eBay to lease former Xerox buildings in Blanchardstown

The well-known online marketplace is to lease over 13,935sq m (150,000sq ft) of high quality office space in Ballycoolin Office Park, writes JACK FAGAN.

EBAY, THE hugely successful online marketplace for buying and selling, is to take over three office blocks in Blanchardstown, Dublin 15, vacated by Xerox.

The deal will involve more than 13,935sq m (150,000sq ft) of high quality office space in Ballycoolin Office Park which was developed about seven years ago by the print technology firm Xerox.

The three interlinking blocks are expected to be handed over to eBay in the coming weeks. Xerox cut its 900-strong workforce by more than half after outsourcing some of its activities to IBM.

Declan O'Reilly of HT Meagher O'Reilly, who is advising eBay, was not available for comment yesterday. Xerox is expected to retain a fourth building at Ballycoolin, an office complex of around 9,290sq m (100,000sq ft) which it originally bought from Claris.

eBay's decision to expand its Dublin operation has apparently been prompted by the dramatic increase in online retailing which is being driven by the growth of broadband services internationally. eBay also operates PayPal, a secure online purchasing service.

While rents in the north and west Dublin suburbs generally range between €193 and €215 per sq m (€18 to €20 per sq ft), eBay is likely to have secured a significant discount because of the huge volume of space involved and the fact that the suburban market is heavily oversupplied. The new lease will also have provided for one or two break options during the lease period.

The same kind of break option is allowing eBay to walk away from another office block in Blanchardstown Corporate Park which it has occupied for the past five years. The 9,390sq m (100,000sq ft) of space in that building is owned by the property developer Aidan Harrison.

eBay has not indicated whether or not it plans to vacate another office block of 6,967sq m (75,000sq ft) at the Blanchardstown Centre when it moves much of its operation to Ballycoolin. The company is thought to have a break option in its lease of The Atrium block which is owned by Green Property.