IN SHORT

A round-up of today's other commercial property news in brief

€2m for motor showrooms

The former Crawfords motor premises at George's Place in Dún Laoghaire, Co Dublin, is expected to make around €2 million when it is sold on the instructions of a receiver, Paul McCann of Grant Thornton.

CB Richard Ellis is handling the sale of the two-storey building which has a gross internal area of 600sq m (6,458sq ft) and stands on a site of 0.12 of a hectare (0.3 of an acre) at the junction of Clarence Street and George’s Place. The building is likely to be redeveloped for retail use or for a mixed-use retail and apartments scheme. It already backs on to an apartment development.

The premises may also appeal to companies involved in car sales although the huge fall-off in business over the past year is likely to curb interest from that sector.

Leases agreed in Dublin 2

Markland Holdings has agreed two new leases on its newly refurbished Grantham House retail and office building at Camden Street in Dublin 2.

Viacom Brand Solutions has taken a 15-year lease on 166sq m (1,787sq ft) at penthouse level at a rent of €425 per sq m (€39.50 per sq ft). Viacom is the sales house for television services MTV, VHI, Nickelodeon and Paramount Comedy.

On the ground floor of the building, Sushi King has leased a retail unit of 20sq m (215sq ft) at an annual rent of €18,000 per annum. Sushi King also operates a convenience food outlet at Lower Baggot Street.

Colliers Jackson-Stops acted for Markland Holdings which is controlled by Sean Mulryan and Paddy Kelly.

269 per sq m rent in D4

A MARKETING campaign for vacant office space in Hume House, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4, is being launched by agent Jones Lang LaSalle.

The agent is quoting rents of €269 per sq m (€25 per sq ft) for 3,650sq m (39,342sq ft) of space in a variety of office suites on six different floors. There are also 56 car-parking spaces available at rents of €4,000 per space. The building, almost opposite the American Embassy, has several leading tenants, including Bank of Ireland, FM 104 and Pearse Trust.

Property developer Sean Dunne acquired Hume House about three years ago from Irish Life in part exchange for a new office block in the south Dublin docklands which is now occupied by solicitors Matheson Ormsby Prentice.

€1.5m savings on services

With so much emphasis now on cost savings, Savills report that they have managed to introduce reductions of €1.5 million across four shopping centres they manage as a result of having renegotiated key service contracts.

The reductions have been achieved in waste management, cleaning and security services at Liffey Valley, Whitewater, Mahon Point and Victoria shopping centres.

Roy Deller, director of property management at Savills, says the cutbacks are part of a focused strategy that was being rolled out across their managed portfolio to include not only retail but also offices and industrial premises. Savings would be passed on to tenants. Aviva Investors, who control Liffey Valley, applauded Savills for taking such a proactive approach “in these difficult times”.

D12 industrial down 44%

Lisney has cut the asking price for an industrial building at Ballymount Industrial Park in Dublin 12 from €2.25 million to €1.25 million - a drop of 44 per cent. The 1,401sq m (15,080sq ft) building includes 866sq m (9,322sq ft) of offices at two levels with data cabling and air conditioning. There is car-parking for about 18 cars at the front of the building. Ger Beehan of Lisney says they are expecting strong interest in the building despite the current economic climate. “The value on offer is undeniable,” he said.

Service charges up 5.5%

The latest study of office service charges by agent Jones Lang LaSalle found that the rate of increase has slowed from 7.7 to 5.5 per cent in 2008. It says that the average service charge across their managed office portfolio stands at €72.26 per sq m (€6.71 per sq ft). Further reductions and cost savings were critical in 2009 in an environment where companies are reviewing all occupational costs “like never before”. The agency says that average service charges in Dublin are now 17 per cent less than in the UK.