Iput seeks €17.25m for landmark Topshop building

Having lain largely dormant since the departure of UK fashion retailer Topshop, one of Dublin's finest commercial buildings, 6-7 St Stephen's Green, is being offered to the market to purchase or to lease by its owners, Irish property company Iput.

Joint agents Savills and BNP Paribas Real Estate are guiding a price of €17.25 million for the entire building, which comprises 2,482sq m (26,716sq ft) of space split between three floors of retail use and three floors of self-contained offices overhead, with own-door access at street level. The retail element of the building at ground, lower-ground and first-floor level (2,069sq m/22,271sq ft) is alternatively being made available to let at an annual rent of €875,000.

The building comes to the market in excellent condition throughout with all retail floors linked by a feature open stairwell and served by both a passenger and goods lift.

The overhead offices are independently accessed from St Stephen’s Green and comprise 412sq m (4,434 sq ft) of period accommodation with views over St Stephen’s Green. The second floor is currently vacant while the third and fourth floors are income producing. They are let to Cundall (Ireland) Ltd who occupy under a short-term lease which expires in August 2024 at an annual rent of €89,373 per annum exclusive.

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The building was originally constructed in 1870 for famous Dublin wine merchants and grocers Robert Smyth & Co and the elevation, with its many elaborate, stone carvings still retain the initials RS.

Portfolio

Iput secured ownership of 6-7 St Stephen's Green in 2014 as part of its wider €115 million all-cash acquisition of the Salix fund, a portfolio of 13 investment-grade properties held by the Bank of Ireland staff pension fund. The portfolio also included a 50 per cent interest in the extensive B&Q retail warehouse at Liffey Valley, a one-third interest in the IDA's former Dublin headquarters at Wilton Place, along with a mix of industrial and retail properties. At the time of the 2014 deal, Iput is understood to have ascribed a value of more than €20 million to 6-7 St Stephen's Green based on the building's then rental income of €2 million per annum.

The Bank of Ireland staff pension fund, for its part, had purchased the property for IR£6 million in August 1995 from a consortium which included members of rock band U2. Following that deal, it was converted from the Galleria Shopping Centre to house Ireland's first Habitat, the interiors lifestyle retail brand founded and made famous by the late and legendary British designer, Terence Conran.

Commenting on the prospects for 6-7 St Stephen’s Green, Stephen McCarthy of Savills says: “The building is steeped in history and is an icon of the Grafton Street district. This is a rare opportunity to lease or purchase a flagship property, which we are sure will appeal to a host of occupiers and investors given the calibre of location and use potential.”

Eoin Feeney of BNP Paribas Real Estate adds: “The existing retail floors, subject to planning, offer the potential for conversion to restaurant or leisure use, both sub-sectors where occupier demand is strong. Whatever the end use, an investor would be looking at significant future rental growth potential as Dublin city centre continues to be undersupplied in terms of large floorplate retail buildings.”