French fund expands Irish presence with two acquisitions

A fund managed by French real estate investor Arkéa REIM has increased its exposure in Ireland with the acquisition of two office investment properties in Citywest, Dublin and Parkmore East, Galway. While the value of the deal was undisclosed, it’s understood to be in excess of €20 million for the combined properties.
The properties, Block 5, Parkmore East Business Campus in Galway and Block 5, Waterside Innovation Campus, Citywest, were sold by Fine Grain Property, in line with its portfolio investment strategy. An Irish-owned international commercial real estate investor and operator, Fine Grain Property has invested more than €300 million across Ireland since 2016.
The properties are the third and fourth acquisitions for the French fund, SCPI Transitions Europe. During the summer it acquired the Plantation House office building in Dublin, its first acquisition, as well as Citypoint, a mixed-use property in Galway.
Sienna Investment Managers, which seeks stable, diversified income returns from commercial property across Europe, advised on the off-market sale, with Avison Young offering advice to Fine Grain Property.
Both assets are fully let, to two tenants in Dublin and three in Galway, across a number of industries including medtech and software.
The Galway property is a three-storey LEED Gold office block extending to 4,244sq m (45,689sq ft). Fine Grain Property developed the building in 2018 to a high specification, at a time when there was no other new office construction under way in Galway. The land was acquired from IDA Ireland through a tender process, and Fine Grain has since leased the building in its entirety to Cardiac Booster, Fotonation and Veryan Medical.
The Citywest property, which then had 1,587sq m (17,080sq ft) of vacant space, was acquired by Fine Grain Property in early 2023. Since then, the property has been upgraded, a programme put in place to improve the Building Energy Rating, and the property has been fully let to Hidden Hearing and SAP.
The combined pricing represents an average net initial yield of between 7.5 per cent and 8 per cent, from long-term, stable tenants.
Arthur Debaere, head of acquisitions with Sienna IM, said the deal further deepens both its position in the Irish market, and its successful relationship with Arkea REIM.
Kevin Mahony, chief financial officer of Fine Grain Property, said the company’s “experienced team continues to invest nationwide to grow our sustainable workplace community, and create further excellent investment properties”.