BCP Capital is closing in on the purchase of the Beckett Building on Dublin’s East Wall Road, The Irish Times has learned.
While the deal has yet to be completed the Irish-headquartered real estate and investment manager is expected to secure ownership of the North Docks office block for around the €35 million price which had been guided by agent Colliers when it offered the property to the market on behalf of receivers John Boland and Nicholas O’Dwyer of Grant Thornton last May.
The expected sale price represents a reduction of 56 per cent on the €80 million figure that had been mooted when CBRE first offered the building for sale in January 2023, and an even steeper discount of 65 per cent on the €101 million South Korean-headquartered Kookmin Bank paid when they acquired it from Luke and Brian Comer’s Comer Group in 2018.
This is the second time the Beckett Building has become the subject of a receivership sale since being built by the late Liam Carroll’s Zoe Developments in 2007. Having lain dormant for four years following its completion, the property was sold on the instructions of receivers acting for the Bank of Scotland (Ireland) to the Comer Group for just €5 million. The Comers are understood to have spent a further €30 million on the building’s fit-out before letting it to Facebook parent Meta.
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While Meta has now vacated the property the social media giant remains responsible for its annual €5.75 million rent and all outgoings until the break option of its lease on July 31st, 2027. The current rent equates to €29.30 per square foot, excluding the building’s car parking spaces.
Should the sale of the property proceed at its €35 million guide price it would provide BCP Capital with a net initial yield of 14.9 per cent and a capital value of just €185 per square foot after standard purchaser’s costs of 9.96 per cent.
The Beckett Building extends to 17,487 square metres (188,228 sq ft) and is laid out as modern grade A office accommodation over six floors with rooftop terraces and large wraparound balconies offering views of the Dublin skyline. The building has a selection of tenant amenities on site, together with 400 designated bicycle spaces and 77 car parking spaces.
The building on East Wall Road in Dublin 3 is within a 15-minute walk of Point Square, the 3Arena, the Convention Centre and the Luas red line.
In terms of its potential the Beckett sits on land zoned as Z14: Strategic Development and Regeneration Areas, which permits and encourages a range of uses including residential, student accommodation, hotel, and employment and economic activity, all in accordance with the Dublin City Development Plan 2022-28.
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