€14m sought for Ballsbridge offices

With well-let modern office blocks now the most sought after investments in the distressed Dublin property market, selling agents HT Meagher O’Reilly are expecting strong Irish and overseas bidding in a recently refurbished office building opposite the former Jurys Hotel at Pembroke Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4.

Adrian Truick of the agency is quoting €14 million for the four-storey over basement building with a floor area of 2,790sq m (30,000sq ft) and car parking to the front and rear. At that price, new owners can expect an initial return of almost 8 per cent.

Numbers 87 to 89 Pembroke Road are being sold on the instructions of Farrell Grant Sparks, who were appointed receiver to the holding company by the former Anglo Irish Bank.

Unnamed trust

The block formed part of a larger portfolio in Ballsbridge acquired by Bernard McNamara and David Courtney when they competed against several other developers for stakes in the planned high-rise redevelopment of the centre of Ballsbridge. The various plans for high-rise schemes ended in disaster for many developers.

Another office building close by, Carrisbrook House, also acquired by the same developers for €46 million, has been sold to an unnamed trust for €16 million. Although only one floor of the eight-storey building is currently occupied by the Israeli embassy, the State is locked into a long-term rental arrangement under which it will have to pay a minimum of €1.3 million per annum for the empty space over the next 22 years.

Retail bank

The OPW is expected to come under increasing pressure to sub-let the vacant space in spite of the tight security arrangements around the embassy which has made it extremely difficult to let the adjoining floors.

There is no such problem at 87 to 89 Pembroke Road where €526,000 of the €1,158,000 rent roll is paid by Bank of Ireland under long-term leases. The bank occupies part of the ground floor and basement , operating a retail bank with separate access from Pembroke Road.

The lease of this area (329sq m/3,551sq ft) is for a term of 150 years from 1968, leaving more than 100 years unexpired. The same bank also rents 789sq m (8,503sq ft) on the first floor under a 25-year lease from 2006 with 18 years to expiry.

Part of the ground and second floors are let for a 10-year period from 2012 to the Irish Computer Society which organises seminars, conferences and courses. A gilt-edged client has also taken a 10-year lease from 2011 of the third floor which extends to 743sq m (8,000sq ft).

The building was fully refurbished, extended and given a new facade in 2005. It now offers the very best accommodation including raised access floors, full air conditioning and fully finished common areas. The attractive entrance includes a full-height atrium.