Having secured €30 million from the recent sale of Gulliver’s Retail Park in Santry, north Dublin, and with Kerry-based hoteliers, the Scally family reportedly closing in on the acquisition of the Radisson Blu St Helen’s hotel, the Cosgrave Property Group is bringing a further asset from its extensive investment portfolio to the market.
On this occasion, the Dublin-based developer founded in 1979 by Michael and his late brothers, Joe and Peter, has engaged agent JLL to find a buyer for West Pier Business Campus in Dún Laoghaire, south Dublin. The subject property is guiding at a price of €19 million and offers the prospective purchaser the opportunity to secure a net initial yield of 10.89 per cent, according to the selling agent.
West Pier Business Campus comprises three interconnected five-storey, office buildings extending to 108,576sq ft (10,087sq m). The scheme, on the waterfront in Dún Laoghaire, is 85 per cent occupied by eight tenants and is generating overall annual rental income of €2,274,806. The investment offers scope for the buyer to extend the relatively short weighted average unexpired lease term (WAULT) of 1.7 years according. Existing tenants are already in discussions to renew leases, and there is interest from potential occupiers for two vacant floors extending to 16,711sq ft, according to JLL.
Quite apart from the 10.89 per cent return on offer, the property offers the potential for redevelopment as a waterfront residential scheme, subject to planning permission. A wide range of uses are permissible, according to the site’s current TC (Town Centre) zoning in the Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council Development Plan 2022-2028. A feasibility study prepared by MCORM architects suggests the site could accommodate up to 256 residential units, with a planning report by Brock McClure Planning Consultants supporting this assessment.
Commenting on the sale, JLL says: “West Pier Business Campus offers flexibility to buyers, catering both to those seeking a high-yielding office investment with substantial asset-management potential and to residential developers looking for a prime site with short-term income to offset planning costs”.
