France-based Corum Asset Management has invested a further €14 million in the Dublin commercial property market, buying the Joyce’s Court office and retail complex on Talbot Street. The net initial yield of 5.7 per cent is expected to move closer to 7 per cent as rents are reviewed.
Corum has invested more than €80 million in the Irish property market in recent years, acquiring Voxpro Office Park in Cork and another office complex in Galway as well as Harvey Norman retail store in Cork.
Blocks A and B at Joyce's Court extend to 5,066sq m (54,531sq ft) and currently produce a rental income of €866,948. Around 66 per cent of the rent – €570,006 – comes from the company Smartbox, which sells gifts including overnight stays, gastronomy experiences and adventures. Smartbox pays an average rent of €215/sq m (€20/sq ft) for most of its accommodation.
100 new jobs
The company recently announced that it will create 100 new jobs as part of its future growth. It expects to have a total headcount of more than 500 by year’s end.
The five-storey Block A has a total area of 2,627sq m (28,282sq ft) and is let in its entirety to Smartbox under a 20-year lease from 2015, with a break option in 2025.
Block B, a six-storey over-basement building, has a floor area of 2,439sq m (26,249sq ft) and is let to a number of tenants, including Veeam Software Ireland, Kitman Labs Ltd and the Dyslexia Association of Ireland. There are four retail units included in the sale, three of them unoccupied, as well as 31 car parking spaces.
Kyle Rothwell of CBRE handled the sale while Matthew Vanston of BNP Paribas Real Estate acted for the French fund.
