Sale of building to U2 was not a ‘secret deal’ - DDDA

The sale of a building in the Dublin docks to U2 in 2013 was at a fair market price and was not a "secret deal", the Dublin Docklands Development Authority has told a Dail committee.

The building on Hanover Quay was one of two similar warehouse-type structures that were the subject of compulsory purchase orders in 2004. The authority bought the buildings for a combined price of €5.1 million from the property developer Harry Crosbie.

At the time the authority planned to knock the waterside buildings down so as to create an open campshire space but in the event the project never went ahead. The idea of creating such an open space has now been abandoned.

In 2013, as part of its process of selling off its assets before being subsumed into Dublin City Council, the authority sold number 18 Hanover Quay to U2 for €450,000. The sale was the only one not put out to tender as part of the authority's process of selling off its assets.

Dublin deputy Joe Costello described the sale price as a “very small sum considering the location” and the sale process as a “behind the scenes” deal that was done in a “very secretive fashion”.

However financial advisor to the authority, John Crawley, rejected that characterisation and said he was confident that the authority received a fair price for the property given conditions in the market at the time.

He also said there were exceptional factors involved to do with U2 having a licence to occupy the building and plans that existed at one stage to move them to a proposed U2 tower as part of the overall redevelopment of Hanover Quay. The sale of the building directly to the band meant a number of such items were brought to “finality”.

He said the €144 per square foot price that was achieved compared favourably with the €99 per square foot price that was paid for another similar building that was sold on the open market at the time. The deal was only finally closed in January of this year.

The chairman of the Dail Committee on Public Accounts, John McGuinness, said the price looked low when compared with the €55,000 to €60,000 per annum rent U2 were paying for the use of the building. Mr Crawley agreed but said he believed the rent U2 was paying was significantly greater than the market rent at the time.

Mr Costello said he believed the property could be worth up to €5 million for its site value. Committee member Gabrielle McFadden said she felt “extreme discomfort” about the deal and said she believed €450,000 was “way below” the market value in 2013.

She asked if the board at the time knew the party to which the property was being sold. Mr Costello said it did. He agreed to the request from Mr McGuinness that the board minutes governing the sale would be forwarded to the committee.