Saudi Arabian embassy signs 10-year lease in Fitzwilliam Square

After quietly acquiring a substantial south Dublin residence for €6.5 million last December to house its ambassador, the Saudi Arabian Embassy is making waves in the capital's property market again.

Having based itself at numbers 6 and 7 Fitzwilliam Square for many years, the embassy has decided to downsize and relocate its offices to the adjacent 12 Fitzwilliam Square in Dublin 2.

The Saudis have committed to a new 10-year lease at a rent in the region of €39.50 per sq ft (€425.14 per sq m) per annum together with six on-site car parking spaces at a rent of €3,500 per space per annum.

While the embassy’s move on this occasion might not seem as bold a statement as its purchase of Rathmore, the 441sq m (4,750 sq ft) Victorian residence on Glenageary’s Adelaide Road it acquired to accommodate its ambassador, it does provide a timely boost to the city’s Georgian office market.

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Costs

The agent representing the landlord, John Cannon of BNP Paribas Real Estate, believes the letting is indicative of the continued demand for fully-fitted offices as occupiers seek to avoid high capital-expenditure costs for new office fit-outs.

12 Fitzwilliam Square is a high-profile four-storey over-basement Georgian office building extending to 416sq m (4,477sq ft). It has been fully refurbished throughout and comprises a mix of open-plan spaces and meeting rooms/executive offices. The property also includes a two-storey mews extending to 92sq m (990sq ft) and six secure car-parking spaces located to the rear of the main building on Lad Lane.