit fees. To reflect the extra risk, their minimum return will be higher and they will insist on a multiple return hurdle for each investment. Their appetite is limited by country, so it depends on how many projects they are funding at any particular time.

Many of the same real estate debt funds that are actively funding developments in the UK are seeking the ‘right project’ in Ireland. Interestingly, debt funds and alternative lenders compare schemes on a relative value basis meaning development schemes in Ireland are actively competing against opportunities across Europe in order to secure debt.

Finance To the extent that a developer manages to secure a pre-let, more lenders would be willing to look at financing the project; the likely condition for drawdown isw for 35% (min) 50% (preferred) of the building to be pre-let, and on the basis that the property is market rented. However, pre-lets of commercial space are difficult to achieve; principally because tenants tend not to commit to new space until 12-18 months before they require occupancy, meaning in reality the building has to be under construction to achieve a pre-let. The general lack of financing for development in the current market has also resulted in developers having to fund developments in slightly different ways, such as forward funding. We expect to see more of these types of transactions in the course of 2017. The role of ‘Bridging Finance’ has also become more important in this new fragmented lending market. Bridging finance is an offering of short term money to allow investors / developers to work on enhancing the planning permission and / or get their professional team on board to commence development or refurbishment. Bridging finance has been very popular in the UK market, particularly on smaller deals where a party has an option to acquire a good site with planning risk and / or refurbishment potential but cannot complete in equity. Their pricing is similar to mezzanine pricing but they act as a whole loan provider.

Residential Finance

he residential financing market is much more liquid than the commercial development market, with a greater number of lenders, in particular domestic debt funders, willing to support projects. Whilst location and sponsor are still important, lenders tend to be a little more pragmatic and will take a view if they are convinced (i) the development is in a strong location and the units are priced correctly; (ii) there is demand for the units at that location; and (iii) the sponsor has the resources and ability to complete the development. Where the sponsor can demonstrate a high degree of cost certainty (particularly on smaller schemes where cost efficiencies may be harder to achieve) and the above characteristics are satisfied, lenders will scrutinise the break-even point to ensure suitable headroom between the targets sales prices and the debt provided. AIB, BOI and Ulster Bank, are all active in the residential development funding space. There are a number of debt funds with local underwriting teams operating looking to deploy capital into the market. These providers understand the residential supply constraints, which is an advantage over other alternative lenders.

While debt funds are willing to move further up the risk curve, lenders will still be cautious in their underwriting of any project and they will lend on the basis that they can refurbish the existing building if planning were not to be granted.

Two options that require a special mention are pre-sold residential development and the Private Rented Sector (PRS). If a sponsor can pre-sell the development in a bulk sale, they will have the best chance of attracting debt, due to the de-risking of these sales. PRS has become desirable amongst lenders particularly where they are in locations with proven rental demand. These assets are desirable amongst major institutional investors, further increasing their attractiveness to lenders.

There has been some limited appetite from the debt funds for side by side funding, a key feature of any funding transaction is the requirement that equity is committed upfront, and in many cases this needs to be ‘real equity’ from a strong covenant so the lender and sponsors interests are fully aligned.

There are a greater range of options open to sponsors as a result of these new players, with a trade-off between the amount of equity committed and the cost and / or covenant terms of the funding facility. Likewise the banks have responded to the increased availability of funding from

the debt funds to accommodate different sponsor requirements. Regardless of the new options available to sponsors, one area remains difficult from a debt perspective, the funding of a longer cycle land bank. Many of the debt funds have strict limits on their allowable exposure to unplanned land. In our experience, it is only by offering equity type returns that funding is available.

Whilst the availability of development finance has permanently altered from the pre-boom era, the outlook for development finance in Ireland has improved. A combination of improving economic conditions, rising end-user demand and tight supply in critical locations bodes well for both activity and performance in the market. Alternative lenders, such as debt funds, have turned their attention to the Irish market for bridging or mezzanine deals, in sectors and areas in which development funding gaps persist. CBRE’s dedicated pan European, Debt & Structured Finance team has advised on over €4 billion of debt transactions in the UK and Ireland over the past 18 months. The team has considerable experience in advising on some of the largest and most prominent development transactions in the London and Dublin market. Patrick leads the Team in Dublin. He has over 20 years’ experience in the corporate finance sector.

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Irish Proper ty Developer TA KE S A LO OK IN SIDE IRE L A ND’S

Commercial Building of the Year 2016

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ONE

A L B E RT Q UAY Stunning, Inside and Out

ailed as Ireland’s ‘smartest’ building, and designed to Gold LEED standards, Green REIT’s One Albert Quay will ensure a 36 per cent saving in energy cost in the lifetime of the premises. 80 per cent of the material used in the Cork building which was created by the local John Cleary Developments (JCD); Henry J Lyons Architects and BAM Construction, was sourced in this country. All internal fittings were carried out by companies in the Cork and Kerry region. The 170,450 sq ft landmark office block which is situated next to City Hall on a three-quarter acre waterfront site, was acquired by Green REIT for €58m last year, nine months before its completion. Work on the build started in September 2014, concluding in February 2016. Home to the global headquarters of fire prevention and security specialist Tyco, its other tenants include financial services giant PwC; U.S. tech company Hortonworks; internet security firm, Malwarebytes; design and consultancy firmARUP; Ardmore Shipping; Investec bank; and Starbucks. Among the smart features in the Tyco domain are intruder detection; air quality control; cashless equipment; and energy-harvesting lifts that are connected to the building’s security clearance. Recycled material was used throughout the office block. The building also features destination control lifts and an extensive building management system linking access control, energy efficiency and real time building data.

Dramatic landscaped external terraces are a feature of the building which incorporates a double level basement car park

with 135 spaces. Every section of the grade A office block commands views, spanning the River Lee; Port of Cork; St Luke’s Cross; the Elysian’s acre of raised garden; the South Mall; to the city centre and beyond.

Awarded Commercial Project of the Year at the annual Irish Construction Awards 2016, the complex has been described by Tyco’s GM Donal Sullivan as “like a five-star hotel.” He said it’s the most integrated building in the country, pledging that the technology would be constantly updated to keep it smart. Much of the construction was arranged offsite. Steels were done by Noel C. Duggan; precast lift shafts and concrete works by O’Neills, Carlow; and energy efficient glazing from France through Carey Glass from Nenagh. Streetside, the façade is a wall of sheer glass, reflecting the surrounding cityscape. Inside, the theme is minimalist, with floor-to-ceiling windows and a glazed rooftop atrium optimising natural light.

ment, it did so in a way that allows appropriate responses of architectural treatment to site conditions offered by each of the sides of the site, addressing orientation; materials; scale and views. It also, they said, faciliated consideration of the built environment in an holistic manner for the entire site and provided eyecatching spaces such as the terrace on the fifth floor on the western side of the building. The firm said that this terrace not only acted as an amenity space where the occupants of the building can interact, but it also presented a unique opportunity to introduce breaks in the elevation, when massing the building architecturally was a key driver in the design concept. It also considered the integration of the scheme around a dramatic full-height atrium which provided natural light into the kernal of the building and an orientation point for end users.

Coffee docks are located at the foot of open staircases, away from the lifts, to encourage employees to get a bit of exercise by using the stairs. In the restaurant, employees load money onto their access cards and swipe them as payment. Building developer, John Cleary, said the complex represented a landmark in the type of facility that could be offered to business clients. It was, he added, a very exciting and sophisticated project on which to work. Architects Henry J Lyons said the ‘single site’ approach not only allowed delivery of a strategic quantum of office-based employ-

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Irish Property Developer Magazine considers…

SHOW HOUSEs

Frank McSharry, Senior Negotiator, Lisney

Cost-effective sales tool or outdated, unnecessary expense? So much has changed within the property and construction industries over the past decade; how we build, the materials we use, the ways by which we engage with each other and with the end user have all been dramatically transformed. Industry specific technology, or ‘PropTech’, has fundamentally changed how we do business and, notably, much of this change has been consumer rather than industry driven. That in itself is quite telling; there is a definite gulf appearing between professional industry sellers and the next generation of tech-savvy, potential buyers. In the digital age, with consumers now conditioned to purchase in a virtual space and at the click of a button, it seems bizarre that we are still relying on the same sales tools to sell new developments. With the use of emerging technology like virtual reality and augmented reality becoming more mainstream in other markets, we ask leading news homes estate agents, are showhouses still important for sales?

“In my experience, show houses are still of vital imp ortance in the New Homes industry. There have been a number of technological advancements in recent yea which give developers and rs, agents an ever-increasing list of options for marketing New Homes developments. These include 3D Floorpla ns, high quality ‘lifelike’ CG images, augmented reality, I video tours and more rec ently virtual reality/CGI tou rs of properties. However whe n it comes to selling proper ty, show homes remain by far the most effective selling too l. In order to maximise dem and and ensure the succes s of a development, purchaser’s need to see something ‘tan gible’, and only a show hou can give them the require se d feel for the quality and des irability of the properties on offer. Prior to joining Lisney I wor ked in the London New Hom es sector for a number of years, which would be one of the most cutting-ed ge markets for residential development worldwide. Developers there have hug e marketing budgets, and they invest large amounts in CG I images and other high-tec h virtual marketing tools. In spite of this top of the ran ge technology, they still prio ritise show apartments as their primary selling tool. Many London Developme nts are sold off-plan years in advance of the properties being ready for completion and occupation, but even with these developments you will rarely see a complet e reliance on technology and advanced marketing metho ds. They understand that show apartments are cru cial in achieving their desired sale s velocity and revenues, and will always seek to prepar a show home at the earlies e t opportunity. A number of developers will build tempor ‘marketing suites’ which con ary tain full size show homes that will feature the fittings level of specification that and will be offered in the eventu al units on site. Based on the above com ments, it would certainly be my opinion that show apartments will remain a vital part of the selling process in the New Homes sector for the foreseeable future. Moder n technology and virtual ma rketing tools certainly ma ke a contribution to the sales and marketing process and they will continue to gain in popularity and capability, but ultimately property pur chasing is an emotional pro cess, and there is no better way of appealing to a person’s senses than by offering the ma fully equipped show hom e to experience.”

Ken McDonald onald MD, Hooke & McD

All showhouses and new developments nationwide available to view via www.daft.ie

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every re time, to assess now, and do take mo e tim re mo ve ica ha more sophist ted “Homebuyers ing. They are much as rch pu e for be and orientation. aspect of a property es, internal layouts tur fea n sig de y, nc cie regarding energy effi olutionised pace which have rev ving at a very fast mo are ts en em for r nc ch easie “Digital adva ey have made it mu and advertising. Th homebuyers to for d property marketing ssage across an me ir the t ge to ts en still an important developers and ag r, the showhouse is ve we Ho g. yin bu y are ite can be understand what the the art marketing su although a state-ofg kin ma ion cis .” de purposes element in enough for viewing ing isn’t advanced influential if a build

Linda Forsyth, Associate – Head of Operations, New Homes, Savil ls: “In this property cy cle we have found buyers to be far mo used to be. Previou re cautious than the sly there was such y mania surrounding property that peop the purchase of a le were prepared to buy unsuitable units ladder. This time aro just to get onto the und they are lookin g at this as a longte move for life - they rm move and even a understand the im portance of their co they are looking for mmitment to buy an quality and value. d “Clever design with a good use of spac e is important – thi storage, a well-defi ngs like under-stai ned master suite an rs d low maintenance pr areas are key for bu ivate outdoor yers at the moment. In terms of new ma although virtual rea rketing technology lity software is usefu l to compliment the tra collateral we don’t ditional marketing envisage it replacing the show unit expe of the locality and rie nc e. Drone videos clips conveying the lifestyle on offer are present and are we als o very popular at ll received by buye rs.”

Ivan Gaine, Ivan Gaine, Head of Sherry FitzGerald New Homes: introduced VR headsets edge technology when we “We led the field in cutting ing properties. Together ual reality platform for view to launch Ireland’s first virt m which enables eloped a virtual reality platfor with Samsung we have dev simply by wearing rough of an unbuilt property buyers to do a virtual walkth a viewing – as if they are rts them inside to conduct the headset which transpo ty. standing in the built proper through of an unbuilt ers to go on a virtual walk “The freedom it gives our view the views from the proportions of the rooms, see property and appreciate the se all by simply expected finish of a show hou window and experience the gh is now one of the y futuristic. The VR walkthrou putting on a headset, is ver nts and initial reaction ilable to our developer clie suite of marketing tools ava rwhelmingly positive. ate buyer customers is ove from our clients and our ultim

screen technology at printed models and touch “We have also developed 3D don’t see this replacing marketing suites. Whilst we many of our launches and helpful to buyers who , it has proven to be hugely the show house experience new development.” ns at the early stages of a are starting to make decisio

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SHOW HOUSEs

angan,

Regina M

eloper . One dev ew homes n f the o e lin and over in the very little howhouse s is a re h e it th w s ’ e rford hous . oxwood w in Wate four show d w estate ‘F e e s n a as c “Right no ir w e o th hed lly there w and sh mes launc said initia designed e e h v a r, h to y c e Frisby Ho e of A2 any dir years th the comp e benefits nd-a-half es Frisby erstand th last one-a m d a n J u t n to lie g gettin with our c le are just Speaking n as peop o ti a it s e h of the quite a bit eople see . When p e c . a s p ts e s m e o n feel th the be efi rated h touch and of course d to n d a e y, e n lit a e qu lp le really re and he rence in th inion peop ate a pictu ee the diffe re “In his op s c s lly e a s owing a u re h o s n ed that they ca y. Showh e lis rt s a e u p re o h ro ly p w k o r sh quic and s an olde nd Frisbys rent ideas ome verse for them a eople diffe le p ib e s of a new h v tos s a o g h p s p at is house sional o ualise wh rent show ite, profes s fe b if e d w r people vis u ir e fo ugh h on th roduct thro alk-throug different p e a 360 w v a h s e m risby Ho lve options. F e last twe k ups. nk over th c a o b y m rr e D F 3 and te in ndom esta in Christe s e s u o nce. h re n eleve osts uge diffe “We sold and the c made a h e s u o h w e houses o th h s lls e e h s T e ous ople months. the showh it off. Pe member is rofit to top p re the a to g d n e ti e w see hat genera velopers n ey need to le, mostly th a s o “What de e s th d tos, n o in a h ed elopers sional p re recoup the profes ays of dev d e v e a incurred a s iew h e th is to ary buyer v ndation ely more w recomme rospective y p M e . th e are definit g a lik n look smell nd t to bri roduct will , walk and the budge e e in s h it to w d ls finished p e y ne ch too e deal the the high te and do th le a VR and all s e th “ e . s mpare rty. To clo se can co the prope l showhou fu ti u a e b ea nothing lik

MD,

tokes, Patricia S rk: Lisney, Co

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tool, marketing histicated p so nt. a e rt m or apa me to beco ow house advanced sh s d a h o o y g g a lo f hno pact o “While tec visceral im perty in r beat the ve e ill w ssess a pro g nothin soning to a a re l a they can ti a their sp room that a se u in s to d le n a b le are a ically st “Few peop buyer phys ly when a n o ’s it il; nsions. proper deta erty’s dime ith unique te the prop ia c re p p l building w a a su u fully n u n take a al when you nt residenti st significa lly the case o ia m c e e sp th e f o one “This is ecade. ck House, in over a d like Blackro rk o C in t e attributes e to mark s been nts to com ing that ha developme ntury build e c A listed th 8 1 ndmark enthouses. la p a d n is a l se ts u n Ho partme and origina “Blackrock 27 luxury a e exquisite in to b in m d o re c o t y rest es tha ows sash wind living spac meticulousl tall sliding s generous s, re g n tu a ili e fe c it high building, s including riod feature e p n ia hitraves. rg rc o a Ge icing and rn o c ck House te a orn hat Blackro w f o framed by se n stunning et a full se created a ssible to g ve o a p h im e w st , o e alm se.ie. It’s hat said “It would b ckrockhou re alone. T la a b w n ft o so w e R can vi of this r using V erstanding sted buyers has to offe that intere uyer’s und b o e e d th vi e ’ c h n g u enha ‘walk-thro es serve to nt but it do e m e c la p no re perty.” unique pro

MAGAZINE

ord: ts, Waterf

gen e Estate A lu B y rt e ib L

John Fogarty ,

Regional Dire

ctor of RE/MA

X Ireland:

“RE/MAX Irela nd uses 3D te chnology to pr 3D tours allow ovide open ho viewers to wal uses online 24 k freely around /7. The they were real the property an ly there, and co d ex pe rie nt nc ai e it as if ns three unique Irish market. views, not seen before in the “Our dollhouse view allows us ers to peel ba an understand ck the floors on ing for how th e-by-one, prov e di fferent levels iding Our floor plan fit together in view offers a three dimensi top down view on s. between floor of the property an s, rather than d users can to only seeing th gg le explore every e top floor. Insi inch of the inte de view allow rior of the prop s users to erty. “All our 3D to urs can be view ed on virtual re Cardboard an ality headsets d Samsung G like Google ea r VR for an ev can show pote en more immer ntial buyers ar si ve experience. ound a numbe We from our offic r of properties e with this ne in a matter of min w technology ut es . “We feel that it is absolutely paramount to people living have these of abroad or a co ferings, especi up le working diffe ally for good feel for rent hours. Th the house onlin ey can get a re e. We have se ally purchasing pr en an increasi operty and with ng number of the use of this ex pats technology. “I think the ph ysical showho use is also vita from the deve l, it shows finan lopers to show cial commitm case the actu ent development, al finishes and it makes it ea sp ecifications fo si er to r the se ll a off-plan durin development. g the boom tim While people es bo , ug it is ht very hard to un like until you ac derstand wha tually see it. In t a property is my opinion an technology is y developer w not marketing ho hasn’t look their developm ed at ent in a fully ef fective way. “The huge ad vantage of this technology fo property onlin r buyers, is th e at anytime an at they can re d do a full walk visit the different parts through even of the world. if both parties Th e m are in ore discerning plans might bu buyer who un y from a 360derstands floor degree walk-th valuable aid w rough. We ha hen marketing ve also found our previously it to be a owned proper ties.”

Michael O’Connor, REA O’Connor Murphy, Limerick: Michael O’Connor, REA O’Connor Murphy, Limerick: “Technology tools will attract buyers to a particular development but the requirement to touch and feel things in a showhouse still hasn’t gone away. The need for a showhouse is more relevant now than in the boom times. During that time, people bought off-plan and were often happy with a presentation. Now because of the way the market has gone, they want to see what they are buying. “Another factor is that mortgage approval now only lasts three months so if I am buying off-plan on a green field site, the bank is entitled to decline renewal of it if certain things change. “Technology is superb for showing off developments but at the end of the day there is nothing like a showhouse for giving people a clear indication of what they’re going to buy.”

, Samuel Kingston ngston Director, Casey & Ki Auctioneers, Cork: house, a completed show rs still want to see me sto cu e, e the nc rie ua pe ” In my ex it difficult to vis lis ny customers find Ma ly. ral we lite or W lly tual house. hile whether virtua lked through an ac wa ve ha y the s les ir make the finished property un much happier and the plans, clients are off s rtie pe ed product pro ish ld fin have so nce of how the they have hard evide if ly ick qu re mo minds up will look. d comes to finish an discerning when it ry ve are ts en cli t tha ratings being “I have also found , with high energy of finish as standard ard nd sta selling h hig go a expect rage is a really od o clever use of sto Als er. aft ht mers ug sto so particularly the moment, cu particularly strict at are ia ter a cri e ag y over the odds for point. As mortg not prepared to pa are d an s ou uti ca they feel the post the boom are d will walk away if and the location, an ish fin the ite sp de house ed.” houses are overpric

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Manguard Plus is the first security company in Ireland to gain international recognition for its commitment to customer service, after being awarded WorldHost Recognised Business status.

Address: W7F, Tougher Business Park, Newhall, Naas, Co. Kildare. Telephone: 0818-313300 (24 Hours) +353 45 408300

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MANGUARD PLUS SECURITY SERVICES

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the business of property

#PropTech By: Carol Tallon

There has been massive resistance within sectors of the property industry to the emerging technologies designed specifically for this industry. But resisting change is no longer an option; property technology, or #PropTech, is revolutionising the marketplace. This is happening. Property is not only one of the largest industries in the world, it is also one of the longest established; the opportunities for innovation are huge. These opportunities arise for many reasons but principally because the sector did not keep pace with the changing world over the past decade. In many parts of the world, we are not building the type of property that we know people want; nor are we delivering housing in a way that people want to receive it. In much the same way as the internet and the rise of online sales websites like E-Bay and Amazon have changed how consumers buy, the property industry must respond to today’s consumer.

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Over the past 15 years, property has been made available to consumers via online portals like Daft.ie, for example, and this is what would-be buyers wanted. But this is no longer enough. Buyers and sellers have now advanced to the point where the property portal offering does not go far enough. We can bank online, we can view perspective neighbourhoods online, but we cannot conduct house/apartment viewings online in Ireland yet. This is a source of much frustration to remote buyers who

might know the neighbourhood and even the building but cannot access more than a few staged photos or badly produced estate agent videos online. Furthermore, even if they are happy to put in an offer, most estate agents will not accept it until the buyer or someone on their behalf physically walks through the property in question. This adds unnecessary expense to buyers not living nearby or in the country. Along the same vein, even if a proxy is sent along to view, the offer process takes the parties off-line again as ‘for sale’ advertisements do not list current offers, these will only be given over the phone or by email.

The reality is that technology already exists to facilitate the entire transaction of property online and this terrifies professionals working in this area. Without getting into the issue of credibility around the offer process in Ireland at the moment, this practice is entirely inefficient and flies in the face of how the millennial generation lives. We live in a world where everything we need can be sourced online and purchased by the click of a button. Everything, that is, except property. The reality is that technology already exists to facilitate the entire transaction of property online, including digital signatures for legal contracts, and this terrifies professionals working in this area. They are using their resources fighting progress instead of becoming part of it. There has been massive resistance within sectors of the property industry to the emerging technologies designed specifically for this industry. But resisting change is no longer an option; property technology, or #PropTech, is revolutionising the marketplace. This is happening. A simple assessment of the situation tells us that estate agents and property providers

have completely failed to keep pace with this current generation of renters and buyers; buy we are entering a fascinating era of virtual reality(VR) and augmented reality (AR) that is likely to make 3D modelling and - the traditional showhouse model - sales relics of the past.

The integration of technology into our everyday lives over the past two decades has been eye-wateringly prolific. This may have started as a form of gaming or entertainment but there can be no doubt, technology as a way of life has come of age. The single greatest achievement of technology has been to gain consumers trust. We now trust technology more than human interaction; data is more valuable than opinion. It’s quite remarkable that so little changed followed a decade of boom, bust, false recoveries and then rapid recovery in the marketplace. Despite every part of the process breaking down, no players within the industry stepped forward to cause the disruption truly needed. Even new ‘innovative’ entrants to the market fell into line with the old, established rules.

Although maybe that shouldn’t be so surprising; lessons learned from other industries tell us that real and meaningful change is generally not-industry lead but rather, it is consumer-driven. When consumers feel pain, they set about making change. The problem with property is that, for the majority, this is such an infrequent transaction that consumers have shown themselves willing to put up with poor processes, inefficient deliver and ineffective service. We can see, therefore, that change is need not only in the merging of the business model with technology, but of buyer behaviour. Of course, the frequency of transactions explains why the PropTech movement has been dominated by services associated with the rental sector.

What exactly is #PropTech? To be clear, the term PropTech refers to a property business, not a technology business. It involves the use of property industry-specific technology to offer consumers a better, faster, more personal and more interconnected service when they are engaging with the industry. The technology should set about solving existing problems in the market. This explains

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LINK

why development is primarily consumer rather than industry-driven. In practice, the industry is still working from the same understanding of the customer that we had more than a decade ago. Meaningful innovation must be based on what this current generation of renters and buyers actually want. And it is not just about current need, this new sector will need to preempt future needs. This is where technology savants need to reach out to seasoned property pros, or vice versa; there must be an understanding of the current system before it came to be broken apart so that the vital elements are retained. Think of this like stripping down an old car for the parts; if you don’t know what you are looking at, you might not know what to keep and what to discard. The property market in Ireland is primed and ready for genuine disruption. The possibilities are endless. Innovation is needed in the way we find, view, negotiate and bid on properties. This applies equally to the sales and rental market. Following on from this, innovation is required to take the legal side of the process online.

London-based PropTech start-up Real Funds is focused on providing alternative finance to small and medium-sized house builders through a combination of crowd financing and technology. Founder and CEO Arya Taware - real estate peer-to-peer lending platform disrupting the oligopolistic position of a few major house builders by providing alternative finance to small and medium-sized house builders, who currently have limited access to finance, especially after 2008 banking crisis.

“We are opening this exclusive market, which was previously available only to those with high capital and the right connections. Through our platform, you can invest in property development projects in your local community and beyond for as little as £10, for returns of up to 10-12% per annum. Our ultimate vision for the future is where cities will be financially self-sustainable, with local communities investing in local property developments.

James Townsend, co-founder of Kontor and PropTech pioneer recently described PropTech as the silver lining of Brexit:

Although Brexit may have the property industry feeling as though it is hanging over a knife edge, it could prove to be the making of the PropTech movement. While the whole sector waits for the effects of the UK’s decision to really hit the market, in reality now is the best time for intelligent firms to recognise the huge wave of technology that is starting to engulf the industry. Citing Brexit as a reason to keep a business in limbo risks a business missing out on the - now vital - efficiencies that many PropTech companies can offer. In short, if Brexit does prompt the industry to cut costs and become more efficient, everything that PropTech offers will become even more desirable. There are start-ups developing tech that will streamline each bit of the mechanics that make a

This was discussed recently at Future: Property Tech, a PropTech event hosted by Google. The consensus was that PropTech need not herald the end of the traditional estate agent. Buying a home is such an infrequent and costly event, consumers do want to engage with a real person, but this person can no longer act as gatekeeper of the market; they must reposition themselves as valueadding facilitators.

UK PropTech In Europe, London is establishing itself as the heart of the PropTech movement. The London market, in particular, is exploding; there is a severe housing crisis; demand for rental is insatiable. Simply put, property development is not keeping pace and consumers are particularly unhappy with estates agents and landlords. There is a sense that these agents and landlords have failed to embrace available technology or to use it well for the benefit of consumers.

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By funding small and mediumsized house builders through crowd funding, we provide them capital they would otherwise not have access to. This will enable them to build more and the right kind of housing. The government has established a target of building 240,000 houses each year. Housing experts believe such figures cannot be met at this point. We believe actually it can but only if new innovative development models such as the one Real Funds proposes - are promoted.”

deal happen, from tools that harness data to simplify how we find office space, to virtual reality that could replace traditional viewings and software aimed at easing the process of taking a lease.” In our next issue, we will be focusing on the emerging Irish PropTech sector. We will look at who is innovating; who is causing disruption; who is looking for investment support to change the marketplace and who is ready to step up with that funding. Email your PropTech news and queries to Editor@IrishPropertyDeveloper.com

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Exhibitors Include:

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Final call on Ireland’s Property Expo.

Email or ring us today if you are thinking of exhibiting in the RDS - Dublin on 8th & 9th October. Tel: +353 1 4603 615 Email: info@guerinmedia.ie

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THE BUSINESS OF PROPERTY

The Insiders Guide to

T r a d e S h ow S u c c e s s

PROPERTYEXPO>IE

PROPERTY EXPO Oct 8 - Oct 9 RDS · Dublin

Robert O’ Connor Sales Director of www.PropertyExpo.ie Technology has changed how most businesses interact with their potential customers so when an opportunity to spend time, on the ground and face to face, with ready buyers comes along, it cannot be ignored. All too often, companies get excited about expo opportunities but are unclear on just how to capitalise on this. As a visitor, exhibitor and now organiser of trade and

consumer exhibitions across Ireland and the UK, I have learned a few trade secrets along the way. I’ve put just a few of these together:

Know your objectives As with any sales and marketing initiative, you need to define your objectives in order to know what return on your investment is expected. The ‘return’ might well be the generation of sales, or perhaps sales leads but that really is just the tip of the expo iceberg. Enhancement of your brand in the right setting is just as important, if not more important, than

the short-term sales. For some companies, the greatest opportunity comes from simply being present among competitors for strategic networking and to gather market information and key industry insights firsthand. So while the overall objective is certainly to promote your products and services, it is important to hone this a bit further before you turn up to ‘dress’ your stand. For example, industry exhibitions are great platforms for launching new products or to announce that your company is entering a new market.

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Understand that the show starts long before the show “Only inexperienced exhibitors think that trade shows are about sales.“ A company’s need for new business is never the deciding factor about whether or not to exhibit. Making the decision to exhibit usually requires a two-pronged approach: you must measure the cost of exhibiting against the cost of not exhibiting. Certainly at trade or industry shows, the presence of key players is expected. This is particularly true of regular exhibitors. Therefore, any absence sends out a strong message within the industry. This is why most industry trade shows sell out their key spaces up to a year in advance. Long stay players within any industry understand the importance of maintaining their leadership position. These are also the exhibitors who understand that the work for an exhibition starts well in advance of opening day. Industry leaders incorporate their presence at such show, including their stand locator number, across their marketing and social media initiatives for months in advance. This is the time to arrange meetings with potential new suppliers, to solidify relationships with existing partners and to give seminars and talks showing your company’s expertise.

Use the exhibition space Once you get there, you need to get your stand ready with clear messaging and signage that can be seen from a distance to attract the attention of passers-by. Optimum lighting is crucial as it makes a stand not just highly visible, but also approachable and attractive to visitors. One of the mistakes we see time and time again is when the focus is mistakenly placed on the promotional literature with no thought for the look and feel of the stand space. Clever design will attract attention and, within

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the exhibition space, attention is what it’s all about. If your budget is limited, then pick a few things to concentrate on, like signage and lighting and get those right; do not try to do everything! “When it comes to signage, try to remember that it’s not all about you and your business, it is about your customer. Rather than shouting about your offering, highlight the problem for potential customers that you are solving. “

size. As mentioned above, any size stand can be made impactful with careful design. One way to separate your business from that of your competitors is to secure a seminar spot and deliver a talk of interest within the industry – smart businesses know not to waste this opportunity by delivering a stale sales pitch; this opportunity ought to be used to talk about a problem within the industry that your business is best placed to solve. This will engage visitors but more importantly,

Courtesy: RDS Ballsbridge

The important thing is that you and your staff know what you are trying to achieve by exhibiting as this will determine your message and interactions with show visitors. It will also make it easier to measure the success and effectiveness of the show and follow-up initiatives.

Most importantly, where seminar space is available, pitch for it. This is always the most in-demand area as it is where both exhibitors and visitors congregate over the duration of the show to learn, to network and simply to take time out for tea and coffee. This presents an amazing opportunity for your business to talk about new developments and, where possible, if this can be videoed, there is an added benefit in terms of social media content that can be circulated.

Leveraging competitors One of the more unusual dynamics of an exhibition is that you are likely to be in close quarters with most of your competitors. This can be daunting but with a bit of strategic thinking, the opportunities far outweigh the obstacles. This is where expo ‘extras’ like location and stand size really can be influential. Prime spots usually sell quickly and for annual events, can sell out a year in advance. But, don’t worry, it’s not all about

it will afford competitors the opportunity to approach you about potential partnerships and synergistic projects.

The all-important follow-up It is tempting to try to measure the success of a show as you are packing away your stand - don’t. Visitor numbers and business cards collected are only a snapshot of the overall experience. The exhibition exercise is not complete until you follow up. Follow up can take many forms. It involves compiling a database of visitors, qualifying leads, sending out literature, making appointments to meet, passing on contacts and referrals or simply put, doing anything that you promised over the duration of the exhibition. If I had to pinpoint one marker for success over all the others, I would say that it all comes down to the follow-up. In fact, this is what experienced and successful exhibitors do differently.

Stephen Noonan Solicitors

Stephen Noonan Solicitors is a full service legal firm with a wealth of experience providing corporate and general practice advice to a wide range of clients. We have a strong property practice with particular expertise in the acquisition and sale of office and retail outlets, commercial units and leisure facilities. To find out how we can help you, please contact

Stephen Noonan +353 1 670 6165, stephen@d2law.ie Stephen Noonan Solicitors, 37 Fitzwilliam Place, Dublin 2, Ireland.

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THE BUSINESS OF PROPERTY

Estate Agents: Behind the Scenes This month Irish Property Developer met with Wicklow and Wexford based estate agent MICHAEL KINSELLA

MD of Kinsella Estates. Michael continues building the legacy auctioneering practice that his father founded almost five decades ago, together with family members and a team of staff from offices in Gorey and Carnew. www.KinsellaEstates.ie

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Are the traditional marketing methods i.e. for sale boards, newspaper advertising etc still relevant when marketing property for sale in today’s market ?

I am proud to say that our family has been serving the local community for over 50 years. Through that 50 years, we have witnessed a big change in the property business in general, and even our own business model. In the early days, for sale boards were the main marketing tool available. We would produce a property brochure in the office, containing the basic information about the property etc. In those days there was no such thing as BER rating’s etc and the information in the brochure was very basic. Buyers would also see properties listed in the window of the office on the main street.

We would also place adverts for auctions and houses for sale in the local newspaper, which cost a lot of money back then and took a lot of time and effort. While there is a perception that buyers only find properties online through property portal websites like Daft.ie or MyHome.ie, the truth is that the traditional ‘For Sale’ are still very effective as a selling tool. These boards have not changed much at all over the years. They are made of corrieboards and wood. From an agent perspective, they are cost efficient and more importantly, very effective. In addition to attracting attention to the property for sale, they also help us maintain and promote our brand locally. We still use newspaper advertising but definitely not as much as in past times. Property for sale through auction will always be featured in local, and sometimes national, newspapers. We do run

regular property adverts in the local paper for certain properties, many times this translates into some editorial coverage of the property in the local newspaper property features.

2 How has digital/on-line marketing impacted on the company’s marketing communications strategy? We list all properties for sale on Myhome.ie and Daft.ie, and both have had a huge impact on our marketing strategy. While we are based in the South East, we get a huge amount of enquiries through the internet from people living in Dublin and Kildare etc. These sites give our company great reach to a much wider target audience. We have recently launched our brand new website; a huge amount of resources went into doing this well because, as local estate agency, we

understand the importance of showcasing our clients’ properties and attracting buyers from outside of our locality. I studied property marketing as part of my Auctioneering Degree and I recognize how critical it is to not only have a website, but that it must be optimized for mobile use. I believe that we have to use the technology available to us, to continually improve our business. Standing still is not an option for any property business today. The marketing focus within the company continues to grow, whereas years ago marketing was just one of many functions that was carried out.

3. Does the company have a mobile marketing strategy ? If so, why is this important? We do have a mobile marketing strategy. In fact, we have just launched our new website, which has been optimized for mobile usage as we recognise the growing trends away from PC and desktop use towards mobile. The web design company that built

4. (a) Which of the following on-line mobile marketing tools does the company use ? Mobile optimized website Yes Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Yes E mail marketing Occasionally Property portals Yes SMS Only with existing clients & buyers QR codes No Mobile Apps Yes YouTube video platform Yes Facebook Yes; Profile & Page Social media Yes Twitter Yes

the website, 4PM (please include website and lgo www.4pm.ie ), also use the latest search engine optimization tools available to ensure that we are always placed high up the search rankings. We have a number of features that we hope to roll out over the coming months, which I don’t want to reveal now, but these features will provide us with a website that will be right up to date in terms of the latest features available. It is important that our clients know that we have been here for 50 years, and hope to be here for another 50 years, and the only way we will do that is by continuing to office first-class service to our clients. We have a website optimized for mobile devices. We also use search engine optimization. We use the property portals. We use social media and e mail marketing. Our Social Media strategy really started to pay off last year, when we launched a blog on our website. All posts are circulated across our social media platforms. This boosted our likes/followers and fans; more importantly, increased engagement gave us the opportunity to showcase our expertise across the Wicklow and Wexford markets. In fact, Kinsella Estates were the only Estate Agency in Ireland to be shortlisted for an award in the Littlewoods Ireland Blog Awards 2016. We were delighted to be shortlisted in the ultra-competitive ‘Lifestyle’ category.

4 (b) Any other ? We do try all platforms to test and measure what works best, for us that’s the blog and our Facebook page but we are always interested in learning more!

5. What are the most important marketing tools from the list above ? Why ? The property portals are the most important, as I explained earlier. They provide a single market place, where we can list properties cost effectively. We know from experience how successful these sites are at delivering leads and enquiries.

of our marketing strategy that it is updated daily, and that content is kept fresh. Research has shown that visitors to a site get frustrated when a site is not updated etc. While this takes time, effort and discipline it has to be done.

6. What has been the biggest benefit that the on-line/digital/mobile technologies have brought to marketing residential property for sale ? That’s easy, I would have to say that the biggest benefit has been the massive improvement in the quality of the information that we can now present on a property. We can have beautiful digital photography; property videos can now also be uploaded. Brochures can be down loaded from the internet also. Our focus is definitely on video footage at the moment, for both the website and for our social media content.

7. How has digital/on-line marketing impacted on relationship with vendors and customers ? We put a huge amount of resources into marketing Kinsella Estates and marketing the properties we sell. A professional website puts us on an elevated platform with our clients and customers. It showcases our expertise, which gives our company a competitive edge in a very competitive market. Using social media allows us to reach a wider target audience and provides an opportunity to communicate with our customers. Our clients and customers are more knowledgeable nowadays, and they have a higher expectation of the service they want. We strive to meet and surpass their needs, and we are always keen to embrace marketing methods, customer relationship management tools that enable us to deliver better service to our customers. We are committed to keeping up with technology and property trends; what’s good for our clients is good for the market.

Our website is also an important marketing tool, it also attracts a lot of visitors. It is part

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THE BUSINESS OF PROPERTY

Orlaith Carmody TAKE S A LO OK AT

Leadership The daily vibe we give off– calm, in control and effective; or conversely stressed, harried or pressurised - has a huge effect on those around us and impacts on how successful both ourselves and our teams will be.

A friend of mine...

friend of mine is making a very good living in the US advising business leaders on how to manage stress. She lectures, writes, and develops programmes to counteract the effects of trying to keep a hundred balls in the air, as we all seem to be doing these days. It’s important work, and the solutions available can be effective, but you have to get people to admit they are stressed in the first place, which is not always easy.

FINDING YOUR INNER S WA N In my own area of expertise, communications training and leadership development, I’m inclined to focus on the Swan effect – developing the skills to glide about as if you have everything firmly under control, while doing all the paddling underneath. Because the reality of most of our working lives is that we are expected to turn up and perform in a certain way every day, and to effectively and quietly manage whatever else might be going on in our lives. As business leaders we have to bring home the bacon, and to develop colleagues and associates to do the same thing. The daily vibe we give off – calm, in control and effective; or conversely stressed, harried or pressurised - has a huge effect on those around us and impacts on how successful both ourselves and our teams will be. But back to stress for a moment, it is a very attractive drug, well loved by high achievers. When we are working at a pace that is ‘flat out’ or ‘foot to the boards’ all kinds of happy, energy

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producing chemicals are being set to the brain. You know the one where you leave all the preparation for the deal to the last minute? In the panic that ensues, adrenaline floods your system, you perform out of your skin and do a great job. Whew, survived it! Great on that day, but the problem is if this is your approach all the time, and you haven’t developed good ways of recovering and relaxing afterwards, you could be damaging yourself and those around you. Here’s how. A ‘seat of the pants’ approach to preparation for a big event leaves a team confused, unnerved and demotivated. They want to help but they can’t. Their contribution is invalidated, because success depends on you, the leader, pulling it off on the day and nothing else. Why would they bother with research or preparation for the next one, or why would they develop any loyalty towards you or the business? And the tension and nervousness permeating the whole place, often

The difference between assertiveness and aggression.

accompanied by raised voices and doors slamming, is completely demoralising and disrupting for all.

Assertion is confident, strong and positive.

When we become addicted to the lovely high that stress gives us, and we can’t perform in any other way, we produce huge levels of the stress hormone cortisol.

Aggression is all about weakness and insecurity

As for damaging ourselves, oh dear!

Unchecked, it has loads of delightful effects like increasing blood pressure and cholesterol, causing weight gain, interfering with learning and memory and lowering the immune system. Who wants that? So if you are fond of stress, and use it as a regular and somewhat effective tool, the main thing is that you learn to counter it to protect your health, and that you learn to manage it to protect your reputation. You counter work related stress with exercise, a good diet, quality sleep, taking breaks from tasks and so on. You manage it by taking the decision to make these things a priority. So you can enjoy the moment of the stress high and the result obtained, once you get the cortisol out of your system afterwards on the treadmill. The alternative is a racing heart, a few drinks too many, a poor night’s sleep and a cranky attitude the next day. If you truly want to lead yourself and your team to more productivity and better outcomes you have to work on becoming that swan, the kind of leader whose self management – the paddling underneath that no one sees - has the result of inspiring trust, loyalty and respect.

Here are five swan strategies that might help: 1.

Knowing the difference between assertiveness and aggression. Assertion is confident, strong and positive. Aggression is all about weakness and insecurity.

Understanding the impact of your tone of voice. In heated exchanges we remember the emotion and the feeling. We very often forget or don’t hear the words, so the message is completely lost.

Being aware of your body language. It may be saying something completely different to your words.

Knowing your power, and using it correctly. Have you red light or green light flashing on your forehead, and what is that saying to others?

Staying consistent. The person you are today should be the person you are always. We shouldn’t have to wonder who is home today!

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THE BUSINESS OF PROPERTY

Carol Tallon TAKES A LO OK AT INDUSTRY

Corporate Social Responsibilit y

CSR is Dead Long Live Industry-Specific C o r p o r at e S o c i a l I m pa c t Resources spent addressing social needs without the structure of a business model are unsustainable and therefore incapable of having any significant impact .

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he business world can seem overly complex to the charity sector; an ‘us versus them’ attitude has always prevailed, making collaboration between the two sectors an all-too-rare occurrence. But this kind of attitude actually hinders the good intentions of many charities and effectively halts progress. It really is deceptively clear, business works by fulfilling the needs and wants of society at a profit – profit is key. This is new money to the business, a new asset that can be leveraged to make more and then the model for making more can be scaled to multiply that initial profit exponentially. This simple economic principle is the single greatest reason why charities are, at their core, vulnerable. The easiest way to explain this is to follow the path of money. All wealth is created through business; all revenue to the State stems from the taxation of business and private incomes are earned through business. Therefore it stands to reason that all NGO grants or private individual donations derive from one single source, and that is, income from business. I have heard it explained that business is the engine of economy while the charity sector might well be described as being fuelled by the gas/petrol vapours; they consume what is left over until its resources are exhausted. And the lack of a business model ensures that irrespective of goodwill and even good fiscal management,

the resources will run out. There is a simple explanation for this, without the business imperative to leverage resources, non-profit organisations spend until the resources run out.

Now if we can harness the power and profit-generating capacity of big business and marry that with the social integrity of non-profit organisations by introducing industry-specific innovation, then we can start to effect real change, impactful change. This is the essence of Corporate Social Responsibility or Corporate Social Impact, as I prefer to think of it. Successful CSR is about more than just giving. In fact, cash donations are the least efficient use of an organisations talents and resources. Position, influence, ability to identify opportunities to innovate and willingness to take action are the true assets that a business can leverage to create social change. There is a unique opportunity to collaborate with competitors, harness goodwill within the industry and, more importantly, become influencers and thought leaders within your own industry. At the moment companies tend to use the term ‘Corporate

Social Responsibility’ as a buzz word without fully understanding what it means. This is evident when they list their CSR initiatives as charitable donations. Certainly, a charitable donation locally might form part of an overall CSR strategy but, in itself, is not CSR. In fact, this element of marketing tokenism and inability or unwillingness to think big is a real impediment to a successful CSR strategy. It can be demoralising for the company when their donation has no impact. This directly affects employee and stakeholder buy-in, if not initially then certainly in the long term. But we are entering a new era of CSR in Ireland, post-recession. There is an opportunity for the property and construction community to re-define what Corporate Social Responsibility looks like in the context of the current housing crisis; hopefully this will be approached with the emphasis on industry-specific impact. It is my view that all beings thrive in balance; a commercial organisation is a living and breathing organism, as such, reciprocity is vital for any CSR to be sustainable. There must be mutual benefit. Companies are made up of human beings and human nature requires ‘wins’ for a sustained motivational effort. The ‘win’ for a company, in addition to doing good, is the positive PR that results. The project can be included in marketing initiatives to prove the company’s desire to help their industry. More significantly, leading much-needed change within the industry - for the benefit of society - establishs the driving company as thought-leaders within their industry.

Successful CSR does, and rightfully so, have a positive impact on the company’s bottom line. Keeping this bottom line growing is what will fuel further CSR projects. There can be no doubt that the business community has a significant role to play in social change and the mission of any CSR department or executive is to help their organisation to give back to society in a meaningful and impactful way. This can be achieved by turning business CSR budgets into passion projects that employees and clients can really get behind.

Innovative: To have genuine impact, the initiative must be innovative within the industry

M Meaningful: To achieve lasting impact, the change initiated must be meaningful P

Problem solving: The most successful CSI solves existing problems within the industry

Altruistic: There must be some social benefit arising from the initiative

Collaborative: Successful CSI will illicit buy-in from stakeholders, clients and even competitors

Thought Leaders: CSI will establish the driving company as thought leaders within the industry

Industry Specific CSR in Action In November 2014, I co-founded Project RIPPLE with a local architectural firm. We realised that the same single issue was causing a range of challenges across the range of industry sectors i.e. access to affordable housing that can be delivered in a timely fashion. This was and continues to be needed for the next generation of homebuyers who want a more flexible approach to living, not just two-bed starter apartments until they are ready to commit to a three or four bed semi in the suburbs with a 30 year mortgage. Affordable housing was and is needed to service the rental market in crisis. Most urgently, such housing was and remains necessary to provide for the growing number of homeless people and families in Ireland who struggle to find safe emergency accommodation in Dublin and other cities and towns throughout Ireland. One potential solution identified for fast, affordable building was the use of converted shipping containers. The problem was that there was no framework for the compliant building and use of such a structure within the Republic of Ireland. To solve the problem, we brought together 65 companies who donated their time, expertise, industry relationships and material resources. Over the course of three days, using only donated or sponsored time and materials, we successfully completed the fully-compliant home through an open build on the grounds of

the Irish Museum of Modern Art. On the fourth day, the home was donated to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul to house a mother and her children in Longford. As a result of that project, the government finally agreed to consider modular homes for emergency accommodation.

The business community had delivered in three days what the State had failed to do in more than three years of ‘talks’. This is impact. I understand that thinking big can seem overwhelming, especially when it is for a project that falls outside of a company’s usual business activities. But the very point of CSR is to use existing business expertise to effect the social change desired. This requires a greater level of commitment than merely assigning a proportion of profit towards charitable initiatives. It can be difficult to explain to companies that a cash donation to local charities the least effective use of its resources. In the absence of any CSR initiative, then of course it is better than doing nothing; however, companies need to be aware of their great position to positively impact their own industry by simply recognising the need and applying a business model to allocating resources.

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Businesses have key insights into their respective industries and are well placed to provide solutions, the route to successful CSR might well be by partnering with existing charitable, State or non-profit agencies to deliver these solutions. There is a strong case to be made for industry competitors to come together to tackle systemic failings within their industry. One recent example of this is the international banking community coming together to campaign against laws on homosexuality in Singapore. The LGBT community internationally have been

campaigning for change but were making slow progress in certain parts of the world. This unfair law, in addition to breaching human rights, causes a problem for the international banking community that needs to do business there, as doing business inevitably involves recruiting talent. The law makes working there impossible for a large number of people, which interferes with the international business community’s ability to attract top talent. This ongoing initiative or campaign is designed to have the human rights of the LGBT community recognised, which benefits society generally

and the banking industry specifically. This is CSR initiative that the corporations, their employees and their customers can get behind. This is impact. Societal problems must be addressed using a business model. To quote Harvard Business School Professor, Michael E. Porter: The ultimate impact that business can have is through business itself.

Redefining Corporate Social Responsibility with the emphasis on impact: Corporate Social Impact (CSI) This CSI movement is already happening within the construction and property industries across Ireland and the UK; let us know about your organisations initiatives by contacting: Carol@CarolTallon.com

‘Why Planning laws are important’

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High Profile Landmark Office Development High Profile Landmark Office Development at South County Business Park D18

yril McGuire unveils the development of a major new office scheme at the landmark entrance of South County Business Park, in the heart of the Sandyford Business District. Designed by award-winning architects TOTP; the new development will comprise three truly impressive office buildings and will deliver over 290,000 sq ft. of Grade A LEED Gold office space. The buildings are designed to exceed modern occupiers’ requirements in terms of quality, layout, generous car parking and bicycle parking; gym, showers, café and restaurant facilities; landscaped areas and impressive roof terraces. South County Business Park is a proven office location, further underpinned by Microsoft’s decision to locate its new 385,000 sq. ft. HQ campus on site. The surrounding area employs over 20,000 staff.

With the new Leopardstown link road improvements, the scheme benefits from unrivalled infrastructure accessibility and profile, situated beside the Green Luas Green and the M50 motorway. The Sandyford shuttle bus connecting to the DART and other bus routes all service the area with direct access to and from the city centre and surrounding areas. Joint agents, JLL and BNP Paribas Real Estate, are marketing the first of these buildings now simply named ‘One South County’. This landmark building has an impressive profile overlooking Leopardstown Road at the entrance of the park. The building extends to approximately 140,000 sq ft with the ground floor incorporating a staff gym, café and a customer service centre. The above floors are over 30,000 sq ft of efficient office space that will be finished to the highest standards. The top floor includes an extensive fully accessible roof garden with spectacular panoramic views.

Ireland’s Fastest Growing Development Land Team In a Changing World

The buildings benefit from over five acres of highly landscaped and sylvan setting that would offer the occupier’s staff a place for relaxation and some time out. The buildings are targeting the international LEED Gold In a Changing World standard which is a testament to outstanding energy and environmental efficiency and perfectly complements its surroundings

Ireland’s Fastest Growing Development Land Team

Deirdre Costello of JLL said: “We are proud to be involved in such a prestigious and important development and from our years of experience with this business park and its surroundings, believe these buildings will be much sought-after”. Thomas Carthy of BNP Paribas Real Estate has said: “One South County representsPatrick an Curran Mark Forrest Divisional Director Managing Director excellent opportunity for occupiers to secure Development Land Division best in class office space in a proven office IRELAND location withBNP thePARIBAS abilityREAL to ESTATE expand”. www.realestate.bnpparibas.ie

Our Development Land Team offer advice on: Site / land acquisitions and disposals Market trends, analysis and feasibility studies Site appraisals and strategic site selection Advanced discount cash flow calculations

Mark Forrest Divisional Director

Development Land Division

Patrick Curran Managing Director

For all Development Land queries: (t): +353 1 661 1233 (e): development.ireland@bnpparibas.com

BNP PARIBAS REAL ESTATE IRELAND www.realestate.bnpparibas.ie

Real Estate for a changing world LINK

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THE BUSINESS OF PROPERTY

The Challenge of Recruitment and Retaining Talent in the Construction Industry

Caroline McEnery, Founder of The HR Suite, member of the Low Pay Commission and adjudicator in the new Work Place Relations Commission.

www.theHRsuiteonline.com

alent management is imperative in any industry that struggles to attract and retain the right people. With most sectors suffering the War on Talent it is imperative that a company hold a good reputation as an employer in order to attract talent. If you have happy employees you will retain talent. Also, you will be in a better situation to encourage current employees to share current job opportunities with their social network. Word of mouth and referrals were always traditional tools of recruitment within the construction industry.

The fact that a current employee is promoting the company is a positive indication to a potential candidate. Furthermore, an organisation should be aware that no matter how well they advertise and pitch a job, if the candidate does not have a good interview experience, they are

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unlikely to take the job. Employers may also accommodate candidates thinking of moving or returning to Ireland by facilitating them with skype interviews etc. If the interview is a positive experience, candidates that may have had reservations or doubts pre- interview will change their minds. If you are losing candidates at interview stage, you need to reaccess your interviewing techniques with your hiring managers and HR team. Make sure you keep candidates updated after the interview. Organisations that win talent provide a positive recruitment process. Also, remember that candidates you don’t hire can also influence your company’s reputation. Continuous learning and development is now an imperative for candidates so it is important to communicate this in order to attract and retain them. It’s not all about the money, employees will easily swap employers for jobs to learn new skills even if the pay is comparable. If,

in general, employees are constantly staying aware of alternative career opportunities, it is imperative that you create a positive a reputation as a great employer. With the rise of social networking, it is important you use this tool to reach out to people as it is now the top way candidates find out about new jobs. If you do contact people, ensure that you explain the job role responsibilities and why they are a good fit the role. Presently, the construction and property industries in Ireland are both facing the challenge of attracting and retaining workers. During the boom era, employment in the construction sector in Ireland accounted for 13.4 per cent of total employment. At the time, this was one of the highest percentages in the E.U. and resulted in many foreign national workers targeting this sector. By 2014, employment in the construction sector represented a much-reduced level of 6 per cent of overall employment in Ireland.

Demand for skilled professionals in this area has increased hugely over the past eighteen months but it is difficult to see how this demand can be filled in the shortterm. In the current economy, with the shortage of houses and shortage of quality office spaces in our major cities, the construction sector is expected to rise by 5 % annually until 2018. With this good news comes the challenge of attracting workers and this will involve a two-pronged approach; firstly, the industry needs to communicate its current demand, secondly, they need to reach out to our most recent wave of emigrants worldwide and entice them, and their newly developed skill-sets, home. Talent management must be considered part of the overall business strategy. The HR function needs to articulate the needs and strategy of a business before any actionable talent strategy can be developed. Once the strategy is defined, the next step is to identify workforce segments. Employees will be segmented dependent on their inputs to the business. which work towards revenue and the overall organisational value.

Employers within the construction industry must nurture and develop their talent as employees will appreciate being able to flourish in their working environment and will feel valued by their employer. This focus on employee development will ensure that it is still seen as an attractive place to work.

The old-style approach is faced with many more challenges than just hiring and retaining employees. This approach is still the norm for a lot of organisations, and generally retaining employees is achieved by improving wages but with such a shortage of skilled workers within the construction sector, the industry needs to be more aware of the recruitment challenges in their industry and adapt their recruitment strategies to overcome these challenges. During the downturn, many skilled construction workers left Ireland to work abroad. The Middle East was particularly attractive with a construction boom and tax-free salaries. Similarly, Canada proved attractive to engineers as the market there was experiencing a shortage at that time. In addition to the skilled workers leaving, the international market was also attractive for construction companies to set up businesses abroad. With sunshine and in some instances - tax-free conditions to compete with, the industry needs to make it attractive for workers to return home. The Government recently announced a stimulus package incorporating a tax incentive scheme to increase developments and jobs in the construction sector so it will be interesting to see how quickly this will reverse trends. With the effects of the downturn, there was an inevitable decline of school leavers applying for courses linked to construction. Construction organisations now need to promote the industry and make it attractive to school leavers by encouraging students to re-enter these third level courses. Attractive graduate programmes are a very effective way to attract key graduates.

In relation to craft workers, a level that takes four to five years of training to achieve, Government and the sector generally has acknowledged that the traditional method of apprenticeships is dated. Solas (further education and training agency) is planning to create a new apprenticeship system to make it more attractive. Furthermore, the Construction Industry Federation of Ireland (CIF) launched www.apprentices. ie to provide information and promote apprenticeships as opposed to third level college courses. Another significant challenge for the industry is to create a sense of job security. The extent of subcontracting and self - employment in the industry can be seen as low job security. Skilled workers returning to the industry from the boom times might still have the feeling of being ‘badly burnt’ from their experience of the downturn. An offer of a secure place to work is an imperative tool in this case. Also an offer to upskill workers will be required with the change of regulations and change of working techniques with many have being in long term unemployment since 2008. The construction industry may also want to look at the reputation of being a male dominated industry. This reputation is mainly put down to the industry being physically demanding but equally it could be seen more socially acceptable for men to enter the industry as opposed to women. The sector must accept that women can do most jobs in construction and it may be missing out on valued talent by unconscious bias or gender based discrimination towards women.

In conclusion, to attract talent, the sector needs current and successive government to incentivise up-skilling within the industry. This will be done by communicating the long-term career prospects and providing better apprenticeship and graduate programmes. In order to retain this talent, companies need to provide job security and a good place to work with genuine career development potential.

“Retention of talent is a top priority for 40 per cent of Ireland’s HR leaders according to PWC Ireland’s first HR Director Pulse survey. The most popular approaches to appraising staff according to the survey are through informal feedback, annual people surveys and performance ratings. A good talent management programme can have a massive impact on retaining key talent in the areas most needed. In a time when organisations are recovering and strengthening it’s time to realise that talent needs to be managed with the same energy as other parts of the business.“

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THE BUSINESS OF PROPERTY

A reputation that took decades to build could be lost over a single online post... By Sarah Holland, Riskeye.

Unlocking the Potential of Being Online without Reputational Risk Reputational risk is ranked the #1 risk facing businesses today (AONS Global Survey). Businesses feel under threat and vulnerable online. The online world is unregulated and unedited. Everyone now has a voice and can express their opinion about a business or person regardless of whether it is unfair, inaccurate or defamatory. Many businesses, particularly SME’s, react to this by either disengaging and removing themselves from online or simply never setting up an online presence. UK executives estimate that their economy could receive an annual boost of £90 billion if companies fully develop their digital potential (Virgin Media Business). Businesses require the capital, confidence, and support to

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un-tap the potential of being online - everyone has the right to protect their reputation and feel that online is available to them too.

Why Online? The potential for reputational risk originating online is particularly high. 41% of businesses that experienced a negative reputation event reported loss of brand value and revenue (Deloitte). Conversely those that lead the field in reputation see their businesses grow twice as fast as their competitors. Social media is fast becoming one of the most successful ways to heighten a business’s brand and presence, showcase its products and services, connect with the customer and generate growth. If the business is listening to feedback, reviews, trends and analytics they have a unique channel to understand so much more than just using it for marketing and promoting the business. Social media should be treated as a fundamental component of the business

incorporating branding, a financial driver, developing and growing the customer base, international reach and the ability to do business 24/7.

Protecting Your Reputation A businesses reputation is one of its greatest assets. Once online the business needs to protect that asset in the same way it would protect its products and infrastructure. The online world has enabled consumers to voice their opinions in a way that they couldn’t or wouldn’t previously. Power has shifted towards them as they wield the ability to speak to a potentially huge audience and say things that they might not in a face to face situation. If a business is going to ensure that their reputation and brand are risk free a proactive approach must be taken. Businesses consist of several components each with their own risks that should be protected accordingly. Their technology, employees and online presence require individual attention and protection.

The technology that a business uses is the front door to its online business. Burglar alarms, guard dogs, security and CCTV are routinely employed by businesses to protect its physical assets, this approach should be adopted as actively with its technology. The latest firewalls and anti-virus software should be installed and updated. Any data that is vital or sensitive should be backed up either on a backup hard drive or the cloud. Passwords should be very strong in their integrity and changed regularly. Employees should be trained to represent a business ensuring that the professionalism and message required is conveyed and delivered. If employees are not trained the implications could be catastrophic to a business. They should understand how to use the technology within a business avoiding mistakes that might for example let in a virus or a hacker. They should also understand how to represent the business on social media, employing the right etiquette and security methods. Limiting the number of employees that have administrative access to social media accounts and having a clear social media policy will help keep your data safe. Online there is so much out of a business’s control with regard to the potential risks. Everyone is online 24/7, business is accessible

on a global level and access to technology outside of the office, via smartphones etc reinforces this. You cannot possibly keep your business secure anymore on a 9-5 basis. The difficulty arises when the business doesn’t pay attention to the conversations and miscalculates the impact and scale of the potential problem when not managed effectively. The number of conversations and individuals involved, the diversity in comments, complaints and negative feedback can present a challenge. However if you know what is being said by monitoring the conversations you can respond in an accurate, timely and professional manner. There are automated monitoring systems like Google alerts that can take care of this for you, but only to a limited extent. They cannot determine sentiment and will therefore miss crucial information that will hurt your brand or business, for instance,

“ Well done Xxxxxx, thanks for getting my delivery to me on time! ” An automated alert system would let this post through, not detecting the sarcasm. For 100% protection through monitoring, your only option is a business that uses agents and analysts to view all the information and make the decision as to whether it is a risk or not.

High profile examples of online reputational threats to businesses;

Deepwater Horizon Incident After 11 people were killed and a spill of 206 Million gallons of crude oil occurred. This is the largest PR disaster in the corporation’s history. Corporate shares fell from $60 to $27 in one month which wiped $100 billion from the shareholder value. BP were fined to establish a $20 billion fund to cover the costs of the leak. The negative effects to the brand have been enormous and the PR work continues to this day to repair the damage.

VW Defeat Device VW admitted in 2015 that they had installed a defeat device that allowed cars to change their performance which improved results while being tested. They have since admitted 11 million cars worldwide have been affected.VW has set aside €6.7bn (£4.8bn) to cover costs. That resulted in the company posting its first quarterly loss for 15 years of €2.5bn. VW shares have fallen by about a third since the scandal broke. That’s unlikely to be the end of the financial impact. The EPA has the power to fine a company up to $37,500 for each vehicle that breaches standards, that’s a maximum fine of about $18bn. 8.5 million cars will be recalled in Europe and 500,000 in the US as a result of the emissions scandal. Written by: Sarah Holland

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Raised in a “tough as nails” construction family, Ian Hurdle was born in Winchester, England in 1975. The understanding was that nothing good comes out of life unless you work very hard to create opportunity and to maximise that opening, should you be lucky enough to get it. His is not an overnight success story. Along the way there has been hard luck, sacrifice and bad decisions; both business and personal.

Work & Play in The Caribbean F

ast forward 41 years and Ian is the owner-manager of 14 companies in The Caribbean. His model is to market the endless development opportunities in the islands; assist the would-be purchaser to invest; design build the project; manage to maximise return on investment on the exploding shortterm rental market, and then flip in three to five years’ time for a profit.

an then repeats the process with the same client at a higher tier of investment, and assists the buyer of the project just sold, to achieve the same. This modus operandi is repeated with multiple clients on multiple islands. All the services in the model are either provided in-house via Ian’s various businesses or through his network of trusted local contractors. Twenty years in The Caribbean have seen him do everything from construction and landscaping in the Cayman Islands to property management, real estate and renewables in the Turks and Caicos islands, leading and being part of teams that have design built and managed projects of over $500 million. Seven Stars, Windsong, The Somerset, The Venetian, The Tuscany and the renowned Grace Bay Beach all have his signature styling. The network encompasses HauteLiving; Four Hundred Media Group; Luxury Retreats; Villas of Distinction; and EliteLyfe, just some of the

global brands that work with Ian to funnel clients to the islands. Relationship building has been key to the success of the model. Ian joined the Regency team, an affiliate of Christie’s International Real Estate in the Turks and Caicos Islands, and TCREA in 2012. The islands were still in recession at that time and the largest client base – the U.S. was in recovery. The vision was to plan for recovery in a spectacular location with word-class beaches, water sports and restaurants as well as 350 days of sunshine annually. On completion of three years proabationary period as an agent, Ian was in a position to apply for his own brokerage. The question was, of all the brands available with to partner with on the islands, who could best provide the network to provide leads that could afford to purchase real estate of between $1 million and $50million. Enter Billy Rose; Mauricio Umansky and Santiago Arana – The Agency. A flight from the islands and a 15-minute pitch cemented the partnership. Its client base of A-list celebrities was the perfect partner for Ian and his vision – clients that could afford to invest, regardless of market conditions and who would bring positive exposure to islands not well known globally because of the tourist board’s limited budget. Social media was another huge factor in the journey to success. Ian sees The Caribbean as his oyster, with the

pearls at present being the Turks and Caicos islands; the Cayman Islands; The Bahamas and Cuba, with Miami as the gateway. With numerous requests to expand his Trail and LuxuryLiving brands into other islands, the potential, he believes, is enormous.

Having learned from the sins of the past, quality over quantity is seen as the pathway to sustainable success. The model will live or die by the quality of management and staffing on the islands, and in The Caribbean this takes investment, training and HR expertise as the skill level and labour laws on islands can vary greatly. The introduction of expatriate management is seen as key, although this can be challenging given the expense and requirement for work permits as well as the relocation and cultural adjustment required. Many have come and many have left – a common theme in the region. It is fabulous to vacation in the islands but a different story to work in them. Over 20 years of thriving in one of this demanding environment with its lack of business infrastructure and basic services shows a strength of character and drive to successed – traits of this work-obssessed serial entrepreneur.

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Zero Carbon Investment Opportunity

Having left home in 1985 at the age of 15 and gone to work with his uncles on the building sites of London, John McClatchey mastered his trades over an eight year period before returning to Armagh and delivering homes and apartments with his late father who was also in the construction business. When the property crash struck, rather than rest on his laurels, John used the time to garner expertise in zero carbon homes and sustainable construction in general.

“During the good times when we were extremely busy, I always kept my eye on the ball as regards sustainable building, and when things quietened down, I travelled extensively to research the whole area,” he said. When Kingspan helped Barratt Developments to achieve Level 6 of the Code for Sustainable Homes for its ‘Barratt Green House’, an innovatively designed home, John visited BRE Innovative Park in Watford in England in 2007 to view it, along with his architects. That prototype inspired him to delve even deeper into delivering sustainable construction and to work on harnessing emerging green technologies across Europe and worldwide. In 2012 John founded Green Future which operates across the island of Ireland from its Armagh base. The same year he delivered Northern Ireland’s first zero carbon house accredited with five years rates exemption.

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The ground-breaking prototype build was officially opened by Environment Ministers Alex Attwood MLA and T.D Phil Hogan and gained extensive media coverage including BBC NI News. The response to his vision – to provide well designed quality sustainable homes at conventional prices – caught the imagination of people throughout the country, he said: “Over 130 dignitaries attended the official opening, from as far away as London. We got great publicity from the launch.” John said. This led to a lot of business, building sustainable one-off houses. Green Future commissioned Ulster University to carry out performance testing of the Green Future house. The research found that the Green Future house provided a 77 per cent improvement thermal performance compared to the minimum building regulations mandatory requirement.

John points out that a Green Future house is constructed up to five times faster than a traditional house and crucially delivers near zero energy bills. Green Future has close links with leading social housing providers in Ireland with Respond! Housing having provided Green Future with a letter of intention for partnership in rolling out near zero energy social housing. The whole area of low energy social housing is going to get a lot bigger. The feedback from

the one-off homeowners we have worked with has been more than positive, so we expect a lot of interest from local authorities and housing associations. Fuel poverty is a big issue currently.” The plan is to build a new warehouse and start manufacturing Green Future’s own range of green energy technologies as well as expanding into social housing. “I am now seeking a company or a developer to come on board with me to move these areas faster. Europe is dictating that more social housing should be built and the construction industry is moving towards more sustainable homes,” John said.

“While some housing developments were thrown up during the boom, buyers now are a lot more cautious and people are aware of the savings that can be achieved through sustainable design. As an award-winning company, Green Future is poised to capitalise on current thinking.”

him do everything from construction and landscaping in the Cayman Islands to property management, real estate and renewables in the Turks and Caicos islands, leading and being part of teams that have design built and managed projects of over $500 million. Seven Stars, Windsong, The Somerset, The Venetian, The Tuscany and the renowned Grace Bay Beach all have his signature styling.

Quality You want the best possible house?

Zero Carbon Investment Opportunity

So, do we. As well as pioneers in zero carbon homes, how we also differ from other self build providers, is the time, care and absolute attention to detail we put into all of our designs. We don’t compromise on the quality of our materials or construction techniques, in fact, you’ll notice our award winning high standards right from when you start working with us and in every corner of your home. • •

Innovation We have set the bar in design and construction of house building • Savings • Benefit with up to 77 per cent savings on your home energy bills • A home that requires 10 times less energy • Affordable • Our unique ideas lay the foundation for sustainable dream homes at conventional prices The ISOQUICK® concept: The insulation system made of Peripor® surrounds the part of the building touched by the ground and serves as a foundation. The building insulation above ground continues uninterrupted from the edge of the insulation system. Green Future NI Ltd. 266D Monaghan Road, Doogary, Tynan, County Armagh. BT60 4SQ Telephone (+44) 028 3756 9789 office@greenfuture-ni.com www.greenfuture-ni.com

Contact John McClatchey direct on 0044 7710883107

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LINK

LUXURY LISTING

FOR

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TURKS AND CAICOS TurksandCaicosLuxuryLiving.com

Tip of the Tail

The Luxury Villa Redefined: $8,881,492 Tip of the Tail literally redefines “luxury villa,” built in record time with innovative, new, unmatched technology, the world’s first off the grid Tesla solar powered luxury home, a work of art, $8,881,492. If purchased as a rental investment, the owner along with their not paying tax, property tax, inheritance tax, no capital gains tax, and having permanent residency, would stand to generate an annual income stream of $800k per year.

Glorious views and an abundance of natural beauty, Turks and Caicos is ‘luxury’ pure and simple. To learn more, visit us online at TurksandCaicosLuxuryLiving.com or contact Interest@TurksLuxury.com - 649.431.2622

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Where your gifts of today become the heirlooms of tomorrow

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DOWN TIME TRAVEL WELLNESS MOTORING HORSE RACING STYLE GROOMING GADGET AND APP REVIEW

L E T ’ S P L AY

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DOWNTIME

Surf Air Air Travel Disruptor Surf Air Brings All-YouCan-Fly Service to Europe

embership airline offers European travelers smart and affordable travel with streamlined experience including easy booking, avoidance of long queues, and travel flexibility. LONDON, UK – July 8, 2016 – Surf Air, the all-you-can-fly membership club, today announced the launch of its European operations, offering a smart, unique option for unlimited air travel to businesses and consumers for a monthly fee from October onwards. Travelling aboard a state of the art executive jet, Surf Air routes will include multiple flights between UK’s London Luton Airport, Cannes, Geneva and Zurich and on a daily basis. There will also be weekend flights to the likes of Ibiza, with further regular destinations to include the likes of Dublin, Paris, Amsterdam and Barcelona planned to be introduced in 2017. Members of the service will pay a monthly fee of £2500, which will allow them to fly an unlimited amount of times between destinations and also offer friends and family guest passes from £750 one way. Booking can be done either online or through an app in 30 seconds or less with Surf Air’s system, allowing users to enjoy the ease of well-appointed, dedicated air terminals with valet parking and free Wi-Fi – rarely seen in commercial airports.

Previously nicknamed the ‘Uber’ or ‘Netflix’ of air travel, this European expansion is a sign of the success Surf Air’s disruptive travel model has brought to the industry. Launched in California in 2013 as the country’s first private membership airline, Surf Air now has 3,000 Members. With up to 90 daily flights to 13 destinations in and around the state, Members are able to enjoy an all-you-can-fly service without the hassle and frustration of commercial travel. Said Surf Air Chairman, Sudhin Shahani, “We are incredibly excited for the launch of a European business led by highly capable aviation and subscription business veteran Simon Talling-Smith. This is a great step to further Surf Air’s growth objective of providing a game-changing product for frequent travellers across major business routes globally.”

“The whole aim of Surf Air is to combine simplicity and convenience, giving business and leisure travellers across Europe a fresh, new way to fly that saves valuable time,” said Simon Talling-Smith, CEO of Surf Air in Europe. “We see our model as the future of air travel and it has been greatly received in the California market since its launch. Our innovative service provides fantastic value to regular travellers not seen elsewhere, and we look forward to expanding our club and delivering a distinctive travel experience to Europe’s top destinations.”

For additional information visitwww.surfair. com, or follow Surf Air at www.facebook.com/ surfair, www.instagram.com/surfair/ and www. youtube.com/surfair. Surf Air Europe Ltd is a licensee of the trademarks and technology of Surf Airlines, Inc. Surf Air Europe Ltd will make flights available to its members who will pay a membership fee entitling them to book seats. Flights will be operated on Surf Air Europe Ltd’s behalf by TAG Aviation (UK) Ltd which is licensed as an air carrier in accordance with EU and UK law by the UK Civil Aviation Civil Authority, and will exercise full operational control of the aircraft. For additional information, please visit www.surfair.com/eu. Surf Air press contact (UK): Sean McAuley Email: sean.mcauley@text100.co.uk Mobile: +44 (0)7974 161 100

To find out more about Surf Air or how to become a Member of Surf Air’s European services, please visit: www.surfair.com/eu. About Surf Air Launched in 2013 in California, Surf Air is the easy and smart way to fly. The world’s first membership club of its kind, Surf Air simplifies flying by providing limitless flights in the Surf Air network for a monthly fee. Servicing California and European destinations, Surf Air is redefining the future of flying and living for its members. Featured in the LA Times, Wall Street Journal, BBC, CNBC, Fox Business and many other media outlets for disrupting the air travel industry, the airline provides exclusive service on executive aircraft to and from convenient airports in the US and Europe including London, Zurich and Cannes with service to additional locations to follow.

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T R AV E L : E X P E R I E N C E

For most of us, the reality of train journeys is that we use them to get from A to B as quickly as possible, squeezing in as much work as we can. Soaking up the scenery is generally not on the agenda as meetings, deadlines and work pressures occupy our frazzled minds.

hat’s where the Belmond Grand Hibernian Sleeper Train – dubbed Ireland’s answer to the Orient Exress – comes in. The 252m long train – the longest in the country – is operated by the Belmond organisation. It’s known for its chain of luxury hotels globally as well as other upscale

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travel offerings including the Venice Simplon Orient Express and the Eastern and Oriental in Southeast Asia. The notion of boarding Ireland’s first sleeper train and wielding your way through some of the most scenic parts of the island is

an appealing one for those of us jaded by airport security hassles and queues, and keen to unwind in a spectacular setting. Primarily targeting people from the U.S., the U.K., and the European markets, the Belmond Grand Hibernian offers Irish people the chance to really get to know the most beautiful parts of the country from a unique vantage point. The company sees itself as providing a relaxed Irish country house experience on the move. Incorporating ten midnight blue carriages named after Irish counties; 20 en suite cabins; two dining cars and an observation car, all recently revamped by

specialist outfitters Mirvan Marine Ltd, Belfast, it’s all very civilised indeed. The interior design celebrates Georgian architecture and the flora and fauna of the Irish landscape. The Belmond opulent sleeper offers two, four and six night itineries from the capital. Golf tours are also available. Those looking to get away from the daily grind will relish the romanticism of the six night grand tour of Ireland, which takes in Cork, Killarney, Galway, Waterford and Belfast. The food sets out to rival the top restaurants in Dublin, with creative onboard menus reflecting the finest ingredients from the

to facilitate families. There’s also a cabin for those with limited mobility. The seven day, six night, grand tour of Ireland, from €7,722, is the blowout option. Guests board the train in Dublin in the early afternoon, savouring afternoon tea as they make their way to the beautiful south. On arrival in Cork, they are treated to a private tour of the Jameson Experience, with a tasting session. Dinner is served as the train continues to Charleveille where it stables for its first night.

regions through which the train travels. Belmond has introduced its head chef as Alan Woods, who previously was based at the Michelin starrred Thornton’s restaurant, Dublin. Expect delicacies such as roast Killarney venison loin; scallops from the Beara Peninsula; Donegal turf smoked salmon; and traditional seafood chowder.

The chef and his team serve breakfasts, lunches and dinners in two carriages. ‘Sligo’ is arranged in tables of four, with silver accents and chrome finishes. The scheme is softened

with Waterford crystal vases; muted greys and warm woods for a contemporary effect that gives a nod to Georgian architecture. The light-filled space that is ‘Wexford’ features Irish tweeds and Celtic motifs. Seating guests at tables of six, it’s the perfect place to trade stories of the day’s activities with your fellow travellers. Sixteen twin and four double cabins – all en suite - are available. All double cabins can interconnect with twin cabins,

A private tour of Blarney Castle and Gardens, with the opportunity to kiss the Blarney Stone, is first up on day two. Lunch is served on board before continuing to the Lakes of Killarney. A pony and trap tour is followed by a boating excursion across Lake Leane. Then it’s back to the train for fine dining. Day three sees the City of the Tribes on the agenda. There’s an optional tour to the Cliffs of Moher, with lunch served at a local restaurant. Champagne, oysters and live music make for a magical ambience. Dinner is served onboard as the train makes its way to Athlone. The backdrop for breakfast on day four continues to catch the imagination as the train continues to Wextport. An excursion to Ashford Castle takes in an interactive falconry experience

and a guided walk of the gardens. The journey back to the train meanders through Connemara National Park. Onboard, dinner is accompanied by local entertainment.

The journey on day five sees the train wind back towards the capital where an optional half-day tour is on offer. If you’ve never seen the Book of Kells at Trinity College; stepped inside St Patrick’s Cathedral; or truly explored the ever-evolving Temple Bar, then now is the time to do it. It is then time to rejoin the train and set off for a private guided tour of the Titanic Experience in Belfast. On day six, guests disembark at the Viking port of Waterford to visit Curraghmore House with a special tour and afternoon tea. Then it’s on to the House of Waterford Crystal to get an insight into the craftsmanship for which it is famous. The day is rounded off with a farewell dinner with local entertainment. The following morning, the trip concludes in Dublin after breakfast. After such an indulgent experience, you’ll never look at train travel quite the same way again. For booking details contact www.belmond.com

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Getting Lost in

Granada

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Orla Fitzmaurice Web designer & strategist, social tech enthusiast and self-confessed, slow traveling day-dreamer recalls her Granada adventure. Keep up with Orla’s travels on... www.PortobelloWild.com

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Arabic treat. Sit back and dream for a few hours as you float away on a Moorish cloud of smoke. Wander back out into the chaos and, just to the top of the street, visit Iglesa San Gregorio, which is the home to a reclusive order of nuns who dress all in white and keep a 24 hour vigil at the alter.

The internet is down, I have a deadline and my red-faced, frustrated landlord is gesturing wildly at one bar of weak internet she is picking up by the door of my apartment, like it is the answer to all my prayers. She speaks no English, I have only pigeon Spanish, it is Cinco de Mayo and Granada is closed for the festival. I am WiFi-less for four days, which is an abrupt introduction to what is referred to euphemistically as Spanish Time. Spanish Time, I quickly learn, involves periods of work sporadically dispersed around festivals, socialising, eating and drinking. Deadlines do not exist in this time zone.

Most cities operate at a frantic pace but there is only one speed here – cruise. Hills, heat and €2 tasty local wine with accompanying tapas slow you down until all you can do is relax and readjust your priorities to

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Spanish time - the ultimate valium for the overworked. Two glasses of vino blanco and a mushroom risotto later, this wireless web-designer is feeling much more Zen. Breathing in the heady scent of neroli from the gently swaying orange trees while listening to the mesmerizing sound of flamenco buskers reverberate around the plaza, worries simply melt away. So, what now? Without the aid of Google Maps, my only option was to get lost in Granada.

There is no better place in the world to get lost in the Albaycin – a labyrinth of beautiful, narrow, old stone streets curling up and down the mountain that faces the Alhambra. You are never really sure of where you are going but know that you will eventually get there. Stumbling across any of the miradors that overlook the Alhambra will take your breath away – it never failed me in the entire month I was there. If you are lucky, you might just get a

peep into one of the carmens – luxurious vine-covered private gardens with panoramic views. Behind their high walls, they are perfect examples of the strong Islamic roots of the area; a worship and appreciation of natural beauty behind closed doors. Their quest for privacy informs the charm of the district.

To keep prying eyes at bay, doors are never directly opposite each other, despite the close confines of the narrow streets. Granada is an incredible melting pot of culture and tolerance, with tourists, gypsies, traders and locals all happily mingling together. While strolling down Calle Caldereria Nueva, stop into one of the many Arabic tea shops, known as teterias, to try a hookah pipe with a chai latte and a sticky

Every so often, the narrow streets open unexpectedly onto social courtyards, giving you the chance to rest with a glass of beer or a local wine. Every drink is accompanied by a complimentary tapa, and don’t feel shy about demanding yours, it is expected. I spent my first week staring dolefully at the Jamón on top of my crusty bread until I discovered that it is perfectly acceptable to ask for a vegetarian tapa! I learned this after my local bar owner loudly berated me for ignoring his chicken wing – the Spanish are not a subtle race.

And Granada is not a subtle place. The people are loud, the temperature temperamental; the views incredible and the crowds intense. Beauty is everywhere, from the children in flamenco garb to the wisteria floating down the terrace at Carrera del Darro onto your fried aubergine, while you gaze up at the mountain fortress that is the Alhambra. Though I visited San Miguel Alto at sunset many times during

T R AV E L : A D V E N T U R E my stay, one night was simply unforgettable. With a picnic of cheese, pickles, olives, salty crisps and beer, we grabbed a taxi to the top just in time for the spectacle. As usual, friends perched along the perimeter walls of the church awaiting their own religious experience – the sunset over Granada. As the sun falls, the lights of the Alhambra rise, cloaking the summit in a dreamlike trance. This particular night, we were surprised to see a young band playing a jazzy set to a small crowd of excited young locals. We found a spot at the church doors to feast and watch the friendly festivities.

There was very little alcohol involved; these kids were just in love with life, the music and each other. All were welcome to join, even the band themselves joined in the dancing; friends carried their friend on crutches over their heads and the jokers entertained, as the beats took us higher than the highest peak we were on. We could have stayed there all night but eventually the batterypowered amps gave up, so we trundled down the mountainside in the dark to weave our way back through the mysterious streets of Sacromonte.

Sacromonte, or the sacred mountain, was where all of the undesirables were exiled to during the Christian take over, especially the gypsies.

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Here they lived, in houses carved out of the mountainside, and a melting pot of cultures blended to form Granada’s famous flamenco dance and music. Today’s true gypsies have been forced further into the mountains to cave houses without electricity or running water, as they seek existence outside the monetary economy. Granada, it seems, will always be a mecca for creative, idealistic outsiders, alongside the splendor of great wealth and architecture.

Creativity is one of the bedrocks of Granada; I was enchanted by the exceptional illustration scene in the city. I came home with more prints than walls to hang them upon. The theme is generally joyful, thoughtful and bathed in color. It brings pleasure to support them; to support this exciting, fulfilling and wonderful industry that is such a great reflection of the creativity and youth of Granada.

And nowhere is this creative scene more clearly experienced than in Realejo, the rebellious heart of the city. Here the walls are a gallery to local graffiti. Images of beautiful women, children and animals are artfully drawn.

Far from the anarchy of Berlin, graffiti in Granada is cheerful and inclusive, just like the people.

bread. Visitors are cautioned not to expect a teeming welcome or to be fussed over – there are no seats – my advice is to just lean, dine and enjoy the experience.

A shrine to The Clash frontman Joe Strummer is found at Strummer Plaza, and the building beside it is, fittingly, a squat, and the home of famous Granada graffiti artist El niño de las pinturas. Realejo is also a mecca for vegetarian food, and it was there that we encountered our first ever vegetarian, gluten free restaurant, El Piano. My partner, Phil, a vegetarian coeliac, was in seventh heaven. Other favorite veggie restaurants were the difficult to find; El Oju, in the shopping district, Hicuri, also in Realejo; Paprika, at the foot of the Albaycin and Al Laurel, which provides a somewhat more upmarket vegetarian offering.

If, like me, you love markets, Mercado San Agustín is a small but brilliant indoor market selling fish, meat, vegetables, wines, cheese and, of course, olive oil. This is where I indulged weekly, picking up a new variety of local cheese and a bottle of wine recommended by a local expert. It was here that I got one of the best bottles of wine I have ever enjoyed – if only I could remember the name of it! As a slow traveler, it is not my style to see a city in a whirlwind weekend. Nothing gives you more of a sense of a place than shopping, socialising and working like a local, even if it is just for a few weeks.

For the carnivores, Granada is a mecca for Jamon lovers with giant legs decorating the walls of most eateries. My absolute favorite of these is Bodega La Mancha – a stunningly wood carved tapas bar on Calle Joaquín Costa, just a stroll from Plaza Nueva. There is a staff of two only, one inside the tapas counter and one inside the bar. Unusually, tapas are not free with your drink here but it is an experience with one shouting orders to the other and giant casks of sherry and wine behind the bar. I adored the tortilla and pickled olives here, as well as the deliciously salted crusty

As I reflect on my time in Granada, it is not the Alhambra, as stunning as it is that comes to mind. Rather, it is the festivals and daily way of life that capture the true spirit of the city. The adventure is to be found chasing flower crosses across the city on Cruz de Mayo, getting serenaded by drunken businessmen during siesta, the heady scent of Neroli in the air and having no clue of where I was in the Albaycin. Getting lost in Granada, I found an appreciation of a slower pace of life, understanding and tolerance of other cultures and a whole lot of wine and cheese!

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Abu Dhabi - The Emirates Hotel

By: Tanzy Ajmal

Abu Dhabi

Where to stay

Staying in the UAE, Abu Dhabi is also a fantastic sunny spot to kick back and party. New Year’s Eve here is not celebrated in a specific club or area, but the entire city. Whether it’s hotels, restaurants, the streets, the clubs, or the market places - everywhere you will find New Year parties and fireworks.

The five-star Emirates Palace Hotel is a luxurious 5-star hotel, known as one of the best New Year’s Eve party destinations in Abu Dhabi, organising a spectacular fireworks event. Enjoy the best view of the fireworks as you relax on the hotel beach and the other facilities. The grand New Year’s Eve party is one to put on the wish list. Relax over the famous Palace Cappuccino, or the camel milk-infused Camelccino as you plan the night’s entertainment. Limousines, a helicopter or private jet are at your disposal should you decide to do a spot of business or indulge in retail therapy.

Abu Dhabi has attracted a number of major film productions in recent years including Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie stayed in Abu Dhabi to film for War Machine. Temperatures in Dubai and Abu Dhabi at this time of year range from a pleasant 22 to 25 degrees Celcius.

The entire crew of Fast and the Furious 7 stayed and shot scenes of the film at the Emirates Palace so if it was good enough for them, it is good enough for us. Prices from €1468.67 per room per night, with up to 25 per cent discount available if you book 14 days in advance.

DUBAI W

hen it comes to competitive spirit, there’s nowhere quite like Dubai with the pressure always on to achieve the biggest and the best. It should come as no surprise then that New Year’s Eve there is the experience of a lifetime. Some of the glitziest New Year’s Eve extravaganzas are organised in the city state. Countdown parties, concerts, and fireworks are all laid on in style for revellers. There is also also the opportunity to experience the breathtaking view from The Burj Khalifa - the mega tall skyscraper where Tom Cruise filmed scenes for Mission Impossible 5.

Celebrities abound here - Ronan Keating once shot his music video on the Burj Al Arab helipad. Be prepared to be starstruck and to again dig deep. 104

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105 Abu Dhabi - The Burj Al Arab Jumeirah

Dubai Burj Al Arab Jumeirah is one of the most opulent hotels globally, located on an artificial island. It is the third tallest and known as the lone seven-star hotel in the world. Burj Al Arab provides a special package for its New Year’s Eve event. It includes the New Year’s Eve cocktail party, gala dinner, live entertainment, fireworks show and a gift. The decadent interiors bring luxury to a whole new level. The terrace contains a restaurant, pool, beach, and cabana space, offering guests and Burj Al Arab members the finest Arabian hospitality. Nine signature restaurants and bars cover a range of experiences. The hotel provides private butler and VIP services and a dedicated helicopter transfer, Rolls Royce transfer and BMW 7 Series transfer service to make your welcome unforgettable.

HOW TO GET THERE Dubai Emirates fly from: London Heathrow, London Gatwick, Manchester, Birmingham and Glasgow. Aer Lingus and RyanAir are among those serving these airports.

Abu Dhabi Etihad Airways fly from: Dublin, with Aer Arann connections from Cork, Galway, Knock and Sligo, and from Belfast via London Heathrow. Early hotel booking is recommended for New Year’s Eve.

Prices start from € 2337.19 per room per night. IRISH

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P u t t i ng Yo u r se l f Bac k o n t h e S ch ed ul e An appointment you can’t afford to miss...

ith the economy ramping up once again, many of us are guilty of taking shortcuts when it comes to our health and wellbeing. Whether it’s fielding phone calls until all hours or not eating properly, the balancing act can unravel all too easily. We can quickly become stressed, finding it difficult to switch off and sleep. It’s small wonder that so many of us are turning to yoga retreats to destress and rejuvenate. The eastern practice of yoga has been around for over 5,000 years. It brings together physical and

WE’RE LOOKING FORWARD TO:

Wellness Weekend Learn, Relax & Enjoy Nov. 18th – 20th Three days of yoga, vegetarian cookery classes, mindfulness meditation and deep relaxation sessions with long ocean and cliff walks. www.cliffsofmoherretreat.com

Join Us

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mental disciplines that have been credited with everything from helping stress management to managing chronic conditions. The array of benefits from increased bone density to reduced anxiety, and the variety of yoga forms from Iyengar to Hatha, is seeing more and more people make for the mat. Two people who have long advocated the myriad advantages of yoga are husband and wife Michelle and Michael Moroney of the Cliffs of Moher Retreat. Having founded Yogatraveller in 2004, they returned to Ireland,

renovating them to create their dream retreat centre. In 2014, a state-of-the-art studio was built, thanks to LEADER funding.

relocating to Co. Clare. Their cottage became the home of their first yoga retreat venture. Coming across the farmhouses of Moher Lodge, Liscannor, set against the Atlantic Ocean and the fields coming down from the majestic Cliffs of Moher, was a moment that changed their lives. After closing the deal on the five houses in 2012, they began

and the water’s edge just seven minutes’ away. The underfloor heated studio faces directly out to Liscannor Bay. A supersized glass wall takes in the stunning sea view. There’s also a therapy room for massage and other treatments.

With the Cliffs of Moher a signature discovery point on the Wild Atlantic Way and the Burren a short drive away, it’s certainly a standout setting. The retreat centre is situated on ten acres, with a range of looped walks on the doorstep

The dedicated retreat centre is flexible in its offering. As well as runnings its own courses with resident teacher, Michelle Riordan, there are guest teachers, who are well known internationally and bring with them their own styles of yoga. They include Lou Horgan who has trained with some of the world’s leading teachers and who is also a nutritional health coach, and Martin Scott who teaches a Vinyasa-based yoga practice that focuses on health for the body and mind. The centre is also hired to teachers and groups who want

to run their own programmes. For those who enjoy yoga but aren’t sure about a full weekend of it, the wellness weekend from November 18 to 20, offers a gentle introduction. Open to all ages and abilities who want to explore their health and wellness, it incorporates vegetarian cookery lessons; mindfulness; meditation; gentle yoga classes and long

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silent strolls and seasonal fare. Always full of New Year resolutions that fall by the wayside? Then the Post-New Year’s Kickstart from January 13 to 15, is the one for you. Mornings will comprise of brisk Wild Atlantic walks, with the return to studio focused on moving, flowing and building heat. The class will play with arm balances; inversions; and deep backbends, exploring all the ways we can move our bodies in the New Year. There’s also

ocean walks. What could be better at such a dark and dreary time of year? If the run up to the festive season is taking its toll, the winter weekend yoga retreat, from December 9 to 11, will take you a million miles away from the commercialism and craziness of Christmas. It’s all about yoga; mindfulness; meditation; long

Those who relish the great outdoors will gravitate towards the Yoga and Hiking Weekend which is run at various times of the year, including Feb 24 to 26. Day one will cover Doolin to the Cliffs of Moher visitor centre while day two will take in the stretch from the visitor centre to Hags Head., 14 km over the two days. Participants will engage in a challenging morning and a slow healing class in the studio. practices. The class will finish with a long yogic slumber. The 14 bedrooms which can sleep up to 30 guests, are divided between the five houses which also have convivial communal areas. One of the inviting lounges features orignal Liscannor stone

walls and an open fire. The food follows the ethos – seasonal, organic where possible, with some vegetables grown on-site. Having torn yourself away from the conveyor belt that is modern life, leaving this serene sanctuary could prove to be a real wrench.

the opportunity to curl up with a book by the fire; enjoy a massage or take a nap. In the evenings, there’s a two-hour deep yoga class. Part of it will focus on long held deep releasing poses. The hips, chest and upper back and shoulders – all places where we hold tension – will be explored, with the aim being to adopt new * www.cliffsofmoherretreat.com

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H E A LT H & W E L L N E S S

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Helen Walsh is one of Ireland’s best known and in-demand health & wellness experts.

Leveraging

You r B es t Asse t

Every successful business person knows that, even in busy times (or especially in busy times), it is important to take some time out simply to assess where we are now compared to where we started. This is how we measure how close we are to achieving our planned objectives. I have yet to meet an effective leader who doesn’t have a plan of action or projections for the next 3, 6, 12 months or even the next few years.

“The one asset that never makes it onto the spread sheet is YOU” Of course, the one asset that never makes it onto the spreadsheet is YOU. We look at cash flow, staff, premises etc. but the truth for many business owners and leaders is that you are your company’s best asset. So, when was the last time you took a look at how you are doing?

How are you? Are you in good health? Have you great energy? Are you happy with your weight? Are you eating well? Are you sleeping well? More importantly, what happens if you get ill? Can you afford time out? On the other side of that, what could you do with extra energy every day? Would it give you more quality time with family and friends without losing productivity? Taking care of yourself is a win/win for you, your business and your family; yet a high percentage of people in demanding jobs with busy lives don’t take the time. Even half an hour to work out every day or look for better food options would start the change needed. Unfortunately, too many people don’t even manage to drink enough water every day. For those of you who are already looking after yourself, well done! You are ahead of the game; you are smart enough to know that looking after yourself pays off huge dividends.

“Taking care of yourself is a win/win for you, your business and your family” However, if you fall into the other category, it’s time to make change changes, starting with these important factors: WHAT MOTIVATES YOU? There is nothing that you cannot do if you bring it back to your value system. If you are not quite sure what your values are, then this must be the first issue you address with your Coach. Your values dictate your

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decisions. If you can bring exercise, healthy eating and looking after yourself into what drives you, it will no longer require huge effort. If your ‘WHY’ is strong enough, chances of success multiply. But if you cannot see any real benefits, or how it fits in with your other goals, then you will inevitably fail to maintain the effort required. The diet industry makes hundreds of millions each year from the people who put themselves on this loop. I know that you are too smart for that.

“The problem with smart people is that they are good at ‘rationalising’ ways to avoid doing what they know they ought to be doing. I call these exactly what they are EXCUSES” Of course, the problem with smart people is that they are good at ‘rationalising’ ways to avoid doing what they know they ought to be doing. I call these exactly what they are EXCUSES. And it doesn’t matter how smart or creative you are, you are unlikely to come up with any excuses that I have not heard before.

“I work too many hours” “I am too tired” “I am on the road all the time” “I have to get home to “family” My question here to you is, where else in your life would you accept those excuses? It might sound like tough love but, genuinely,

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I have been working with people stuck in this mindset for so long now that I know that these excuses are just that, excuses. But I have also witnessed the transformation of these people and the many advantages these changes bring into their lives and I want that for you. When you shift your focus, sometimes even just a little, amazing things happen.

“You have a choice to make. If you continue to do what you have always done, you know that nothing changes. Are you ready to up your game?” To help you make the right decision for you, I will tell you just some of the inevitable benefits that come from taking care of yourself:

improves your reaction time.

Reduced stress levels

Up to 20% more energy each day from your work out

10. It is likely to improve your golf game

Add in a healthy eating plan and that 20% increases

Increased metabolic rate, making it is easier for you to burn off body fat

11. Stamina increases and I don’t need to spell out how beneficial this is

Increased confidence that comes from increasing fitness and strength and by shedding unnecessary weight

You are looking after all your body’s organs, giving them a better chance of being healthy and reducing the chance of illness

You will have a more effective immune system

Working out acts as a mood enhancer and it can change your state even when you are having a down day

Exercise stimulates the central nervous system keeping you more alert and

12. A healthy lifestyle is the best anti-ager available As with every area of life today, incorporating some element of technology will make these changes easier to manage. For example, it may well be worth investing wearable technology gadgets like the FitBit to help you along. The watch and app are now being used by busy professionals to help them track their steps, sleep, water intake and monitor their food and exercise. “The FitBit Surge available from Arnotts €249.00 www.Arnotts.com” Here is the link for your purposes only http://www.arnotts.ie/fitbit-surgeblack-large/410698/650350100

T I P S T O G E T Y O U S TA R T E D 1.

Start as you mean to go on - Get rid of all the junk food so that it is not in your home/office/work space.

Stay hydrated - 6 glasses of water a day; 2 before breakfast, 2 before lunch and 2 before dinner will help you develop this as a habit.

Tea/Coffee keep to 3 max. a day.

Get out and walk - You need 27mins a day fast walking to be effective but it will really change how your day goes. Have a plan B incase it rains! That can be an indoor workout or avoiding the elevator in favour of the stairs.

Chew your food, this sounds so simple but you would be astonished at the amount of people who don’t eat properly and this just gives the gut a

harder job to do and wastes energy. Use your FitBit to monitor what you eat for two weeks; you might find yourself shocked into action. Conscious eating is key, pay attention to what, when and why you are eating. Food is necessary fuel for your body, not a crutch for your emotions.“The easier you can make this on yourself the more chance you have of succeeding” 6.

Consistent late night eating is never good. Avoid eating after 8pm and, if you must, chose a light meal.

Despite what you were told growing up, do not drink water with your meals; have it before you eat in order to digest your food better.

A glass of hot water and a slice of lemon is a great way to start your day and a great new habit to start. If you do nothing else then this one is the most effective.

If you don’t have the time, use a healthy food service. This saves hours of planning, shopping and preparing the right food. A good company in Dublin is Gourmet Fuel. You can order a few days meals at a time; also, with the introduction of the Deliveroo app you can pick your favourite health food venues and have your order delivered.

10. Add a juice to your day as a fast way of getting a great nutritional boost. My favourite brand at the moment is Sprout & Co, especially their beetroot and ginger one. It will give you a great afternoon lift.

For more details on coaching/training with Helen please see www.helenwalsh.ie

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Anna Daly

INTERIORS

2017

of details with borders and trimmings and matching practically everything. Don’t get me wrong, I’d hate to paint an unfair picture of a very stylish woman. My mother was probably considered ‘cutting edge’ in terms of her taste in interiors but it was all too busy for this generation of ‘de-clutterers’ and minimalist lovers. I’ve since moved on to grey walls, albeit the same sleek painted walls but still

marks a return to NATURE Inside interior stylist, Helen Turkington’s home

Gentle wallpaper patterns add a luxe feel

without any busy patterns or heavy details. However, I may be about to eat my words. I’m starting to actually appreciate wallpaper and how it can bring warmth and character to a room, once carefully chosen of course!

Natural organic materials are meeting function this SS17 2017 marks a return to our roots as interior designers around the globe are reaching toward natural, organic materials with a functional element. Our clean lines are to be reenergized as such, with a waft of elegance and nurturing. The piece de la resistance for me, has to be the use of timber in the bathroom. Bathtubs, sinks, worktops and more from US based NK Woodworking for example are likely to take off like granite worktops did in our shaker style kitchens in the early noughties. It brings the wow element we’ve all been waiting for!

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I’m a wallpaper convert... I’m part of that generation who, as soon as we scored a spot on that all-important property ladder, we opted for clean lines, crisp walls and all things neutral for our first and long awaited abode. My ivory-hued walls were a creamy, chalky retaliation to the busy wallpaper patterns I, and almost ALL of my generation grew up with. It was all the rage, a colour-scheme for every room and no shortage

So, here’s where I’m at. This one from Pinterest caught my eye and would fit with the theme and style of my home. Not too ‘try-hard’ and certainly not too hard-on-the-eye, it’s soft and subtle and just works. Speaking of images and prints that just work, you’ll more than likely be accustomed with these iconic spoons and forks (photographed) that have adorned the walls of many a trendy establishment and home over the years - 20 years to be precise. Tracy Kendell, the British wallpaper designer behind the original cutlery design is celebrating 20 years in the business! If you’re a regular viewer of Sunday AM on TV3, you’ll know I like to peak and peer and poke around fabulously lavish houses that most of us can’t even begin to dream of affording. It’s pure escapism and the best

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part for me, it goes under the heading of ‘work’! One house I would like to take a nosey around is interior designer, Helen Turkington’s Rathgar home that’s currently on the market should you have a budget of €2.2 million. The late Georgian property has been lovingly and expertly extended twice and let’s just say

her experience in the interiors world is proven in the design and decor of this beautiful family home. Helen has a wealth of clients both at home and overseas but 68 Orwell Road is her very best showcase in my opinion. A woman after my own heart, there’s plenty of grey but you could never call it boring or dull. It’s warm, opulent and luxurious but it’s also comfortable with sink-in couches and luxury hotel-style bedrooms. Getting back to the real world, we can get our hands on a piece of Helen Turkington’s signature style as she moves to a purpose-built showroom in Sandyford, Dublin.

Guilty pleasure I’m currently creating a corner desk area in our bedroom and without wanting to spend a fortune on a space that I’m nowhere near reliant on, I’ve succumbed to the stream of fizzy, feminine pics that stylists keep posting to my Instagram feed. It’s my guilty pleasure but on this occasion it has managed to prove quite handy. I’m in the process of tracking down these bits and pieces for my new little work zone

Simplicity Simplicity and playfulness are merging in 2017/2018 which will see lots of elements combine. A stylish atmosphere is created through the use of the same material for cladding walls and floors – the Bistrot Collection really nails this one! Juxtapositions are getting their day out too as the use of ‘soft’ material like timber pithed against a stone backdrop makes for a very interesting composition – giving a homely feel to what could otherwise be quite an austere look yet somehow, it works. Next season is about taking a leap of faith, essentially. What you may imagine won’t work, is exactly what you’re about to see in the New Year.

Christmas ‘16 But before we get too carried away with what’s on trend for 2017, we have to wave goodbye to 2016 – Christmas is such a fantastic time to let your creativity loose on the interiors front. From frosted garlands to adoration of metallic and metals (which we will be seeing much more of next year) in your decorations and even table settings, the twinkle of fairy lights and yuletide sparkle has endless options in store! Christmas at Next

Not to be outdone on the interiors front, H&M are getting in on the action too with lush layering and jacquard-weave designs a staple of their offering.

Christmas trimmings at Next

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MENS STYLE

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The

power of

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thread

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hread depth is something that has baffled many of us for decades. So we have the basics – we know it is linked to the quality of the garment but what exactly does it mean and what should we be looking for? The number itself refers to the number of threads in a one inch square piece of fabric. Therefore, a higher thread number means that more threads have been fitted into the fabric. To understand the numbering systems, it is useful to know that thread sizing systems are either based on Fixed Weight or Fixed Length. A cotton count of “1” means 840 yards = 1 Pound A cotton count of “2” means 1680 yards (840 X 2) = 1 Pound A common cotton count thread size is 40/3. The 40 refers to the single ply and it means that 40 840Yd.hanks of thread = 1 pound, but the 3 means that it is three ply so the number is divided by 3 (in other words it only takes 280 yards to = 1 pound). Ply – the ply of thread is directly linked to the number of yarns twisted together to produce a thread. Two ply is quite strong but makes for a heavier fabric, whereas a single ply is smoother and more delicate. Thickness - a higher yard size means that a greater number of threads have been used to fit into the one inch space – this allows for finer threads and therefore gives a smoother and more pliant fabric.

Blue Flannel Shirt – Eton: This fine textured flannel shirt is woven with a stylish dobby effect. The flannel fabric is super soft to touch and is perfect when you want a sophisticated, yet relaxed look. Floral Flannel Shirt – Eton: Big florals are a key trend this season. This beautiful floral motif is printed on our super soft flannel fabric that’s perfect for a contemporary look. This style comes with grey buttons and works great with a pair of denims for a modern, yet playful look. Navy Denim Shirt Eton: A refined and sophisticated take on the classic denim shirt. Details such as the indigo-dyed fabric and the soft extreme cut away collar make this style easy to match with any outfit – from fine suiting to relaxed leisure wear. Steel 8 Shirt - Tiger of Sweden: Men’s shirt in printed poplin with small pointed collar slim fit. Booth Shirt – Tiger of Sweden: Shirt in cotton poplin – small collar, decorative taped seams with a regular fit. Jeven by Boss: This narrow-cut Boss men’s shirt with colour-block styling has great appeal with its two strongly contrasting colours and matt sheen finish. It can be coordinated with great versatility, with the pure cotton making it very comfortable to wear. An unconventional shirt that combines casual and formal design.

Mill - this is the part where the thread is improved in appearance and overall texture to give it a precise look and feel. Depending on variation, thread is woven into different fabrics based on ply, warp (vertical), weft (horizontal) and pick variations.

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MENS STYLE

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Moncler Charente €2745 | £2310

Moncler Montmin €950 | £800

Moncler Rodin €945 | £800

Moncler Ardenne €950 | £800 114

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OUT SIDE IN

DKNY Water Resistant Barn Coat €1203 £1010

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Jackets and Outerwear AW16

Moncler Forbin quilted jacket €730 Brown Thomas

Windermere Coat Black Label €950 | £800 Canada Goose

Gieves & Hawkes Checked wool overcoat €1385 from Brown Thomas.

Barbour Astern Poncho

Stripped bomber jacket ‘Balkin’ by Hugo Boss €€392 /£330

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Fuel

Yo u r

Wa s h b a g Moisturiser

Face Wash

1 Facial Fuel – Kiehl’s

4 Clinique For Men – Charcoal Face Wash

A vitamin-enriched and energizing non-oily facial moisturizer Facial Fuel Energizing Moisture Treatment re-awakens and uplifts dull, fatigued skin.The caffeine and vitamin enriched non-oily formula helps to energize and moisturise the skin while controlling shine. Helps improve the skin’s look and texture and protects against the effects of environmental aggressors. Deodorant 2 Chanel Allure Homme Deodorant Infused with the fresh, sensual scent of Allure Homme, this invigorating men’s grooming essential offers an immediate sense of well-being in a convenient, aerosol-spray form. Cleansing 3 The Clarisonic is a fantastic device for thoroughly exfoliating. It uses head-to-handle SMART technology that automatically adjusts power and timing to fit specific skin needs, whilst the intuitive user interface, and enhanced battery life allows for easier usage and more powerful results at a simple push of a button. SMART technology enables the Smart Profile device to read the two new smart enabled brush heads and to automatically adjust between gentle and deep cleansing for an optimal head-totoe experience.

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Detoxifying gel wash that delivers a deep-pore clean. Natural charcoal draws out the dirt and excess oil that can clog pores. Soothing, non-drying v lather gently foams away impurities. Leaves all skin types feeling fresh. Skin Booster 5 When your skin is depleted or dry, adding a multifunctional treatment oil into your regimen before moisturizing is one of the simplest ways to energize and regenerate it. This concentrate contains the highest concentration of the Tom Ford Skin Calming and Infusing Complexes, plus essential oils and other enriching natural ingredients. It deeply hydrates and nourishes the skin and it conditions it before shaving and soothes it afterwards. Your skin has fewer fine lines and greater resilience against damage. The Complex helps to infuse skin with specially selected nutrients that help skin stimulate its natural repair mechanisms. The product helps to minimize skin irritation and redness and create a barrier to defend skin against the visible effects of pollution and toxic stressors. It fundamentally rejuvenates the look of the complexion, so your face looks and feels fresher and less tired, while protecting it with antioxidants.

Top Buys

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Designing, Weaving & Tailoring IRISH

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G I F T G U I D E I D E A S F o r Christmas

Dior AL13.2 | €420 / £360

Dior - Sneaker Haute Couture in gold metallic | €790 / £675

Rugby ball T-bar cufflinks | £110/£130 Links of London

Portable speakers with wooden detail €169 | £145 from Massimo Dutti

Collar stiffeners from Links of London €65 /£55

Dior tie €150 / £130

Suede belt €72/£60 Gant

Wool blend driving cap Ralph Lauren

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Grainy Leather iPhone 6 Case Burberry €125 | £110

Herringbone Scarf Gant €54 | £45

Leather Document Case London Burberry €595 | £510

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Connecting developers and buyers through our specialist sales team.

Serving North Dublin & East Meath for over 45 years Pembroke Street Lower, Dublin 2 01 5542470

Ashbourne, Co. Meath 01 8350392

www.reagrimes.ie

Skerries, Co. Dublin 01 8490129

info@reagrimes.ie IRISH

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B E AU T Y

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Who doesn’t love vinyl? With Vernis À Lèvres in 2012, YSL Beauté mixed the benefits of a lasting lip stain, high-shine gloss and intense lipstick. Three years later, Vernis À Lèvres Pop Water took this one step further as long-lasting, translucent colour made an unforgettable splash. The latest in the line to hit the shelves is Vernis À Lèvres Vinyl Cream which has the comfort of a cream and mash-up of a lip stain, a lipstick and a lip gloss.

Q&A

We spoke to Creative Director Makeup YSL Beauté, Lloyd Simmonds about the latest launch. Here’s what he had to say:

Q. Who is the Vernis À Lèvres Vinyl Cream woman?

the middle again. It’s a foolproof way to achieve a sharp, professional edge.”

“This is a bold lip innovation. The woman is someone who likes to make a statement with her makeup – and live life at full throttle.”

Q. How do you maximize the curve and volume of lips?

Q. What makes Vernis À Lèvres Vinyl Cream so different from other lip products? “It’s three times more intense in terms of both pigment and gloss. The result is a heightened colour experience. The vinyl cream finish creates a whole new category of lip product.” Q. What’s the best way to use the new diamond-cut applicator? “The pointed applicator tip is designed to create a dramatic Cupid’s bow. Start by pressing the tip onto each side of the bow to emphasize the shape. Then sweep the flat side of the applicator from each corner – top and bottom – up to

“The latest trend is to add a flash of highlight to the Cupid’s bow using Dessin des Lèvres Lip Lighter, a lip liner infused with refined shimmer, to create the illusion of a more pillowy, threedimensional shape.” Q. How do you like to adapt Vernis À Lèvres Vinyl Cream for day and night? “For day, it looks great with pareddown, minimal skin. Simply accessorize with the architecture of a strong brow and barely-there lashes. At night, add strong, graphic eyes with the Couture Eye Marker. Either way, with colours as bold as these, it’s always going to create high impact that really lets lips do the talking.”

Orange bitters Unisex brand, Jo Malone gave us a sneak preview of their latest and first ever cologne launched for the Christmas season. Orange Bitters Cologne 100ml £90/€114 is a Christmas cocktail of scents with two dashes of citrus brightness, juicy sweet orange and a burst

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of fresh mandarin. A zesty splash of bitter orange revealing prune and a sensual base of rich sandalwood (who doesn’t like Sandalwood, yum!) and amber. This is likely to top the Christmas wish-list for a lot of elves this year…and what’s more, it’s quite

specific so smells slightly different depending on the individual wearing it which is why it works for both sexes and can be mixed with other Jo Malone Colognes to create variations to the scent!

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Bonjour Couture

Bonbon Couture is an even more opulent, intense interpretation of Bonbon. Introduced to wide acclaim in the Spring of 2014, Bonbon performed well in the market. The range however, has just extended with Viktor&Rolf introducing Bonbon Couture - drawing inspiration from the iconic designers’ provocative masterpieces, conceptual glamour and unexpected elegance of their Haute Couture collections.

Bonbon Couture sees layering of mandarin, neroli oil and peach accord – enhancing the sparkling, effervescent top-note of this complex scent leaving it more rounded, woody and oriental. Orange blossom, Sambac jasmine and intensified caramel linger beneath the surface – signifying the creamy warmth of the classical fragrance. The layered base is strengthened by woody notes on account of sandalwood accord and patchouli, while vanilla bring out the creaminess of the caramel and blond tobacco accords leave an irresistible imprint. The bow Woven throughout the collections, the bow has always formed an iconic design symbol in Viktor&Rolf’s rich heritage and embodies the essence of the

couture spirit. Bonbon Couture continues this long-standing tradition incorporating the classic Atelier bow: a dramatized, large-scaled symbol of Couture. Bonbon’s classical, one-of-a-kind bottle was realized by master craftsmen from renowned Pochet du Courval. In the face of extreme technical difficulty, the glass bow silhouette was successfully rendered through a groundbreaking patented process. In keeping with the true form of its original silhouette and the curve of a couture bottle– Bonbon Couture’s bottle is enhanced with a brilliant nacre giving it a rich pearlescent shine. In collaboration with Viktor&Rolf again, perfumers Serge Majoullier and Cécile Matton brought their signature to this new part of the range: Bonbon Couture.

Si Le Parfum In the continuity of Sì Eau de Parfum, Sì Le Parfum by Giorgio Armani is a vibrant and sensual fragrance with a new intensely ambery accord, magnifying strong femininity with a dazzling wake. The radiant obscurity of blackcurrant meets the incandescence of amber, the legacy of traditional high perfumery in a contrast of shadow and light. Its modern chypre accord is transcended by a new sensuality. From the first notes, Sì Le Parfum echoes the character

of Sì in the deep and saturated brilliance of Blackcurrant Neo Jungle Essence. Its captivating nectar is enhanced by bergamot essence like a luminous ode to the Italy of Giorgio Armani. The first arabesques of frankincense resinoid graze the heart of jasmine absolute, softened by fruity velvety accents of osmanthus absolute. The amber accord intensifies with the unforgettable opulence of benzoin resinoid, vanilla and cistus absolutes, and patchouli essence, enveloping the skin in a radiant warmth.

Pulling an all nighter

Urban Decay All Nighter Liquid Foundation: This waterproof, oil-absorbing formula provides complete coverage that lasts all night, with a modern matte finish that never looks overdone. All Nighter Liquid Foundation is loaded with a huge amount of pigment (three times as much as Naked Skin Liquid Makeup!), so a little goes a long way. Available in 24 shades.

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STYLE

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Kendall Jenner walking for Ralph Lauren New York Fashion Show SS17 - the bomber and cinched in waist featured heavily

SS17

Style Update With Sinéad Ballantyne Style Editor

AW16 has brought so much on the creativity stakes. Having plundered the excess cabinet, we have been draped in sequins, oversized earrings, luxe fabrics like velvet, ski pants, elongated waists – to an extent, it’s like we stepped back in time.

Ewa Herzog

Trotting into Spring Summer 2017, we’re seeing marked staying power of AW trends as the 80s is still firmly caressing the catwalks. With several shows recently held including Milan Fashion Week, New York Fashion Week and London Fashion Week, there is a mix of last season styling with new twists like the logo tee, stirrup pants, red leather, the flashdance shoulder, signature prints, mad-cap styling and bundles of colour

Sharon WauchobSS17

Embellishment continues as bold ruffles are dominating designer collections including Gucci. Gingham is making a heavy imprint on SS17. Designers have been busy re-energising classic picnic prints to put them in the trend block.

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Marc Jacobs

Ralf Lauren SS17

Sharon Wauchob

Move over Baby (check - Dirty Dancing!) as puffy sleeves are back - Ashley Williams and Emilio de la Morena were just a few of the designers at London Fashion week to show their flair for the over-pronounced sleeve. Utilitarian khaki looks are abounding, giving a nod to the military trends that we’ve seen so much of in recent seasons.

Marc Jacobs - ‘My Twisted Reality’ theme at NY Fashion Week.

Distressed denim is back on track. Always such a go to fabric for designers, we’re seeing everything from frayed edging to lots of other creatives. Designers like Faustine Steinmetz and Marques Almeida have really championed denim innovations. Trending appearances have also been made from folded waists to waist trainers.

Fendi brought some quite interesting looks to the Milan show exhibiting pinks and porcelain. Featuring tailored jackets with outsize pockets, stripey trousers, modern sportswear and scalloped sleeves with touches of fluoro pink and yellow, paired with jacquard florals depicting porcelain designs from

the 18th century. House director, Karl Lagerfeld led a new direction for the campaign along with Silvio Fendi breathing a certain freshness into the looks. In terms of hair, the latest shows indicate trends for the textured braid and styled buzzcut – that should save you a few minutes in the morning!

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Treat Your Skin...

y l l with Dr. Hauschka Skin Care a r u t a N 100% Organic Skin Care That Delivers 100% Results www.drh.ie IRISH

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new Audi

IAN NOCTOR REVIEWS THE...

A7 3.0 T D I 2 1 8 QUATTO STSLINE Base price €74,700 Options on Featured Car Daytona Grey pearlescent paint €1,425.00 Black Edition €1,751.01 Valcona leather with S Line logos €1,243.12 Total: €79,119.13 Fast, Luxurious, Tax Efficient, Strong Residual Values

On The Road There have been a lot of soulless cars produced since assembly lines became automated and humans were replaced by robots. The Audi A7 is not one of those cars. Let’s begin with the engine note. Since the effective death of large bore, multi-cylinder petrol engines, the sound track to our daily commute has been the diesel rattle. Admittedly, manufacturers have done wonders in improving noise reduction and refining diesel engines, but I’ve yet to come across a diesel engine that is

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First Impressions

handsome car. It has a masculine solidity and a presence in the flesh. Depending on the angle of approach, its lines are either assertive or aggressive.

There’s a connection between you and the car. Sure, there are cars that look great, but having spent time in their company, they leave you feeling a bit underwhelmed. Think dinner with Barbie or Ken, lovely to look at, but you’ve no desire to linger over dessert. The A7 ain’t no Barbie, nor is it a Ken. There’s no doubt that the Audi A7 Sportsback is a

Seeing an A7 in your review mirror in the motorway - all Xenon lights and gaping grill - will have you pulling back deferentially into the slow lane. It has curb appeal in spades. It’s low-slung stance looking more four-door coupe than executive saloon, and that is the market niche that the A7 occupies along with the Mercedes CLS, the BMW 530d GT and the Porsche Panamera. All serious contenders depending on the depth of your pockets.

f you don’t turn to glance at your car as you walk away from it, you’re driving the wrong car. That last glimpse is not just about how the car’s looks; as in any relationship that’s works, it goes deeper than that.

pleasant on the ear. Until now that is. Under hard acceleration the 3.0 diesel plant in the Audi doesn’t sound like a bag of spanners about to burst their way into the cabin of your car. In fact, the aural note of the six cylinders could be described as almost throaty. There’s a bit of a way to go before you’ll be opening your windows going through the Port Tunnel, slapping the A7 into dynamic drive, and flooring the accelerator just to hear the engine roar back at you, but the sound is far from unpleasant.

The A7 comes in a variety of engine options from the lowest powered and most economical two wheel drive 3.0d V6 Ultra through the bonkers V8 petrol S7 and RS7s, but unless envelope pushing performance is a priority, the 3.0 TDi four wheel drive model featured here with its 241bhp and 580 torques will be as much and more than your Irish driving licence will ever need. The frugal ultra delivers more than 60mpg, but bringing on board the extra 40 or so horses and the four wheel drive Quattro of the model tested still delivers a combined 47mpg, meaning the annual

tax bill is €280, on a three litre. Mad, Ted. Power is delivered smoothly and constantly across the revs, with no discernible lag at any point, which makes for an engaging drive. The featured car has a range of suspension options, from ‘Comfort’ through to ‘Individual’ but ‘Dynamic’ was my favourite. For a big car, the handling was taut and reassuring. The F Quattro set up made me feel like a much better driver than I am and, long term, could seriously impact on the number of points on my driving licence.

MOTORS

(The test car was supplied by Audi Waterford.)

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Once you’re done throwing the A7 through your favourite set of twisties, dial back the settings to auto, comfort, or if you’re still waiting for that big invoice to clear, you can always salve your conscience on your motorway trip by opting for economy. Hopefully you won’t need to do that too often.

Inside Job Audi’s reputation for quality is evident everywhere in the A7’s interior. All materials from the leather seats, to the dash to the controls feel reassuringly expensive and tactile. Sharing it’s dashboard as it does with the A6, all the buttons are where they should be. Audi’s Multi-Media Interface (MMI) central controller controls a retractable colour screen, whose display may feel a little dated compared to Audi’s latest offering in the Q7, but does a fine job nonetheless. The Valcona leather driver’s seat is on the comfortable side of firm, and feels sporty due to its low-

slung setting. The view through the rear is also ‘sporty’, for which you can read ‘small’, but the standard parking sensors make reverse maneuvers a breeze.

with mid 40s miles per gallon mean less frequent trips to the fuel pump than you might expect, with a fill of diesel costing under €85 at current pump prices.

Google Earth-style detail on the sat-nav, anyone? If the Bose of the Black Edition isn’t enough you can option a 15-speaker Bang & Olufsen sound system.

Space & Practicality

Buying & Optional Extras

There will be occasions when you’ll need to be able to fit more than a set of golf clubs in the boot, so the big boot opening, the powered hatchback tailgate and the folding rear seats all add a big dash of practicality to the A7 with Saturday morning trips to the recycling centre loaded to the gills, an unfortunate probability. There are plenty of storage spaces in the car, and yes, it has a pair of cup holders. Their absence would be a deal breaker. The driver and front seat passenger have pots of room, and the back is fine for adults, so long as they’re not too much taller than six foot. The sloping roofline means it feels a little more coupe than saloon in the back seats, but it’s far from cramped. The 73 litre fuel tank combined

The model tested had a few extras, including pearlescent paint at €1,425, Valcona leather at €1243.12 (to be precise), and Black Edition which costs an extra Euphemia UCAS 1751,01 (Audi haven’t heard of roundingup evidently), and gives 21-inch alloys, and even lower ride height, Audi’s black styling pack and a BOSE hi-fi.

Then there’s an automatic parking system or even the ability to create your own Wi-Fi network in the car. and lots of optional driver aids available too, including lanekeeping assist, a head-up display and even a night vision camera.

Even without going near the extras list all models get leather upholstery, sat-nav, electrically adjustable front seats, fourzone climate control, full-LED headlights and a powered tailgate, so even entry-level versions are well equipped and feel worth the money. But it’s very easy to lose the run of your self with the options list.

Depreciation Audi is one of the marques with the strongest residual values and prices of pre-owned A7s continue to hold up well with 132 models commanding an asking price of around €40,000 from dealerships, with the 141 coming in between €45 and €50k depending on mileage and spec. Therefore you are safe allowing for a 50% depreciation over three years. Combine the low road tax and palatable depreciation and the A7 would be seen as a sensible choice by your accountant.

So, Ian’s verdict? Very impressed. To be honest. I didn’t expect to love the A7 as much as I do. I had just driven the new Q7 beforehand which is a marvelous piece of kit. But sitting into the A7 I felt more at home. It’s a driver’s car. It encourages you to have some fun, and is very forgiving. It’s really well built and represents quite good value for money when compared to its competition. I know I’d be throwing the A7 that one last glance as I walked away. It’s a smashing piece of kit with both looks and the personality to back them up.

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HORSERACING

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Far from the high rise buildings and cranes th e wor ld of horse racing co n t in u es o n it s way By Conor O’Dwyer

ar from the high rise buildings and cranes, the world of horse racing continues on its way. The Flat season is coming towards an end, with the more exciting National Hunt season getting into full swing. The world of National Hunt racing tends to have a bigger following due to the trills and spills that are part and parcel of the game; although the flat season has also produced some very exciting and memorable moments this year, which include champion flat trainer Aidan O’Brien passing the €5 million barrier in prize money; worldwide winning trainer Dermot Weld winning both Irish and English Derby’s with Harzand; Willie Mullins the National Hunt supremo winning the Irish St Leger with Wicklow Brave under a brilliant front running ride from Frankie Dettori and who could forget the amazing Kevin Prendergast winning the 2000 Guineas at the Curragh with Awtaad under Chris Hayes. There are still some of the biggest flat races in the world to be run before the flat season comes to an end, including the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe on the second of October which will be held at Chantilly this year, with its usual venue Longchamp undergoing a 130 million euro revamp. The Arc is one of the flat season’s richest races with a total prize fund of 5 million euros; the winner takes home a massive 3.1 million euro. Also on the agenda is The Melbourne Cup in Australia, which is held on the first Tuesday in November every year and like the Arc has huge prize money on offer. Dermot Weld became the first international trainer to win the Melbourne Cup with Vintage Crop in 1993 and again with Media Puzzle in 2002. This year Irish hopefuls in the race will include Wicklow Brave, winner of the St. Leger and trained by Willie Mullins.

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Like Longchamp The Curragh racecourse is about to under go a 60 million euro redevelopment starting before the end of the year, which is long overdue as it is home to the five Irish classics and hosts some of the world’s top owners and trainers throughout the season. In terms of championship winners at the end of the season, the usual suspects are in prime position to win their respective categories. Aidan O’Brien holds an unassailable lead in the trainers championship while Pat Smullen looks like picking up his ninth jockeys championship with a huge lead over nearest rival Colin Keane. But now as we approach the National Hunt season we have some of the top stars to look forward to in Douvan, Faugheen, Annie Power, Vautour and maybe another chance to see this year’s Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Don Cossack back in action after an upbeat report from his trainer Gordon Elliott about the injury he sustained after Cheltenham. No doubt, we won’t have things our own way when we get to Cheltenham with the likes of 2015 Gold Cup winner Coneygree back in action, but next March is still a long way away and a lot to look forward to on the home front. Our National Hunt festivals start in November with the two-day Northern Ireland festival of racing at Down Royal on the 4th and 5th, with the Grade 1 James Nicholson Wine Champion chase the feature of the two-day festival. This race is often used as a starting point for last season’s top staying chasers, previous Gold

Cup winners Kauto Star and War of Attrition have contested this race in the past. The runup to the fantastic Leopardstown Christmas festival continues at Fairyhouse on the 3rd and 4th of December with no less than three grade 1 races including the Hattons Grace hurdle with some of our top hurdles on show. This race usually attracts the previous season’s champion hurdle winner and has been won in the past by some great horses such as Istabraq and Hurricane Fly. We get a chance to see how our novice hurdlers are shaping up with the grade 1 Royal Bond Novice hurdle, this is a great early pointer towards the Supreme Novice hurdle and Neptune Novice hurdle at Cheltenham. Before we know where we are Christmas is upon us and the fantastic Leopardstown fourday festival starts on St. Stephen’s Day with some top-class racing each day. We kick off day one with the feature Grade 1 Racing Post Novice chase won last year by the fabulous Douvan who went on to win the Arkle chase at Cheltenham; day two is Paddy Power day with the Paddy Power Chase worth a massive 190,000 euros; day three has the Lexus chase as the feature which has been won in previous years by Gold Cup winners Synchronised and Bobs Worth. The final day sees the Ryanair hurdle that the mighty Hurricane Fly has won no less than three times. The racing industry depends largely on owners with a great love of the sport as a return on investment is quite rare in this game! So, with a slight upturn in the economy, hopefully we will attract more owners and syndicates back into horse racing.

codwyerracing@gmail.com

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NEIL MORRICE RACING A top floor advisory service brought to you by the celebrated Lord of the Lambourn Valley!

n a 40-year career in the racing industry Neil Morrice has established himself as a renowned ‘man for all seasons’, tipping thousands of winners on the flat and over jumps. A former Fleet Street Columnist and Lambourn correspondent for the Racing Post, he has compiled a contacts base that is like a who’s who of the racing industry. Utilising such revered figures gives him an enviable edge that enables him to watch work on some of the most historic private gallops in the UK

going hand in hand with that is a stream of sensitive information that sets him apart from his peers. Now Neil celebrates the launch of Irish Property Developer Magazine with the unveiling of a new, exciting, exclusive and elite advisory service. As we see out the 2016 Flat and welcome in the National Hunt season he invites you to join him in a venture comprising selective backing linked to regular consultation with Neil in a unique one-to-one tipster/punter relationship.

He seeks out discerning individuals who can exercise a patient approach that Neil sees as the number one ingredient in successful betting. “I am looking for clients who understand that making selective and carefully sourced investments in the betting market gives them the best prospects of winning more “Join me in a journey that will not only give a new dimension to your wagering on horses but also take you closer to the secret side of the sport few get to see at close hand”

A D V I S O RY S E R V I C E R AT E S ‘Classic’ Membership membership, up to Investec Derby day, June 3rd 2017, €600 ‘Triple crown’ Membership comprising the best of Neil’s information for the flat, all weather and jumping action until January 1st 2018,€1,000. You can contact Neil direct on his private number 0044 7525175951 Or write to him at wantageman@gmail.com

ABOUT NEIL MORRICE YORKSHIREMAN Neil Morrice was born in Harrogate and initially pursued a writing career with the local newspaper group in the town. But as a devout follower of The Turf he seized on the opportunity to report from the local racecourses from where his work was spotted by the national news agency, The Press Association. He left home to work for that company in Fleet Street where he sat at the same desk as one of his predecessors, the late Sir Peter O’Sullevan. Neil vowed to follow the exemplary lead set by the revered ‘Voice Of Racing’ as an award winning tipster and after the Racing Post snapped him up as it’s Lambourn Correspondent in 1986 spent the next 12 years watching top class horses work on the historic private gallops in its celebrated Valley. He famously recalls seeing the Dick Hern-trained Nashwan’s winding up gallop for the 2,000 Guineas at West Ilsley after which he put his readers on at 20-1. Similarly, he recommended Paul Cole’s

Generous for the Derby following a sparkling gallop at Whatcombe. He has never fought shy of tipping big-priced outsiders and cites 100-1 Gold Cup winner Norton’s Coin as a case in point. As a lover of the green baize, he is also holding a 1000-1 voucher about Judd Trump to become World Professional Champion within the next four years. From his Wantage base, Neil made it a priority to befriend the top trainers, jockeys and work riders in the picturesque downland domain he is proud to now call home and is in the privileged position of being able to pick up the phone to the elite figures in both Flat and National Hunt racing. He has for the past 15 years combined giving highly sensitive information to a select group of clients that are now close personal friends with broadcasting his knowledge on UK and International racing to TV audiences in South Africa. He attends all the major racing festivals in the UK and Ireland as well as treading the international circuit in France, Dubai, the USA and Hong Kong.

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You Can’ t Live Without 1

Irish Property Developer Magazine APP & GADGET

REVIEW Tanzeela Ajmal

2 Polaroid CUBE €119.00

Solo THE smart 3 3DR drone + 3DR solo smart drone propeller set

(Available at Whelan Cameras)

Apple 12.9 Inch iPad Pro Wi-Fi + Cellular 256 GB Gold €1,499.95 (Available at Arnotts)

Pad Pro is more than the next generation of iPad. It makes even complex work as natural as touching, swiping, or writing with a pencil. iPad Pro is more capable, versatile and portable than anything that’s come before. iPad Pro comes with 256GB storage, 2732 X 2048 resolution and weighs 713g.

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€1,049.00

plash-resistant, shockproof, mountable, and built to handle everything you can imagine. Packed with fun including 1080p HD video, 124° wide-angle lens, and built-in battery that records up to 90 minutes. Who said bigger is better? Standing at just 35mm, this tiny camera supports Micro SD up to 32GB.

(Available at Harvey Norman)

DR aren’t done yet, and the Smart Drone is planned to become even smarter. New concepts to improve the already impressive features of the drone include LED spotlighting, optical flow for even better indoor flight, and a ballistic parachute system for safe flying over crowded areas. The Solo Aerial Drone is ready to evolve with the latest technology and ideas. 3DR Solo has max speed of 88 km/h and max altitude of 121 metres with 25 minutes of flying time.

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5000 mah 4 NOke smart padlock 5 Swiss 6 Nest cam smart universal portable €89.99

charger with cables

€199.00

(Available at Curries)

€81.99

his Bluetooth padlock makes it simple to secure the things you love – you won’t need to worry about losing the key or forgetting a combination. You’ll be able to operate it from your iOS, Android or Windows phone using the dedicated app. Share access to your Noke Smart Padlock with trusted friends and family, giving them full access or access on specific dates at specific times.

(Available at Argos)

he perfect on-the-go power solution for an actively connected lifestyle, Swiss Mobility’s Universal 3-in-1 5000mAh Power Pack is in a class of its own. Featuring an ultra-sleek pocket sized design with enough power to give you three full charges, it boasts a unique detachable 3-in-1 cable (Lightning, Micro USB, and USB) providing all of you power needs on the go. Rapid charge smart phones and tablets, sync devices to your computer and even recharge the power pack itself. Apple licensed and Android compatible with superior quality 22+ hour lithium polymer battery technologies.

(Available at PC World)

he Nest Cam can monitor anywhere in your home - all it needs is a plug socket and a WiFi connection. You can view a live feed from the camera directly on your smartphone, tablet or PC from anywhere in the world. You can even receive notifications when sound or movement is detected, making NEST Cam the ideal security device when you are away. It records and streams in full 1080p HD, so you always get a detailed view of what’s happening. Built-in night vision means you can see everything clearly at any time of the day. Nest Cam works with Nest Protect too. Along with clear audio from the camera, you can speak into your phone or tablet’s microphone to communicate with

anyone in the room.

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HMDX jam fusion in Pro series 750 lumen Q: Worlds 7 Trackr bravo - silver 8 ear 9 cree 10 Sulon buds blue torch ONLINE first and only €26.99

ocate a missing item in seconds with the TrackR Bravo, using your smartphone or tablet. The small and nifty Bravo simply attaches to your valuable item, such as pair of keys, phone or bag, then you can use the free TrackR app for iOS and Android devices to help you locate it Innovative and user-friendly with built-in distance indicator, item ringer and phone finder.

all-in-one headset for VR, AR and spatial computing

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hese in-ear buds are ideal for the active lifestyle, whether it be running, cycling or just keeping fit. With the built-in microphone, you can now take calls between jams and on ear controls - touch and play. With small, medium and large ear tips included, there is a size to fit any ear. The Bluetooth has a range of up to 10m and the buds are rechargeable with up to 6 hours play each time.

(Available at Argos)

n extremely powerful high performance CREE torch, up to 750 lumens. It has a 2 mode operation, high beam 750 lumens and low beam 300 lumens. CREE torch a beam distance up to 180 metres and a battery life up to 24 hours low beam and 8 hours high beam. This Shockproof and waterproof torch is ideal for outdoors.

€1,000 - €1,200 (Coming Soon - Sulon)

urn your surrounding environment into an augmented or virtual reality experience through Sulon’s “spatially aware” headset. Other specs include WiFi, Bluetooth, 256GB SSD storage and it even runs Windows 10. Built-in Spatial Processing Unit is an innovative mixed reality spatial computer that provides real-time environment mapping and tracking from the inside outward, dynamic virtualization for VR/AR fusion, and gesture recognition. The Q also plays nicely with PC-compatible gaming controllers, including the Xbox One controller.

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APPS

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TOP You Can’ t Live Without

Property Development Feasibility

Wunderlist

Houzz Interior Design Ideas

Magic Plan

Pocket

FREE

Estimate the feasibility of a property development by entering a few simple figures on your proposed property development project. The app is designed by Commercial and Residential Construction Pty Ltd includes a calculator that adds up your project costs, helping you estimate the revenues and costs for your next development project.

Use the app to prioritize and group your daily tasks, schedule reminders, and share your lists and activities with anyone. Wunderlist makes it easy to capture, share and complete your to-dos and instantly syncs between your phone, tablet and computer, so you can access your to-dos from anywhere at any time.

Figure out exactly how you want the interior of your development to look by pinning ideas to a scrapbook- the Pinterest of the property developer world. This app is an effective way to network with design communities such as contractors, local designers, architects and home pros.

Consider existing buildings before pushing the button on renovations. This app is a handy tool that enables you to digitally develop customised floor plans without a measuring tape. You can take self-captured images where the app will measure the room for you and draw your floor plan. The app also has manual setting where the you can alternatively draw your own floor plan and place objects where desired.

Don’t have time to read that article that you received from a friend? Pocket will store it on your phone to read later - even if you’re offline. Use the app to stockpile stories, videos, podcasts, and downloads for long train commutes or business flights, when you finally have time to yourself, but not the free Wi-Fi or cellular service. You can also save content that may soon disappear.

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Emojitones Messenger is a mobile web-based instant messaging app for smartphones. The proprietary app uses the internet to send or receive text messages, photos, images or audio media messages. Unlike similar instant messaging apps, Emojitones carries the unique ability to send sounds with emoji-icons. Every emoji now has an associated sound that plays automatically on opening of messages. Six billion silent emoji-icons are sent daily. The 2015 Oxford Dictionary word of the year was represented by the emoji-icon “tears of joy”! In the digital and cultural phenomenon that is Emoji, Emojitones provides an extraordinary addition to the global market. Product To Date: Emojitones Messenger was released in February 2016 and is currently available on iOS and Android. A small feedback marketing campaign was run in May 2016. Based on this, current development includes updates

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to the registration/log in process and interior interface redesign promoting a superior user experience. This will include a new navigation interface focused on encouraging quality user invites and revenue generation.

to readily switch between products and social media applications implies looser competition than might be expected within the market, as seen with the meteoric rise of Snapchat and anonymous based messaging app YIK YAK.

User Acquisition Strategy:

The ability to send sounds with text messages is arguably one of the most unique and yet common sense additions to social media platforms in the short history of the smartphone. No other interface provides this capability and we anticipate that this level of differentiation will encourage users to allow Emojitones Messenger to sit beside other mainstream apps on their smartphones.

Emojitones Messenger will acquire users via a multi channeled digital marketing campaign and early adopter invites. Combined with this, and most significantly, Emoji Technologies are in negotiation with two high profile individuals (circa 70 million followers) with the aim to design and develop the world’s first personalised custom celebrity emojitones. The chosen celebrities will promote their branded emojitones pack to their social media following. The Opportunity: Emoji Technologies Limited are raising a Series A funding round of €2.25 million (via EIIS) to facilitate ongoing product development and launches in the US and UK. Final Comments: Broadly speaking, Emojitones competes with social networking and text based messaging apps. However, evidence based research and anecdotal observation makes it evident that users avail of multiple messaging apps depending on the platform that best suits their needs at any given time. The ability of users

For further information on this investment opportunity please contact Guy de Bromhead, Founder and Managing Director of Emoji Technologies Ltd T/A Emojitones - +353 87 760 2386 Email: guy@emojitones.com Or Elaine Gill at Clancy & Associates who have partnered with Powerhouse Capital Limited to place this Series A funding round - www. clancytax.ie

Guy De Bromhead

EIIS Investment Opportunity

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(III) PRESS COVERAGE property development company Zest Thu, Jun 16, 2016

Projects Ireland. He has raised seed Sun, Jun 26, 2016

funding of €500,000 for Emojitones from private investors, including snooker star Ken Doherty. He is in the process of raising a further €1.8 million to launch the app in English-speaking territories outside Ireland, and will recruit between five and six staff this year. “We’ll be

Dublin start-up Emojitones secures €500,000 in funding

trying to get a good foothold in Britain

Emojitones puts a sound idea for app to the test

and the US over the next six to seven

among those to invest in firm that

Firm has a library of more than

territory to dip your toes into,” he

is putting sounds to emojis

700 sound files

said.“With the nature of a chat app, it’s

Charlie Taylor

Elaine O’Regan

better to focus on territories, because it

Emojitones has created an app that adds sound effects to emoji icons. Emojitones has created an app that adds sound effects to emoji icons. Irish snooker player Ken Doherty has emerged as one of the investors behind Emojitones, a Dublin-based mobile tech start-up, which has just completed a €500,000 funding round. Emojitones has created an app that adds sound effects to emoji icons. Created by Guy de Bromhead, the app, which is available for both iOS and Android, was launched earlier this year at Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak’s debut ComicCon Silicon Valley event. Mr de Bromhead said future releases of the app will enable users to create their own emoji tones. “For 25 years the world has text messaged in silence. We need a change,” he said. “Emojis are big business, six billion emojis are sent daily via all text messaging platforms. It’s logical to introduce sounds into standard text messaging via emoji icons.”

Name: Guy de Bromhead

Snooker player Ken Doherty

Thu, Jun 16, 2016

months, but we’re launching here in Ireland first, because it’s a good

moves more quickly if you do that.

Company: Emojitones

De Bromhead plans to add new features

The Pitch: novelty sound files for emojis

to the Emojitones platform, which had its official launch at Apple founder

Serial entrepreneur Guy de Bromhead

Steve Wozniak’s inaugural ComicCon

has launched his first technology

Silicon Valley event last March. “We’ve

venture. Emojitones is an app that

got other ideas we want to add to as we

automatically combines novelty sounds

go, like building your own emojis and

with popular emojis. In development

adding your own tones to them,” said de

for more than a year, it has a library

Bromhead.

of more than 700 sound files and is available to download for free on Apple and Google Play stores.“We’d see our customers primarily as teenagers up to college students, but it’s suitable for everybody.

“We have just over 700 tones now, but we can add new libraries daily and weekly based around events and pop culture. “Six billion emojis are sent daily on all text messaging platforms, so there is a lot of scope there.”Emojitones

There are a lot of older people we’ve

is based in Mount Merrion, Dublin, and

spoken to who love the concept,

employs three people.“Over the next

because it’s fun,” he said. “You can

three to four months, we’ll be taking

send your message as usual, add an

on people in social media, PR, app

emoji icon, and when your friend swipes

development, server site development

open the text message, the sound plays

and we’ll also be looking at a product

automatically.”De Bromhead runs the

development manager,” said de

White Smile Clinic chain in Ireland and

Bromhead.

Ken Doherty-backed Emojitones raises €500,000

Dublin-based mobile start-up Emojitones has completed a €500,000 funding round as the company looks to change the way in which users text one another. Michael Cogley The firm, which boasts snooker legend Ken Doherty amongst its investors, has added sounds to every emoji icon with the company aiming to combine audio with standard textbased messaging. The app is free and available on both iOS and Android and plays the relevant sound automatically when messages are opened.Speaking after the completion of the funding round Emojitones creator Guy de Bromhead said emojis are big business.

Emoji-icons with sound!

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CHRISTMAS

PARTY Nights Season is Here By: Tanzy Ajmal

Abbey Court Hotel and Spa, Co.Tipperary

With THE DOMINO EFFECT One of Ireland’s Favourite live bands Whether you are joining one of their festive Christmas Party Nights, Christmas gettogether celebrations or looking for your ideal private Christmas Party venue, check out Christmas at the Great National Abbey Court Hotel. They have come up with some great Christmas menus, Christmas lunch packages and Christmas night packages with special reduced rates available. For the best Christmas parties, it has to be the Great National Abbey Court Hotel, the finest hotel in Nenagh, County Tipperary. So, arrive early and party the night away. Dates: 2nd, 9th and 10th of October 2016. The Christmas Party Night Package includes Christmas cocktail on arrival, 4 course festive banquet meal, dance the night away with Live Music and D.J till late, games, photo booth and Spot Prizes including:1-month membership to the Trinity Leisure Spa, afternoon tea for 4 and much more. Price: €42 per person. Special reduced rate: B&B €42 per person sharing. For all other Christmas party enquiries contact on +353 67 42150 / 42151 or email sales@abbeycourt.ie

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Lough Erne Resort, Northern Ireland

Christmas at Lough Erne Resort is Truly Magical time to be enjoyed with family and friends. Festive Christmas Parties for private groups and parties why not entertain and indulge in either lunch or dinner in the one of their private rooms, The Ross Suite, The Fermanagh, Catalina Restaurant or The Loughside Suite? Private Banqueting Menu from €46 per person. Award Winning Catalina Restaurant with Menus from €52 per person. Accommodation rates available from €69 per person sharing. For more information on planning your Christmas event contact events@ lougherneresort.com

Waterford Castle Resort, Co. Waterford

Their corporate Christmas party nights are held at the King’s Channel Club House which is a wonderful venue for a corporate event The Club House function room offers casual elegance with extensive bar, live music and the luxury of the Island Resort with a very affordable 3 course meal and extensive festive specialty cocktails and full bar. The Christmas party offer is a 3-course dinner with specialty cocktail and music at the King’s Channel Club House, cost of €52.00 per person. In addition, they offer discounted accommodation rates on the Island Resort at our modern Lodges (minutes’ walk from the Club House). Special Rate per lodge per night (sleeps six) of €120.00. Each lodge offers three double bedrooms with en-suite and open plan living and dining. Contact details: Tel: +353 0 51 878 203 or Email: info@waterfordcastleresort.cosm

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Want to add sparkle to your luxury Christmas party during the festive season? Check out some of the best Christmas hotel packages throughout Ireland right now.

The G Hotel, Co. Galway

Add that special G Sparkle to your Party Fancy a fabulous festive party in Galway? Book a Christmas party night at the G Hotel & Spa for a night to remember filled with exuberant seasonal ambience. With many dates already booked, the G suite is currently available for you and your colleagues to join their Christmas party nights for €55.00 per person. Enjoy cocktails on arrival with canapés, a sumptuous 4 course meal in art deco designer surroundings, spot prizes, late bar with DJ and dancing ‘til the wee hours. Add a little ‘G’ sparkle to your party and celebrate the festive season in style by choosing the G hotel for your office party night. Contact their events team on events@theg.ie Christmas Party Night Thursday 15th December 2016 Package Includes: Cocktail on arrival, Pre-Dinner Canapés, 4 Course Meal, Spot Prizes, Late Bar and DJ ‘til the wee hours. Restaurant Gigi’s is also available for lunch and dinner bookings and they will have music in their Signature Lounges on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. To book email eat@theg.ie or call +353 91 865200.

The Killarney Park Hotel, Co. Kerry

Christmas House Party Night Eat, drink and be merry at the annual Christmas house party on Saturday 10th December and then retire to luxurious accommodation. Start off the following day with full Irish breakfast, time to enjoy the leisure facilities and a late check out. Package includes one night accommodation and full Irish breakfast including two tickets for their annual festive house party. Price: €290 per room based on 2 adults Contact Details: Tel: +353 64 663 5555 or Email: info@killarneyparkhotel.ie

Clontarf Castle Hotel, Co. Dublin

Clontarf Castle is truly magical during the festive season with the Castle lit in fairy lights and decorations in abundance, they are the perfect venue to celebrate with work colleagues, family and friends. Whether it’s a Christmas party, festive family Christmas get together or New Year’s celebrations we have a range of fantastic Christmas options to cater to all occasions. Clontarf Castle are delighted to announce that reigning King of contemporary Celtic music, Phil Coulter will be making a welcome debut

at Clontarf Castle Hotel this Christmas for what promises to be a very special evening of musical excellence in a beautiful festive setting on the 19th of December. From private parties in the glorious setting of the Great Hall and Viking Suite to small private dinners and lunches in the intimate setting of the Toweror Norman Suite, Clontarf Castle oozes Christmas splendour. Private Party Nights Sparkle Add some sparkle to your party with their all-inclusive party option: Citrus spiced mulled wine and Christmas Carols on arrival. Sumptuous four course dinner. Entertainment by our house DJ & dancing ‘til late. Christmas Carols Friday & Saturday only. Minimum numbers apply. €65 Per person Alternatively create your own Bespoke Christmas Party Experience: Festive Dinner – three course from €49 per person Festive Lunch – three course from €35 per person Contact Details: Tel: +353 1 833 2321 or Email: christmas@clontarfcastle.ie

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Lyrath Estate, Co. Kilkenny

With THE DOMINO EFFECT One of Ireland’s Favourite live bands

Their dining options are wonderfully atmospheric, elegant and charming and are ideal for a company Christmas gathering. Treat your team or nearest and dearest to magnificent and traditional Christmas festivities. Luxury festive platters, enjoy a more relaxed festive get together with a luxury finger food platter to share with colleagues and friends. From €35 for 4 people. La Perla Restaurant: Four course Christmas dinner menu - €45 per guest. Contact details: Tel: +353 56 776 0088 or email: events@lyrath.com

Contemporary Dining Festive Lunch: 4 course lunch includes starter, main course, desert and tea or coffee - €42 per person.

During the festive season they are offering a special corporate B&B rate per room:

Festive Dinner: 4 course dinner includes starter, main course, desert and tea or coffee - €55 per person.

To enquire further about our Christmas packages please contact our sales team +353 21 421 9000 or email sales@castlemartyrresort.ie

Private Celebrations Hayfield Manor is ideal for a bespoke event to entertain clients or for a special celebration with colleagues and friends. They can also create your bespoke event by opting for an intimate celebration in one of their distinctive private dining venues. Welcome your guests over aperitifs before dining from your customised festive menu. Their experienced events team is dedicated to making your private event a spectacularly memorable occasion.

Castlemartyr Resort, Co. Cork

Your Christmas Party Destination

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Plan the Perfect Christmas Party in Belfast

The Culloden Estate and Spa - where Christmas sparkles! Christmas parties in Belfast don’t get more spectacular than at the 5 star Culloden Estate and Spa. Christmas only comes once a year and everyone wants to celebrate in style. At the Culloden Estate and Spa, they know how to throw a memorable Christmas party. Choose from their special Christmas party nights that include a delicious 4 course meal and live entertainment.

The scene is set for your extraordinary festive celebration

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Culloden Estate and Spa, Belfast

Contact Details: Tel + 353 21 484 5900 or Email enquiries@hayfieldmanor.ie

Hayfield Manor, Co. Cork

For a spectacular festive experience, gather friends and colleagues for the finest gourmet dining & celebrations at Hayfield Manor. Join fellow revellers & absorb the vibrant festive ambiance of Perrott’s Garden. Bistro or the elegant setting of Orchids Restaurant. Alternatively create a bespoke Christmas celebration with your own private venue.

- Single occupancy €140 per night - Double occupancy €160 per night

Castlemartyr Resort is the perfect location to host your Christmas party or entertain clients as it captures the true essence of the spirit and magic of Christmas. They offer a truly personal service and will tailor a package to suit you whether it would be a small intimate gathering or a large banquet. Private party nights from €58 per person. The package includes, enjoy a festive cocktail reception, four-course meal, party favours, complimentary bar extension, and personalised menu’s plus a table plan.

Their 2016 Christmas party nights at the Culloden Estate and Spa includes a delectable four course dinner and live music from band Solid Gold, Santa’s Divas and our special Christmas DJ. Party nights available from Saturday 3rd December - Thursday 22nd December from €64 per person. Contact: conf@cull.hastingshotels.com for more information on private Christmas functions and their special Christmas party nights or call 028 9042 1066.

LINK

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CAPITAL

Green Future NI Ltd Zero Carbon Technology Seed Funding

Emoji

STG £1 million

Technologies

Private Placing

Ltd €450,000 Seed Capital Round Completed

Firebrand MultiMedia Ltd Seed Capital Stage 2 €400,000

Emojitones.com Series A Funding Round

Private Placing

€2.25m EIIS Placing

REDEFINING WEALTH TECHNOLOGY | PROPERTY | MEDIA | FRANCHISING | AGRI-FOODS Powerhouse Capital Ltd., 23/25 Queen Street, Coleraine, Co. L/derry, BT52 1BG, Northern Ireland. Tel +353 (0)86 6630420. IRISH

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PRIVATE EQUITY | VENTURE CAPITAL | CORPORATE FINANCE

Private Placing

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BREXIT – The Impact on Irish and UK Construction? continuing to rise. Commercial construction is powering ahead, closely followed by residential home building with the problems of demand far out-stripping supply and the Housing shortage well documented in recent times. Although spending on civil engineering projects lags some way behind the commercial and residential sectors, perhaps some increase in the capital construction budget will give that a timely boost. By Justin Murphy, Partner at Lyons Solicitors, 43 Parnell Square West, Dublin 1

is for Brexit and of course on 23/06/16, the British people voted to exit the European Union after some 44 years of membership thus precipitating the last 3 months of uncertainty as regards what the future holds not alone for the UK, but also for Ireland and the rest of the EU both politically and economically in the post-Brexit scenario. As a result of Britain’s decision to cancel its EU subscription negotiations on Brexit can only start when the UK applies to leave under Article 50 of the European Union and then for it to pass, it must be accepted by 19 of the 27 members states and if there is no agreement within 2 years, then Britain will be treated as a normal third country with no access to the single market. The only certainty is that nothing is certain for the months and years ahead until this mystery is revealed, but all we can do is try to position ourselves strategically for the aftershocks (there will be shocks) and the benefits (if any) that may trigger. B is also for Building and at the time of composing this article, the Ulster Bank Purchasing Managers Index or PMI indicated that there was a huge spike in construction industry activity in July of 2016 which activity has been progressively rising for the last 36 months. This measure of growth in the construction industry shows that confidence remains strong in terms of the domestic construction sector despite the outcome of the Brexit referendum, with employment levels

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is for Result and is also for Referendum and what will the referendum result in? There could well be a full blown Recession following on from the Brexit decision both in the UK and in Ireland or further afield. With political turmoil there could be a Re-run of the referendum in the event of a general election, there could be an attempt at Re-negotiating Britain’s terms of membership within the EU although this was previously attempted. The Ramifications are unknown at this stage…

x is for Exports and the supply of building goods and services in the construction industry to the UK from Ireland cannot be underestimated when the Department of Foreign Affairs figures show that in 2015, 55% of Irish exports in the construction sector went to the UK and nearly 50% of Irish green energy goes to Northern Ireland, England, Scotland, Wales. Correspondingly, the UK is mutually reliant upon the EU which in 2014 exported 53% of goods and services to Britain and contrastingly, 45% of the UK’s exports in 2014 were to the EU. So if Britain is to leave the EU, the effects in terms of exports/imports with tariffs are self-evident.

is also for Exchange rates and the fluctuations in the Pound and the Euro have been in a volatile state since the Brexit vote was confirmed and for how long this will continue, nobody can say. While cheap Sterling is great for the consumer in Ireland travelling to the UK, it is bad for the Irish Exporter selling goods to the UK and vice versa for the British consumer and exporter alike. The Euro gives Ireland some level of insulation against currency volatility but the

UK Pound is somewhat exposed on this front. When one considers the level of interdependency between Ireland, the UK and EU in terms of imports/exports, foreign exchange rates have a huge bearing on construction contracts.

is for Impact and what the impact on Irish & UK construction will be remains to be seen. Although the outlook currently remains uncertain, it does appear that there may be a benefit to Ireland in terms of Foreign Direct Investment or FDI coming from abroad and setting up in Ireland with a view to gaining a foothold or entry into the EU. With an educated, English speaking workforce and similar regulation to the UK, Ireland may well be the location of choice for London based companies setting up an Irish operation. Obviously, UK’s loss is Ireland’s gain in that sense. I is also for Investment and there has been a lot of international interest in Irish particularly Dublin based commercial property with prime office space in the Capital almost at full capacity and rental returns in the residential market continuing to soar offering great rental yields for those Investors. However, there is a serious problem with the chronic shortage of new build homes in the Dublin area and while demand remains high, the supply is unlikely to increase in the uncertain post-Brexit landscape.

is for Threats and while there are many outlined in the foregoing paragraphs, it is not possible to cover all possible threats in this article. It would appear that there may be some opportunities in particular for Ireland, however only time will tell. As the very apt saying goes “Past performance is no indicator of future performance and prices may rise as well as fall”. Lyons Solicitors is a Dublin 1 boutique Corporate Law Firm and niche practice specialising in the areas of Commercial Property, Banking & Finance and Commercial Litigation.

www.lyons-solicitors.ie

Banking & Finance We understand, assess, review and present options that will provide our Banking clients with the optimal result for both the Bank and the Borrower.

Employment Law Our team has an extensive understanding of the needs of our Corporate clients in the area of Employment & HR and is dedicated to providing for those needs.

Dispute Resolution Our firm provides a mediation service as an effective way of resolving disputes without the need to go to court.

Commercial Litigation Our Litigation team offers experienced and specialised advice and services in respect of Commercial Litigation

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Commercial Property We have a businessfocussed approach to property and provide legal support to Corporate clients in all aspects of Landlord & Tenant Law.

Lyons Solicitors 43 Parnell Square, Dublin 1, Ireland Phone : +353 (0)1 8733000 E-mail: info@lyons-solicitors.ie

Maurice G. Lyons BCL Partner in Banking & Finance

Eoin Martin BL Practice Manager & Consultant, Employment Law

Justin Murphy BCL LLM, Partner in Commercial Property

Grainne Walsh BA LLB, Partner in Commercial Litigation

Maurice founded Lyons Solicitors having established the practice in 1987. Maurice heads our Banking & Finance team.

Eoin heads our Employment Dept. having had a successful career in banking and having practised as a Barrister for 26 years.

Justin has 10 years’ experience in the areas of Commercial Property, Residential Conveyancing, Landlord & Tenant and Probate Law.

Grainne is very experienced in all aspects of Commercial Litigation & Insolvency. She is also a registered Personal Insolvency Practitioner.

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New Home Sales by JLL

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Conor O’Gallagher Regional Director

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