Green Reit pays €32 million for two office blocks in Dublin 2

Property investor Green Reit has agreed to pay €32 million for two office buildings near St Stephen's Green in Dublin 2.

Number 76-78 Harcourt Street, which runs to 2,270 sq m (24,400sq ft), is currently being rented by the Department of Foreign Affairs at a cost of €1.01 million per year.

It has a basement, ground and four upper floors, with 24 car parking spaces to the rear. The open-plan offices were built in the early 1980s with a mock Georgian façade to blend in with the rest of the street.

Number 4-5 Harcourt Road is also currently rented to Government tenants, including the Offices of the Comptroller and Auditor General, the National Consumer Agency, and the National Crime Council, for a passing rent of €1.26 million per year.

Constructed in the 1970s, it is a detached office building extending to 2,970sq m (32,800sq ft) over ground and six upper floors, with 30 car parking spaces to the rear.

Green Reit said the acquisitions were “in line with the company’s stated objective to assemble a portfolio of prime and good quality secondary properties with a Dublin focus”.

The offices will be acquired by the company for a total of €32 million, with estimated acquisition costs of a further €1 million.

“The total purchase price of €32 million equates to a net initial yield of 6.8 per cent,” the company said in a statement.

Green Property Reit Ventures chief executive Pat Gunne said the Harcourt Road office "presents a very exciting Dublin city centre redevelopment opportunity".

“Our existing tenant profile is exceptionally strong and the €52.3 million annual rent roll will generate a 7 per cent portfolio yield,” he added.

Both acquisitions were funded from the company’s cash, bringing the total equity invested to €678 million, or 99 per cent of the total equity raised since its launch in July 2013.

Central Park refinancing

Bank of Ireland has refinanced the secured debt provided to the Central Park Limited Partnership, which is 50 per cent owned by Green Reit, in the form of a €150 million loan, the company has also confirmed.

The 64,583sq m (695,168sq ft) office, retail and residential development at Central Park in Leopardstown in south Co Dublin was sold in the first quarter of this year to Green Reit, Kennedy Wilson and Pimco for a reported €311.5 million.

Green Reit is “currently considering its options with regard to further borrowing, which will facilitate further acquisitions”, the company said.