With private investors back in the market looking for secure, long-term property assets, DTZ Sherry FitzGerald is confident of an early sale of the Bank of Ireland branch in Malahide, Co Dublin.

Jane Dolan of the agency is quoting €2.1 million for the bank premises, which is on a prominent corner site of Malahide Shopping Centre in the Mall. The rent of €160,000 per annum will give investors a return of 7.29 per cent.

The bank has been in occupation since the shopping mall was developed in the 1970s. After embarking on a sale and leaseback of the premises in 2006, the bank agreed on a 25-year lease with upwards-only rent reviews and a tenant break option in 2021.

More recently, it agreed to drop the break option in return for the reduction of its rent to €80,000 for two years from January 2013. The removal of the break clause gives a new owner a guaranteed lease term of more than 17.5 years.

The branch office has an overall floor area of 190sq m (2,045sq ft), with retail banking on the ground floor and office and other ancillary facilities at basement level.