Irish Distillers to move to the RDS

OfficeMarket: The first tenant, Irish Distillers, at the RDS's new office campus on Simmonscourt Road will be paying a rent of almost €592 a sq m (€55 per sq ft), writes Jack Fagan

Two years after securing planning permission for a €63 million office development at Simmonscourt Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4, the Royal Dublin Society has attracted its first tenant.

Irish Distillers is to move its headquarters from Smithfield to the first of four blocks which is due to be completed next April. The company is to occupy the top three floors of the five-storey building, paying a rent of almost €592 per sq m (€55 per sq ft) and €3,500 for car-parking spaces. The letting terms include a rent-free period of just over 12 months and a break option in the 20-year lease at year 15.

Irish Distillers will occupy 2,322sq m (25,000sq ft) of the 4,087sq m (44,000sq ft) in the building which will be fitted out to a particularly high standard. It will have an exceptionally high energy efficiency.

The RDS originally sought a pre-letting before it planned to begin construction of the office complex but later changed its approach when it became clear that most rival developers were building on a speculative basis and managing to let much of the new space.

The RDS decision to embark on an office scheme has been prompted by its need for a rental income to upgrade many of the facilities on its extensive grounds.

When the 16,722sq m (180,000sq ft) of office space and 180 car-parking spaces are occupied, the RDS will be in a line for an annual income of at least €10.5 million.

The next two blocks to be built on Simmonscourt Road will have floor areas of 3,885sq m (51,656sq ft) while the largest will have 7,381sq m (79,449sq ft).

James Nugent of Lisney, who is responsible for the lettings, said that when completed the offices will offer a "cultural environment rather an office campus atmosphere . . . it will be a lot more pleasant than in a typical office complex". The close proximity to the Four Seasons, Bewleys Hotel and a range of top class restaurants will also prove a strong selling point for the offices.

Before it moves to Ballsbridge, Irish Distillers is seeking €35 million for its old headquarters building on a site of 1.08 acres at Smithfield, Dublin 7. It has frontage on to Bow Street, Church Street New, Smithfield Square and Phoenix Street North.

There is a current permission for 10 ground floor retail units along with 16,053sq m (172,793sq ft) of offices and two levels of car-parking with 131 spaces. The company has also sought planning permission to refurbish and extend the former Jameson Distillery on Bow Street near Smithfield.