Donnybrook House, the landmark office block at the heart of the Dublin 4 village, has returned to the lettings market, having been acquired by MM Capital and Roundshield Capital Partners for €25 million late last year.
Joint agents Savills and CBRE are quoting €38.50 per square foot for the office space, and are reporting “active interest” in the property. According to the agents, negotiations are at an “advanced stage” with two parties for space in the re-modelled five-storey office building.
The former AIB computer services centre was acquired by British property developer U+I and its then partners, US-headquartered investor Colony Capital for around €10 million back in 2014. The Dublin 4 office subsequently underwent a multimillion euro redevelopment and refurbishment in 2018, with a re-design by architect Henry J Lyons helping to transform the building into a contemporary grade A development. However the property struggled to find sufficient tenants, and it was put on the market last May, quoting €27 million, by agent Savills on behalf of the receiver, Kieran Wallace of KPMG.
It was subsequently acquired for €25 million by Irish property investment and development group MM Capital and investment firm Roundshield Capital Partners.
Now back on the lettings market, Derek Poppinga of MM Capital expects the property to secure a post-pandemic boost.
“With the easing of Covid-19 restrictions, activity has returned to the Dublin office market. Donnybrook House is set to benefit from such return to activity due to its modern specification and proximity to the city’s central business district,” he said.
Tenants
The entire building extends to about 66,525sq ft, comprising predominantly CAT A office accommodation with some leisure and retail use. The main vacant floors are the first (17,600sq ft) and the second (11,500sq ft). However, the landlord is prepared to split these floors into suites ranging in size from 2,000 to 9,000sq ft and is in active negotiations to do so on one floor already.
The property has a number of tenants already in situ, including Mark Anthony Brands, D|RES Properties, and Raw Gyms. In addition to the CAT A office space on the first and second floors, there are also office units on the ground floor level to the rear of the property, which provide self-contained, own-door offices for potential occupiers. The property benefits from on-site, highly secure car and bicycle parking and also first-class shower, changing and locker facilities.
