Former corset factory on sale for €2.5m

An early 20th century building rented by two commercial tenants at the junction of Jervis Street and Upper Abbey Street in Dublin 1 is for sale in the region of €2.5 million. It will give a new owner a return of 13.4 per cent once the standard purchasers costs of 4.46 per cent are taken into account.

Peter Flanagan of BNP Paribas Real Estate is handling the sale of the three-storey over basement Twilfit House, which is currently producing a rental income of €350,000 from two tenants.

The owners had agreed to sell the former corset factory to developer Liam Carroll in the mid 1990s for a figure in the region of €8 million but the deal was not completed because vacant possession could not be obtained.

More recently, in 2005, planning permission was granted for a 6,810sq m (73,300sq ft) retail and office development over seven floors with 20 car parking spaces in the basement.

The ground floor and basement have been occupied since 2010 by the National Leprechaun Museum of Ireland on a 10-year lease at a current rent of €220,000 per annum.

A separate entrance on Jervis Street provides access to the first and second floors where Ben Dunne Gyms operates the Jervis Street Health and Fitness Club.

The company’s 10-year lease, from 2014, provides a rent of €130,000 with a fixed rental uplift to €145,000 in January 2019.

Peter Flanagan says the combination of an improving location in the north inner city adjacent to Jervis Centre/Mary Street and Millennium walkway, with direct access to the Luas, and the immediate attractive rate of return and future development potential of the site meant this opportunity was likely to appeal to a wide range of investors.