The newly refurbished former headquarters of Bord na Móna at 76 Lower Baggot Street, Dublin 2, will be of interest to Irish and overseas investment groups when it goes on the market today.
Agent Cushman and Wakefield is handling the much-delayed sale on behalf of the semi-State body, which will be hoping to secure in excess of €37 million for the blue-chip investment.
The distinctive block is located close to the planned new European headquarters of LinkedIn and also within a stone's throw of the former Bank of Ireland headquarters, which is almost ready to accommodate hundreds of officials of the Department of Health.
The five-storey building, with a floor area of 3,793 sq m (40,827 sq ft) over a 60-space basement car park, was designed by Sam Stephenson and constructed in 1978 by the turf producer Bord na Móna.
Bord na Móna remained there until the mid-1990s and, after relocating to Newbridge, Co Kildare, carried out a complete refurbishment of the city block before letting it to Esat Digifone. Subsequent tenants included Anglo Irish Bank and AIB.
Refurbishment
Early in 2005, Bord na Móna again embarked on a full internal refurbishment to bring the block into line with the high specifications which by then were widely available in new office blocks.
Each of the L-shaped floors in Baggot Street is now filled with natural light, and each has an average floor area of 748sq m (8,050sq ft).
That configuration, and the fact that there are three separate entrances off the common core, has made for much-increased flexibility. Each common core is served by two new 10-person lifts.
Number 76 is fully let once again to four tenants – Storyful, Fitbit, DMS Investment Services and Sanne Group – at an overall rent roll of more than €2 million. Each tenant is on a lease of either 10 or 15 years, resulting in a weighted-average unexpired lease term of just over 7.03 years.
Ciara Horgan, of Cushman and Wakefield, said the sale offered a rare opportunity to acquire a prime office investment in Dublin's traditional central office core. The sale offered secure income from four respected international tenants in an investment market with diminishing supply.
“We anticipate interest from both Irish and international investors keen to get a foothold in the Dublin investment market, especially following Brexit,” she said.
