Microsoft is to invite investors to fund a £32 million (40.6m) headquarters for its European Product Development Centre at South County Business Park in Leopardstown, Co Dublin. The contract will go to the company offering the lowest rent on a 20-year lease with five-yearly rent reviews.
The 123,655 sq ft building and 322 car-parking spaces, most of them at basement level, will be developed on a three-acre site adjoining an existing Microsoft campus.
Full planning permission was recently granted for the block, designed by Galligan Architects. Construction is scheduled to commence next autumn.
Michael Donohoe of Colliers Jackson Stops described the project as "the most important and attractive investment property to be offered on the Irish market this year."
The response will be a measure of how the investment market views the Microsoft operation and the high tech industry generally. Microsoft recently underpinned its continuing commitment to Ireland by renting 180,000 sq ft at the Atrium development in Sandyford for its European Operations Centre and sales and marketing. In that case the rent was £18.50 (23.49) per sq ft and £775 (952) for each of the 340 car-parking spaces.
Green Property Company, which developed the Atrium, is likely to be among those pitching for the latest building. Two years ago it funded a £57.2 million (72.6m) purchase of Microsoft's European Product Development Centre's freehold office portfolio in South County Dublin Business Park.
The purchase and 20-year leaseback of the campus was the first transaction of its kind in Ireland.
Kevin Dillon, managing director of Microsoft's European Operations Centre, said Ireland was the home of 1,800 of its employees "and it is where all the development and operations functions for Europe, the Middle East and Africa are managed in addition to a thriving sales and marketing group based in Sandyford."
Microsoft spends £250 million (317m) per annum in Ireland and the company's revenues account for 5.5 per cent of the total goods and services exported from Ireland.
Mr Dillon says that the company is enjoying a time of great innovation, both in Ireland and on a global level.
In addition to ongoing operations, key new products for Office XP, Windows XP and XBs will be developed and launched across 85 countries from Dublin in the next few months.
The ongoing innovation and growth at Microsoft meant that their accommodation needs had expanded.
This led them to make the commitment to the Atrium Building and it was also driving the need for the development of a headquarters for the European Product Development Centre.
