A private equity firm has paid nearly €100m for a prime office building in Dublin, giving a huge boost to the sector overall.
The Irish Independent has learned that an investment firm has agreed to pay €93m for One Grand Canal Square (pictured) in the centre of Dublin’s Docklands.
That would make it one of the biggest office deals of the year and one of the largest since the recession began.
The office block, which faces the Bord Gais Energy Theatre in what is widely seen as one of the most prosperous parts of the capital, hit the market 14 months ago with an asking price of about €75m.
The final sale price equates to more than €700 per square foot in total — far higher than the €500 a foot that has been the going rate in the market so far this year. It means that investors who have bought prime office space in the last number of years such as the likes of US firm Kennedy Wilson, are now sitting on huge profits within a matter of months of making their purchases.
It also sets a new price-level for office sales in the area. Two nearby buildings — the Bloodstone Building and Block B, Riverside IV on Britain Quay — are being sold by NAMA at barely half the price per square foot.
The building contains 110,000 sq ft in office space with an additional 18,000 sq ft space for retail operations — as well as 60 car parking spaces. Built just five years ago, One Grand Canal Square was developed by UK builder Roy Strudwick’s Ryde Developments.
One Grand Canal Dock is producing a rent roll of €5.8m, with HSBC the main tenants.
The bank pre-let most of the space, but other tenants include the consultants Accenture and pharmaceuticals giant Warner Chilcott.
CBRE had been the agents for the property, which was sold in an off- market deal. Source: The Irish Independent.
