US investor buys Lord Edward St block

An American investor has paid €7.1 million – €1 million above the guide price – for a landmark office block virtually opposite Dublin Castle at 14-16 Lord Edward Street.

The period building, converted into contemporary offices in 2007, is currently producing a rent roll of €476,000 from six tenants including the Irish Film Board, Henegan & Peng Architects, Stay City and the Swatch Group.

The new owner will get an initial yield of 6.4 per cent on his investment.

Let on a floor-by-floor basis, the accommodation is mostly leased on a long term basis but some of the leases expire, or incorporate break options, in 2017 and 2018.

Though the rent levels average out at just over €353 per sq m (€33 per sq ft), Enda Moore of selling agent Hooke & MacDonald has estimated the average rents should be €409 per sq m (€38 per sq ft), equating to a rent roll of €535,000.

Each of the tenants is liable for an annual service charge for the upkeep and management of the building.

Imposing

The Lord Edward Street block is an imposing five-storey building of 1,323sq m (14,251sq ft) which has a prominent granite façade and frontage of about 40m on to Lord Edward Street and return frontages to Cow’s Lane and Copper Alley in Temple Bar.

The block has an impressive entrance foyer along with a lift access to all floors and a disabled access.