Mm Capital acquires GE office building in Dublin for €22m

US software group New Relic to let entire property as it expands EMEA base here

Irish property investment group Mm Capital has acquired 31-36 Golden Lane in Dublin from GE Capital in a deal worth €22 million.

The 2,900sq m (31,000sq ft) property is to be let to New Relic, a San Francisco-based software analytics company that is planning to expand its EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) headquarters here.

New Relic plans to move into the property in 2018. It established its Dublin base in 2014 with the promise of 50 jobs, mostly sales and customer-service positions. This new letting will give it headroom to accommodate up to 300 staff. Cresa San Francisco advised New Relic, which was set up in 2008 and has more than 1,000 employees.

Founded in 2013 by Peter Leonard and Derek Poppinga, Mm has secured 90 per cent debt funding for the deal from Fairfield Real Estate Finance, which itself is backed by US-based Oaktree Capital Management.

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Estate agent Savills Ireland acted for both Mm Capital and Fairfield.

The Golden Lane property, just off George's Street in Dublin 2, is close to St Patrick's Cathedral and adjacent to the Radisson Blu Royal Hotel.

Open plan

Internally, the office layout is predominantly open plan, with some executive offices and meeting rooms. A fully-fitted staff canteen is located on the ground-floor level, with kitchenette facilities serving the other floors.

Commenting on the transaction, Derek Poppinga of Mm Capital said: “We are delighted to announce both the acquisition and letting of Golden Lane . . . [it] represents a fantastic new home for New Relic and we look forward to concluding this exciting project with them.”

Colin Duncan, real-estate director of Fairfield, said the company had a "strong appetite" to be involved in transactions of this nature. "This deal reaffirms our commitment to the Irish market," he said.

Since being formed in June 2016, Fairfield has completed £185 million of loans in the UK and €98 million in Ireland, across office, industrial, retail and leisure with funding made available for acquisition, refurbishment and development.

Ciarán Hancock

Ciarán Hancock

Ciarán Hancock is Business Editor of The Irish Times