German investor MEAG has completed its acquisition of One Molesworth Street, Dublin, a prime office and retail investment on the junction with Dawson Street. The building is home to The Ivy restaurant and Barclays bank’s Irish headquarters.
While the price paid for the building has not been disclosed, it is understood to be in the region of the €110 million, which had been guided by agent JLL when it offered the property to the market on behalf of its outgoing owner, UK property giant Henderson Park, this year.
While the sale of One Molesworth Street will be seen as a vote of confidence in the Dublin office market, the amount paid by MEAG is €40 million less than the €150 million Zara founder Amancio Ortega’s investment firm Pontegadea had offered for the property during the Covid-19 pandemic.
One Molesworth Street was first offered to the market by Henderson Park in January 2020 as part of its proposed €400 million sale of the Capital Collection, a portfolio of five prime Dublin offices it had acquired as part of its €1.34 billion buyout of Green Reit.
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Extending to 8,350sq m (89,879 sq ft), One Molesworth Street comprises a seven-storey office and retail building in Dublin’s central business district.
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The building, which is sustainable with LEED Platinum certification, is fully let to a tenant line-up consisting of Barclays, TD Global Finance, Simmons & Simmons and the Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI). The ground floor is given over to retail accommodation, with occupiers including The Ivy Group, Boots, Six by Nico and Barry’s Bootcamp.
“One Molesworth Street is unquestionably the finest office building in Dublin, and the competitive interest we received throughout the process demonstrates why core institutional investors continue to focus on the Dublin market, given its strong underlying fundamentals,” Niall Gunne, of JLL, said.
JLL acted as sole selling agent for Henderson Park, with A&L Goodbody providing legal advice. MEAG was advised by CBRE on the transaction, with legal and tax advice from Matheson and technical advice from Hollis.
